Oklahoma City Thunder: 5 players OKC should trade next

Chris Paul, PG

Since being traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Russell Westbrook in mid-July the prevailing thought has been that Chris Paul won’t play a game for the Thunder.

With nearly 40 percent of the players in the NBA ineligible to be traded until Dec 15 (league rules restrict teams from trading newly signed free agents) both the Thunder and Paul have had to switch gears on that front.

While it now seems that Paul may very well suit up in an Oklahoma City jersey, he most likely will not end his contract with the Thunder.

Thunder general manager Sam Presti traded Westbrook to the Houston Rockets as a final sign of good faith. By all accounts and reports Westbrook preferred to re-join his old teammate, James Harden, and Presti wanted to do right by his 11-year franchise point guard.

Collecting two first-round picks and two future pick swaps compensated Presti and the Thunder. Chris Paul provided the salary matching needed to make the deal happen.

It seems pretty straight forward that neither the Thunder nor Paul want the current pairing to be anything close to permanent.

Paul, at 34 years old, most likely wants to play for a contended and take one more shot at a title while Oklahoma City wants to eventually hand the keys over to second-year point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

The big question isn’t if the Thunder want to trade Paul, but rather if they are able to do so without surrendering some of the assets they’ve recently acquired. While he is still a productive player and floor general, Paul’s $124 million owed to him over the next three seasons is a major hurdle.

It seems reasonable that most teams are hesitant to pay a 37-year-old point guard $44.2 million in the final year of his deal.

While the fit isn’t ideal Oklahoma City will proceed forward with Paul. Multiple opportunities for trades will arise for the guard, starting on Dec 15 when trade restrictions are lifted off majority of NBA players.