The first major Jersey change of this truncated NBA offseason transpired Monday as the Oklahoma City Thunder sent star point guard Chris Paul to the Phoenix Suns.
The Athletic and Stadium’s Shams Charania provided additional details of the transaction:
The move seemingly symbols the beginning of a full-on rebuild in Oklahoma City.
For Paul this will be the third franchise he will suit up for in the past three seasons. After being traded to the Thunder last year, it was thought that his time there would be little more than a layover portion of a journey, that through trade or buyout , whose ultimate destination was a contender. However Paul put together a fine season, averaging 17.6 points, 6.7 assists and 5.0 rebounds, making his 10th All-Star game and made his ninth All-NBA team. His exploits helped the Thunder become an out-of-nowhere 5-seed in the West who gave the Rockets all they wanted in the playoffs.
He joins a Suns team, that outside of their bubble play, has been bereft of any success and has not seen the postseason in ten seasons. Hopefully the $85.6 million ( $41.4 million in 2020-21 and a $44.2 million player option in 21-22 that he will certainly opt-in on) that he is owed over the next two seasons will be worth it.
