Chris Paul is at the twilight of his NBA career and knows that he needs to make the most out of the time he has left in the league. But if one looks at his resume, one glaring thing missing is an NBA title. Before landing in Oklahoma City, he had several chances to do that. Unfortunately, it never came.
Regardless, the nine-time NBA All-Star likely had better chances of adding that NBA title with the Rockets. But as most know, Houston elected to trade him to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Russell Westbrook. Now, details on what went down before the trade was made official has come out in the open.
According to Rohan Nadkarni of Sports Illustrated, Paul was asked by Rockets general manager Daryl Morey if he wanted to go to Oklahoma. CP3 said no but was traded anyway. When that went down, there were rumors of him possibly being on the move again to the Miami Heat.
Opting not to decline the $44 million player option for 2021-22, a Paul move to the Heat fizzled. But as Yahoo Sports points out, even if the 34-year-old declined, there was no assurance he would still be moved by the trade deadline. From hindsight, it appears Paul opted to secure his financial future with the decision. Seeing the big money he stands to lose with time running out, standing pat on his contract seems to make plenty of sense.
Either way, Paul seems to be doing pretty well as a Thunder. Despite dealing away stars like Westbrook and Paul George, OKC is in a good position to make the NBA playoffs. Though there are questions on how deep they can go, it remains that the Thunder have managed to rebuild and stay competitive this season.
According to Basketball-Reference.com, Paul is averaging 17.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 6.4 assists. These are fairly close to his career averages even at 34. Worth noting as well is that the nine-time NBA All-Star is logging heavy minutes (31.8). The past years saw him dealing with injuries, but somehow this season, CP3 has found a way to stay healthy.
Looking ahead, it will be interesting if Paul will be moved to another NBA team. By the time his current deal ends, he would already be 36. The 4th overall pick of the 2005 NBA Draft could still land a short-term deal with OKC or any other team, likely as a backup. Aside from that, he will likely end up as a mentor to guide young players of today.
