The original plan when bringing in Chris Paul was to try and trade him immediately.
When that didn’t pan out the way that Oklahoma City intended, plan B was to hold on to him and hope that he would get off to a stellar start while teams that could be in need of CP3’s service were somewhat sluggish and would need him to help push for a postseason run.
With the way things have shaken out across the NBA over the first month of the season, the trade market for Paul looks exceptionally dry.
But there are still teams were a deal could be mutually beneficial. One of those potential landing spots: the Bucks.
Here’s why a trade between Milwaukee and the Thunder makes sense:
As noted by Brian Sampson of Forbes, from the Bucks perspective, trading Paul for Eric Bledsoe is an upgrade at the position.
“The fit would be pretty good. Despite his advanced age, Paul would stabilize the point guard position. It’s a coin flip to decide who’s better, but he doesn’t go through the extreme highs and lows Bledsoe does.”
Sampson points out that Paul could play alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo since “he showed in Houston he can play second fiddle when necessary”.
So what would Oklahoma City get out of the deal?
Bledsoe, a guard that’s in his 12th year in the league, brings a veteran presence. He’s four years younger than Paul, as so far this season, his numbers are fairly comparable.
Through 12 games, Bledsoe is averaging 15.3 points, 5.6 assists, and 5.1 rebounds in 27.1 minutes per game. He’s also shooting 46.7% from the floor.
The biggest thing that OKC would get, however, is the freeing up of their salary cap space.
JB Baruelo of Inquisitr adds that trading Paul for Bledsoe would allow the Thunder to move some of their younger talent, like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, into the forefront, “focusing on their development”.
The biggest snag in this potential deal would be if Bledsoe alone would be enough for the Thunder to move CP3. Considering everything Oklahoma City had to give up, it wouldn’t be shocking if Sam Presti wanted more than a single player to offset the experience and guidance that Chris Paul provides.
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