OKC Thunder: Pros and cons to a Chris Paul trade

Con to OKC Thunder trading Chris Paul: Probably won’t get equal impact players right back

This is a mild con, but a con nonetheless. Chris Paul is a great player, and one of the best point guards of this generation of NBA stars. Even in his mid-30s, he was still able to put up a respectable stat line, push his team to the playoffs, and make an All-Star team this past season.

Cut and dry, you aren’t going to get equal value for Paul in the trade market in the form of immediate players. You may get a solid haul of players, draft picks, and cap space, but the fruits of such a trade are not going to be an immediate 1-for-1. It could take years to properly assess the success or failure of the trade based on who the Thunder draft with the picks they acquire.

And those picks, of course, could simply not pan out. Such is the risk with any draft pick in any year.

Ultimately, it’s a bullet you probably bite if you’re Presti. Paul’s impact on the Thunder in his lone season with the franchise has been huge. His impact on the community — both as a Hornet when the New Orleans franchise played in OKC due to relocation from Hurricane Katrina, and as a Thunder player — can not be overstated. But at this point, trading Paul is probably the right thing in spite of the fact that it’s going to launch the Thunder right into a rebuild.