First reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Chris Paul is being traded to the Phoenix Suns by the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for a package of players and a first-round pick.
Along with Paul, the Suns will receive Abdel Nader, and send Kelly Oubre Jr., Ricky Rubio, Ty Jerome, Jalen Lecque and a 2022 first-round pick to the Thunder.
In Paul, the Suns get a veteran leader to pair with their young core of Deandre Ayton and Devin Booker, a mixture that Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer thinks will work out very well for Phoenix.
“Chris Paul will do wonders for Deandre Ayton as the best P&R playmaker of his career,” O’Connor wrote on Twitter. “We’re about to witness the best version of Devin Booker with the easy shots CP3 can create for him as a cutter and shooter. With a strong supporting cast, the Suns will be really, really good.”
While it may not make them better in the short-term, the move also seems to make sense for the rebuilding Thunder.
In his lone season in OKC, Paul averaged 17.6 points, 6.7 assists and five rebounds in 31.5 minutes per game while leading the Thunder to the fifth seed in the Western Conference. He also made the All-Star team for the first time in four years.
The 35-year-old is owed $41.4 million this coming season and $44.2 million in 2021-22.
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