Tag: chris paul trade

OKC Thunder news: Chris Paul tells The Athletic that lone Thunder season is proudest one yet

The Point God told @TheAthleticNBA that his lone season with the Thunder in 2019-20 his proudest season yet as he was able to smash any expectations — both on an individual and team level.

During The Athletic’s continuous rankings of the best 75 players in NBA history series, the 30th spot went to one of the greatest point guards of this generation in Chris Paul.

Paul’s illustrated NBA career includes a quick pit stop to the 405 as he — along with four draft protected picks/swaps — was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder from the Houston Rockets in exchange for Russell Westbrook in the blockbuster July 2019 trade.

Paul, who was 34 and just had his worst season in the NBA up to that point, looked like he owned one of the worst contracts in the NBA as he had roughly $125 million remaining over three years. Things looked so dire that the Thunder were projected to be one of the worst teams in the NBA and many questioned just how Thunder GM Sam Presti would be able to trade Paul without giving up any assets attached to him.

Instead, as many know by now, Paul was able to lead the Thunder to a 44-28 record and push his former team in the Rockets to seven games in a First Round matchup during the playoffs. Paul had one of his better seasons in the league and was the league leader in a lot of stats that full under the “clutch” category — games that are within five points in the final five minutes.

Paul’s rehabilitation garnered him an All-NBA second team nod and become one of the more attractive trade pieces heading into the 2020 offseason. Paul would eventually be traded to the Phoenix Suns and has had massive success with them as the future Hall-of-Famer went to his first NBA Finals trip in his career in 2021.

In Anthony Slater’s piece, Paul reminisces on his time with the Thunder when asked which of his 17 NBA seasons he was proudest of:

“That year I played in Oklahoma City is something I’ll never forget,” Paul said. “That was my first year living away from my family. The relationship I got with my teammates and fans. The fans were amazing. I always hate that that season got cut short because of COVID-19. That was a big season, big summer for me, going through things I hadn’t gone through since I’d been in the league.”

All in all, I would call the one year partnership between the Thunder and Paul a success as both parties got what they wanted: Paul’s image skyrocketing back up after hitting rock bottom and the Thunder’s young guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander getting a year under the Point God’s mentorship along with being able to not only trade off Paul without giving up any draft asset — but also gained picks back from the Suns.

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Chris Paul reacts to being traded to Suns with tribute to Thunder fans

The Point God has landed in Phoenix, but he’s got plenty of love for Oklahoma City.

For his 16th season in the NBA, veteran point guard Chris Paul (who is now also a former member of the Thunder) took to Instagram to pay tribute to the fans of Oklahoma City. On Monday, Paul was traded to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for a package headlined by veteran point guard Ricky Rubio and Kelly Oubre, Jr.

For him, though, the 2019-20 season was a blast from the past.

During the 2007-08 season, Paul was a member of a New Orleans Hornets team that was displaced due to destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina. That year, the Hornets made their home in Oklahoma City, which was so successful, that it gave the NBA the confidence to believe that a team could thrive in the city. They obviously have.

About 12 years later, Paul landed in Oklahoma City, and the cyclical nature of his career wasn’t lost upon him. He capably led the franchise and helped it overachieve, so it stands to reason that his departure gave him at least a little bit of “the feels.”

Paul will now take his talents to Phoenix where he will be closer to his family in Los Angeles and pair up with Devin Booker and DeAndre Ayton. The day after the trade was announced, though, Paul let it be known that his mind was on this past season, taking to Instagram to post a tribute to the Thunder’s fans.

“OKC!!! What a full circle moment this last season was!! Genuinely grateful for your hospitality and the warm welcome from day 1. Much love to everyone in the organization, the fans, and most importantly the fellas who brought out that dog, day in and day out!! Year 15 will never be forgotten,” Paul posted.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CHted-nFum6/

The trade that landed Paul in Phoenix came just one day after the Thunder’s agreement to send Dennis Schroder to the Los Angeles Lakers was announced. The latter move, however, isn’t expected to be officially completed until after the 2020 NBA Draft, which is scheduled for Wednesday night.

