NBA Trade Rumors: The Oklahoma City Thunder could trade Chris Paul for John Wall

What's the rumor?

After offloading Paul George, Russell Westbrook, and Jerami Grant during a summer of change, the Oklahoma City Thunder are currently focused on offloading their remaining high earners. Among them is Chris Paul, and ESPN's Zach Buckley says that swapping the veteran for John Wall is an option:

John Wall might not play at all this season after undergoing February surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles. OKC could live with that absence since it would clear the runway for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to take flight and build off his All-Rookie second-team debut.

In case you didn't know...

Paul only joined the Thunder earlier this summer as part of the blockbuster trade for Westbrook, although the team wants to move in a younger direction, and CP3 offers them little value for his huge salary. Meanwhile, Wall is expected to miss the entire 2019-20 season through injury, although reports have suggested that the Wizards are desperate to offload the 29-year-old as he is owed more than $170 million over the next four seasons.

The heart of the matter

While swapping Wall for Paul initially sounds far fetched, a deal makes plenty of sense for both teams. On OKC's side of things, they would land a much younger guard who could still return to All-Star form upon his return for injury.

Meanwhile, the Wizards would be getting a healthy star that could help convince Bradley Beal to sign a new long-term deal with the franchise. Ultimately, both teams would improve with this trade, although the Thunder may look elsewhere before committing to take on Wall's contract.

What's next?

Chris Paul and the Thunder will begin their season with a road contest against the Utah Jazz on October 23rd, before hosting the Washington Wizards two days later.