The Suns have had discussions about acquiring Chris Paul from the Thunder, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps (Twitter link).
Phoenix’s interest in the 35-year-old point guard is surprising, considering it already has a veteran point guard in Ricky Rubio playing alongside franchise player Devin Booker. Rubio has two years and $34.8M remaining on his contract.
Paul has a $41.4M salary on the books for next season with a $44.2M player option for the 2021/22 campaign. As ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets, Phoenix would have to cobble together at least $33.05M in outgoing salary if acting over the salary cap to make a trade happen. Rubio’s contract, plus Kelly Oubre’s $14.4M expiring contract, would put the Suns close to that figure.
In terms of draft capital this month, the Suns own the No. 10 overall selection while the Thunder sit at No. 25.
Phoenix’s apparent interest in Paul shows how badly it wants to end its long playoff drought. The Suns have gone 10 seasons without reaching the playoffs.
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