OKC Thunder: Pros and cons to a Chris Paul trade

Chris Paul, OKC Thunder (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
Chris Paul, OKC Thunder (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /
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OKC Thunder General Manager Sam Presti speaks to media at preseason media (Photo by Zach Beeker/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Pro to OKC Thunder trading Chris Paul: Free up salary cap for future

One of the primary and most obvious immediate benefits of trading Chris Paul away is you could effectively free up plenty of future cap space if the deal is done right.

The Thunder have $107 million on the books next season, $41.3 million of that locked up in Paul. In 2021-22, the Thunder have $57 million on the books, $44.2 million going to Paul assuming he picks up his player option (which he most likely will).

If you can work out a trade for an expiring player where the salaries match, the Thunder could feasibly (before this year’s offseason moves) be looking at a future where they have one of the most wide-open books in the league.

More money to spend does not necessarily equate to a high-level of free-agent talent coming to your roster, but it makes it easier for it to happen. And for a small market team like the Thunder, more room to work with under the salary cap is a huge upper-hand coming out of a pandemic.