Chris Paul and OKC are done. The news broke Monday afternoon that Paul would be traded to the Phoenix Suns for Ricky Rubio, Kelly Oubre, Ty Jerome, Jalen Lecque as well as a 2022 first-round pick. Abdel Nader will be joining Paul in Phoenix as part of the deal. There were rumblings almost as soon as Paul landed in OKC that he would be on the way out as soon as he could. Adrian Wojnarowski broke the initial trade deal.
The Phoenix Suns are finalizing a deal to acquire Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star guard Chris Paul, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 16, 2020
The deal adds more young talent to an OKC franchise that has completely transformed over the last five years. They also add another first-round pick to their cupboard. Devin Booker finally gets another star player by his side. DeAndre Ayton is going to be quite dangerous in the pick and roll now too. Expectations for the Suns haven’t been this high in over a decade.
The first-round pick that Phoenix is sending to the Thunder was broken down by Shams Charania of The Athletic/Stadium. That pick will be protected 1-12 in 2022, then the following year at 1-10, the next year at 1-8, and then unprotected by 2025. OKC now controls 16 first-round picks from now until 2026. The value in their draft picks cannot be overstated.
The Suns have finally found a way to bring a future Hall-of-Fame point guard to pair with Booker while Ayton is on his rookie contract. That’s a win for a franchise that has tried the young rebuild and almost seemed to get it together a couple of times. As for the Thunder they control their own destiny. Endless picks and young talent. Oklahoma City may not be done trading yet.
