Chris Paul playing well is a win-win for everyone involved.
If Paul plays well, the odds of the Thunder winning games go up.
If Paul plays well and the Thunder win games, it also means that his trade value increases, which, according to Adrian Wojnarowski (most recently) and just about every other NBA analyst, is ultimately what Oklahoma City wants.
Wojnarowski talked about the Thunder’s plan for Paul with Zach Lowe on the latest episode of the Lowe Post podcast.
Woj pointed out that Paul is going to have to play really well “for someone to want to take on three years and $120 million”, adding that getting someone to pay Paul $44 million in the final year of his contract “is a really hard sell”.
“When Oklahoma City got him this summer, their plan was to try to flip him somewhere else,” said Wojnarowski. “They hoped Miami would be willing to talk about a deal and that never got anywhere. But maybe the Heat get off to a bad start. Maybe they look at this again. And other teams.”
If Paul does get off to a good start in 2019-20, Wojnarowski believes it will help get back some of Paul’s value. “He does still have value in the league,” said Woj, “just not at those numbers”.
There have been reports, recently by The Athletic’s Shams Charania, that the Heat are still interested in a trade for Paul at some point this season. The question remains if, and subsequently, when, Miami would be ready to pull the trigger.
Wojnarowski and Lowe also talked about a potential bidding war for Kyle Lowry and how it could impact the market for Paul.
Paul has scored six points in each of the Thunder’s first two preseason games. Paul has seen limited time as Billy Donovan has admitted to “managing his minutes”.
He played 21 minutes in Oklahoma City’s 110-84 win over the New Zealand Breakers Thursday and just 17 minutes in a win over Dallas on Tuesday.
