Report: Thunder Would Be Interested in Trading Chris Paul to Heat
Chris Paul could be on the move again after being traded from the Rockets to Oklahoma City as part of the Russell Westbrook deal, multiple outlets are reporting.
Paul was sent to the Thunder, along with draft picks, Thursday night as part of the deal. But before OKC's All-Star guard landed in Houston, the Heat had emerged as another possible destination for Westbrook. After news of the trade broke Thursday night, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that it could now be Paul who ends up in Miami.
Houston had reportedly hoped to find a third-team destination for Paul before finalizing the deal, but the team was unable to make it happen, ultimately sending CP3 to the Thunder and leaving Paul and his agent Leon Rose to discuss next steps with Oklahoma City's general manager, Sam Presti. per Wojnarowski. Miami is rumored to still be a possibility for Paul, who has three years and $124 million remaining on his contract.
The Athletic's Sam Amick added that Rose is expected to talk to Presti "in the coming days." If Paul would like to join Jimmy Butler and the Heat, "it's clear there's a deal to be done there," per Amick. The Thunder are interested and would engage with Miami.
After trading Paul George to the Clippers and then sending Jerami Grant to the Nuggets before the Westbrook-Paul trade, Oklahoma City has 15 picks and the right to swap in four different seasons in the next seven drafts, some of which they could use to incentivize a deal for the Heat.
Paul, who began his NBA career in Oklahoma City, averaged 15.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game last season. The nine-time NBA All-Star spent the last two seasons alongside James Harden in Houston before the trade.
