OKC Thunder: Pros and cons to a Chris Paul trade
By Josh Wilson
Pro to OKC Thunder trading Chris Paul: Plenty of suitors to trade with
A major pro for the Thunder in trading Chris Paul this offseason is that there are a wide variety of teams who could be interested. Virtually every team in the league would certainly love the idea of CP3 on their roster if their books permitted it, but even among the teams that can feasibly make it happen, there are a bunch who will be interested.
The Bucks and Sixers should be at least inquiring, and the Knicks and Bulls should be actively pursuing such a trade. I ranked those four trade partners for the Thunder here.
Gallinari Tweet hints at future with franchise. light. Player movement
More teams looking to acquire Paul’s services naturally boosts the value of what the Thunder could get. The bidding war will be rolling this summer, and that could mean more picks added to the winning organization for Sam Presti and the Thunder to add to their chest.
The wide variety of suitors and interested teams also gives the Thunder plenty of versatility in the direction they go. They could acquire some players that help them remain a playoff team right off the bat, even in Paul’s departure. They could acquire young players that could join Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as the young core of the team. They could get a mixture of the two.
Any trade is likely to have some draft picks involved, too. Flexibility and options are almost never a bad thing. At the end of the day, if the offers on the table aren’t good, they could always just keep Paul.