Spurs star Victor Wembanyama's recent shelving due to deep vein thrombosis is a news break that could result in widespread ripple effects across the league. For San Antonio, it's likely the death knell for their 2025 playoff pursuits. To fringe Play-In Tournament teams it may bring more hope of a postseason berth. And, for the OKC Thunder, it could theoretically lead to a key talent upgrade.
During a recent episode of The Game Theory Podcast, host Sam Vecenie spoke in depth about Wembanyama's devastating health report and highlighted that the main hope and focus about this whole situation should be a speedy and full recovery for the French phenom.
However, when delving into the impacts the 21-year-old's shutdown could have on the state of the 12-seeded Spurs, Vecenie believes the franchise could now consider leaning into a tank mentality during their final 29 games of the season to try and net a high-end lottery pick come this summer's draft.
In his eyes, this shift could wind up resulting in San Antonio parting ways with some of their win-now veterans before March 1, the deadline by which waived players can still be eligible for playoff action. Should this happen, Chris Paul is certainly a candidate to be on the chopping block, and, to Vecenie, an ideal landing spot for his services could very well be the Thunder.
Wembanyama injury could result in Chris Paul reuniting with Thunder
"You know where he'd make a lot of sense? Right up the road in Oklahoma City as their second ball handler... I think it's a smart move for everybody involved. Go get Chris Paul a ring potentially and the Spurs don't need him now," Vecenie said.
Since the departure of Josh Giddey this summer via the trade that landed them Alex Caruso, the Thunder have been somewhat void of trusty ball handlers and offensive creators outside of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
How much has OKC's lack of options impacted their on-court production, you may ask?
With Gilgeous-Alexander on the floor, the ball club puts up a sensational 123.1 points per 100 possessions and boasts an offensive rating of 121.5. When off the floor, however, Oklahoma City plummets to just 109.5 points and an offensive rating of 105.2.
These struggles are precisely why many believed the Thunder should have considered pursuing more backcourt help ahead of this year's trade deadline. Considering they're still as present as ever, the buyout market could provide Sam Presti and company another opportunity to address this rotational weakness, and, as Vecenie correctly suggested, Paul could be an ideal option.
While he may no longer be the All-Star "Point God" that he was during his prime and even in his one-and-done stint in the Sooner State back in 2019-20, the veteran still provides reliable distribution and shot-creation skills that would be of great value to this Oklahoma City squad.
Through 53 games played in 2024-25, Paul is posting solid per-game averages of 9.2 points, 8.2 assists (seventh in the league), 4.0 rebounds, and 1.4 steals while shooting 35.9 percent from distance.
On top of this, the Spurs are posting 116.9 points per 100 possessions and register in with a 115.1 offensive rating with him on the court compared to 107.7 points and a 104.6 offensive rating with him off, thus further showing the impact the 39-year-old can still have on a team.
Considering his familiarity with this Thunder organization coupled with his historically elite offensive initiation skills, there may not be a more ideal player to help solve Oklahoma City's backup ball handler conundrum than Chris Paul.
For both OKC and the veteran point guard's desires to finally win an NBA Championship, a reunion should be strongly considered to help boost their odds.