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After months of rumblings underground and whispers in the press, it has finally become official. Chris Paul has been traded by the Houston Rockets to the Oklahoma City Thunder with Russell Westbrook moving the other way. The Thunder also received 2 first round draft picks and 2 first round pick swaps as well.
Paul is now widely expected to be moved on by the Thunder as well, but conflicting reports have emerged which say that Paul will stay with the Thunder for the foreseeable future and will be a part of a new-look Oklahoma City Thunder roster that now includes Danilo Gallinari and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
In the case that the Thunder do decide to move Chris Paul in any case, here are 3 moves that the Thunder should look to explore.
#3 San Antonio Spurs
The least likely destination of all the 3 teams listed here, San Antonio Spurs is a team that might make a move for a superstar like Paul, even though he seems to be on his last legs. Chris Paul and the head coach of the San Antonio Spurs, Gregg Popovich, seem like a match made in heaven too.
Both enjoy a discipline to their game and have an affinity to play one way. Paul would become a solid pick and roll player for the Spurs, fitting in well with LaMarcus Aldridge. The Spurs are a team stuck in the bottom half of the playoff standings and might look to this radical solution to help them become more competitive.
The Thunder in return get a superstar in DeMar DeRozan, who they can keep and play around or look to flip for more picks as he has a more tradable contract than Paul. They also get Patty Mills who would be an excellent addition to many playoff-bound teams looking to make a trade for his services.
San Antonio Spurs get: Chris Paul
Oklahoma City Thunder get: DeMar DeRozan and Patty Mills
#2 Minnesota Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves have been trying to snag a superstar point guard throughout the 2019 NBA free agency, only to come up short. Still, they can be one of the teams who can successfully trade for Chris Paul this off-season.
The Oklahoma City Thunder get Andrew Wiggins, the #1 draft pick from the 2014 Draft. Wiggins has not been able to reach his best with the Wolves, only becoming a good scorer and not being able to develop any other aspects of his game, even though he is built for the modern NBA. He would get the fresh start he deserves at the Thunder.
The Thunder will also get the expiring contract of Jeff Teague, which many teams will be interested in as Teague will be a valuable player come postseason and many teams will look to add him to their roster for additional depth.
The Wolves will also need to move another small contract in order to make the salaries match. Treveon Graham, whom, they acquired from Warriors, makes the most sense in this regard. Graham is a decent 3-point shooter who can knock down a shot or two coming off the bench.
The Wolves will finally be able to pair Karl Anthony-Towns with a superstar point guard in Chris Paul, whose elite passing and scoring ability, along with the way he makes everyone better around him, will help the Wolves mount a challenge in a crowded Western Conference.
Minnesota Timberwolves get: Chris Paul
Oklahoma City Thunder get: Jeff Teague, Andrew Wiggins, and Treveon Graham
#1 Miami Heat
Miami Heat seem to be in pole position to land superstar guard Chris Paul to pair him with their other superstar who they acquired during the free agency period, Jimmy Butler. The Heat are no strangers to picking up superstars and Paul should be a no brainer for them.
The Heat have been stuck in an endless loop of mediocrity for far too long and have been unable to make a dent in the Eastern Conference ever since LeBron James moved on. With Chris Paul and Jimmy Butler, they will have an elite backcourt pairing which will be key for them and will finally move things in a positive direction.
The Oklahoma City Thunder will end up getting an expiring contract of Goran Dragic, who they can flip for young players and assets as the postseason gets closer. Justice Winslow is a solid young player that showed flashes of brilliance last season and the Thunder will be hoping to develop him in a young core involving Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The Thunder will also get Dion Waiters, who can be a good role player for the Thunder, either on the starting 5 or the 2nd unit. Thunder can also trade Waiters for a young player or draft picks later on in the 2019-2020 NBA season as well.
Miami Heat get: Chris Paul
Oklahoma City Thunder get: Goran Dragic, Justice Winslow, and Dion Waiters
