Paul might have to make things work
But Klay’s return could change everything
The Oklahoma City Thunder traded Russell Westbrook to the Rockets for Chris Paul, and the team was expected to redirect Paul to another team in a trade that would add to their already historic stockpile of draft assets. But that trade, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, doesn’t appear to be happening any time soon. Instead, the expectation is that Paul, at the very least, will start the season with the Thunder, then either find a trade midseason or next summer.
Paul and the Thunder have been met by a lukewarm market that has shown little interest in the 34-year-old point guard, who is also a nine-time All-Star. They have searched for trades, but nothing has materialized. No, the Knicks weren’t interested — neither in Paul nor Westbrook. One reason: Paul is owed $124 million over the next three years of his deal. Few teams want to surrender significant assets for a player who is on the tail end of his prime. Another reason: Paul didn’t have the greatest exit from the Los Angeles Clippers, and reports of a rift between he and James Harden in Houston preceded his trade to Oklahoma City. The Rockets brass rebuffed those rumors, but that did little to dissuade the general public.
Wojnarowski reports both Paul and the Thunder believe there are benefits to waiting for a trade. Chief among those benefits: Players who just signed free-agent contracts in July become eligible for a trade after Dec. 15. Those players, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, account for 40% of the leaguewide talent. Teams also spent more than $3.5 billion in freeagent contracts this summer, and no teams have enough cap space to absorb Paul’s $38.5 million salary into their payroll. That has effectively limited Paul’s trade market to just the Miami Heat, which can match Paul’s salary with tradeable players on the roster. The catch with Miami: it reportedly want at least one draft pick — which Oklahoma City received from the Clippers in the George trade — back in exchange for taking on Paul’s salary.
By waiting until Dec. 15 or even next summer, Paul figures to have more interested suitors who will be able to match his