Oklahoma City has a point guard problem.
Not in the way that they don’t have a good one. The Thunder have a different problem – they have too many.
Usually having an influx of talent on an NBA roster is a good problem to have. But for Oklahoma City, having four point guards on the depth chart heading into the 2019-20 season could present some potential issues.
The point guard pileup begins with recently acquired Chris Paul. Paul is an NBA veteran, and despite being 34, still looks like a starting-caliber point guard. With career averages of 18.5 points, 9.7 assists and 2.2 steals, it’s reasonable to believe he will be just that when the season begins in October.
Nick Crain, who covers the Thunder for Forbes, believes that Paul won’t be around for long, especially considering the fact that Oklahoma City has already looked to offload the nine-time NBA All-Star prior to the start of the season.
With a high probability of Chris Paul being traded during the course of the 2019-20 season, more minutes should open up for others. In fact, if both Paul and (Dennis) Schroder are traded next season, Thunder fans should not be surprised.
The player that would benefit most from the Thunder trading away Chris Paul would be Shai-Gilgeous Alexander, who Crain calls the “future face of the franchise”.
At 6-foot-6 with a 6-foot-11 wingspan, Gilgeous-Alexander has the tools to be an elite NBA player on both ends of the floor.
Gilgeous-Alexander made the 2018-19 Second Team All-Rookie averaging 10.8 points, 3.3 assists, and 1.2 steals while starting 73 games.
The Thunder also will likely look to bring along guard Devon Hall, who they signed to a two-way contract earlier this month.
