The Oklahoma City Thunder are in trade talks with teams about Chris Paul, and one of the Los Angeles teams is a great fit for the 10-time All-Star.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps are reporting that the Thunder have had conversations with the Phoenix Suns about trading Paul. Paul is nearing the end of a Hall of Fame-caliber career but has yet to capture one thing: a ring. While the Suns would make the playoffs with Paul, there isn’t enough talent past Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton to beat teams like the star-studded and healthy Golden State Warriors in order to get to the NBA Finals. Two teams that do have enough talent to win a title are the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers, but only one of them is a great fit for Paul.
Paul doesn’t fit with the Lakers
If Paul is acquired by the Lakers, then that would mean he would be the one bringing the ball up the court, which would be taking the ball out of LeBron James’ hands. When the offense isn’t going through LeBron, it isn’t as effective. The Lakers already won a championship in 2020, so they would be making the trade more so to benefit Paul’s career than to benefit the team as a whole.
Also, it would take a lot of creativity for GM Rob Pelinka to execute a trade package to the satisfaction of the Thunder. Pelinka already traded nearly all of his young talent to the New Orleans Pelicans to get Anthony Davis so it isn’t clear if the Lakers would have enough to even get a deal done.
Paul is a fit with the Clippers
The Clippers, on the other hand, are a tremendous fit for Paul. Obviously, we know he wasn’t able to win in his first stint in Los Angeles with Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, but the Clippers might be getting a man on a mission now that Paul’s career is winding down.
First Take’s Stephen A. Smith said on Wednesday morning that Paul would “love to play for Ty Lue” and he’s maintained a good relationship with owner Steve Ballmer, so there’s an interest on Paul’s side of things. There would be no problem with Paul being the premier ball-handler because the Clippers’ two best players—Kawhi Leonard and Paul George—play off the ball the majority of the time.
Obviously, their current point guard is Patrick Beverley and while the Clippers love him very much, especially on the defensive end, Oklahoma City would likely want to get him back in a trade so they can still be contending without Paul.
While Beverley is a younger player than Paul, the whole world was able to see that Paul can still play like one of the best players in the NBA when it matters most. In the 2020 NBA Playoffs, Paul never played a game where he scored fewer than 14 points and led the Thunder to a Game 7 second-round appearance vs the Houston Rockets.
Paul would also bring a lot of leadership back to the Clippers locker room, as he is the president of the Players Association and could take some pressure off of Leonard and George in big spots.
The Lakers just won a ring and not to say they won’t be inspired to win, but they don’t have the monkey on their backs as the Clippers do. Paul–like the Clippers–is searching for his first-ever NBA championship so he will be as hungry as Lue, Ballmer, Leonard, and George will be to get it done.
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