One can only wonder whether Steven Adams will be next.

Looking ahead, the Thunder will welcome Ricky Rubio and Kelly Oubre, Jr. to the franchise, and looking back, Paul will carry some fond memories with him to what could end up being the final stop of his Hall-of-Fame career.

Kawhi Leonard reportedly contacted Chris Paul about rejoining Clippers

For what it’s worth, Chris Paul’s family still resides in Los Angeles. Could he be longing for a return to Tinseltown?

After a disappointing end to their season, the Los Angeles Clippers fired its head coach Doc Rivers. In seven years at the helm, Rivers brought the Clippers far — from laughingstock to title contender.

Still, with the team underachieving, it was difficult for Rivers — who was promptly hired by the Philadelphia 76ers — to remain in power.

Aside from the change in leadership on the bench, it was widely assumed that the Clippers would seek to begin the 2020-21 season as a more talented bunch, a difficult proposition considering what’s already on the roster.

That’s probably why Kawhi Leonard decided to reach out to Chris Paul about a return to the franchise that Paul called home for seven seasons before he asked for a trade to Houston.

Now, just a few years later, Paul is widely expected to be traded by the Oklahoma City Thunder. Both the Phoenix Suns and New York Knicks have been mentioned as potential landing spots, but according to ESPN’s Ryen Russillo, Leonard wants Paul back in Los Angeles. The Clippers, apparently, would welcome him back, too.

Russillo said as much on a recent episode of The Ryen Russillo podcast. The transcribed content comes courtesy of Sports Illustrated’s All Clippers.

“The Clippers are definitely interested in Chris Paul…

“Here’s something that did surprise me because it just feels like Kawhi is this distant, mythological creature that doesn’t talk with anybody. Apparently, Kawhi reached out to Chris Paul immediately and was like, ‘Hey, you should come here.’ So that part is real, the pursuit is real, the interest and the math on it from Paul’s standpoint doesn’t seem to be all that realistic.”

To Russillo’s credit, he explained how a trade of Paul back to the Clippers appears to be extremely far-fetched.

Both the Clippers and Thunder are over the cap, meaning that the salaries being exchanged between both teams would need to be roughly equal. With Paul due to earn $41 million next season, the Clippers would have to send the Thunder roughly the same amount of money for a trade between the two teams to work.

In order for that to happen, the Clippers would either have to send Kawhi Leonard or Paul George to the Thunder or a massive combination of players that would certainly have to include Lou Williams and Patrick Beverly — neither of whom would seem to fit what the Thunder are looking to get in exchange for CP3.

Russillo said as much while also reporting that the more likely scenario of Paul joining the Clippers after agreeing to a buyout from the Thunder didn’t seem plausible.

The math doesn’t really make any sense and Paul has basically told any of the teams that are interested in trading for him, ‘Hey, I don’t want you trading your player for me. I want to just come and join you,’ but that’s really hard when you’re making over $40 million a year… So Paul’s not taking any kind of buyout for Oklahoma City to then try and make up the money somewhere else because I don’t know that the buyout would make a ton of sense for anybody involved.

It should be said that the Clippers and Thunder could attempt to construct a multi-team trade with at least one team that has salary cap space. Doing so could loosen the restrictions on the Clippers’ ability to take back money in a potential deal, but even that is far fetched. Outside of Landry Shamet and Ivica Zubac, the Clippers don’t have the kinds of assets that younger rebuilding teams would covet, especially if they were to help play a role in landing Paul back in Los Angeles. Keep in mind that the Clippers traded its 2020 first-round pick to the Knicks for Marcus Morris and its own 2022, 2024 and 2026 first-round picks to the Thunder for Paul George.

Still, it’s interesting to note that the Clippers know that they need something and that Leonard is willing to play the role of recruiter — just like he did with Paul George before signing with Los Angeles last summer.

Unless Paul does reach a buyout agreement with the Thunder, though, this time, Leonard’s attempt to recruit a star to Los Angeles is likely to be in vain.