Chris Paul linked to two playoff teams in trade rumors

Chris Paul may be getting a life vest thrown his way from a interesting Western Conference team (or two).

The exiled Los Angeles Clippers guard Paul is drawing trade interest from two playoff teams out West — the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Houston Rockets. Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints reported on Thursday that both teams are rumored to have a level of interest in trading for Paul.

Paul, the 12-time NBA All-Star, has played his final game for the Clippers after being sent home by the team earlier this month. After Paul’s banishment, rumors broke claiming that the 40-year-old point guard had clashed with both Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue and also Clippers lead assistant Jeff Van Gundy.

As for Paul’s aforementioned suitors, the Timberwolves (currently sixth in the West at 15-9) make sense as a point guard-needy team. 38-year-old Mike Conley Jr. and natural wing Donte DiVincenzo are currently their only rotation options at the position, and Minnesota was also recently linked to a potential trade for a bigger star point guard.

Meanwhile, the Rockets (third in the West at 15-6) are an even more fitting destination for Paul. They lost starting point guard Fred VanVleet to a torn ACL before the season began, and they notably employed Paul from 2017-19 (with three playoff series victories during those two years with Paul). Though the regime in Houston is almost completely different now, Paul has a number of former teammates (USA Basketball or NBA) on the Rockets, including Kevin Durant, Steven Adams, Josh Okogie, and Jeff Green.

Paul, who is on a one-year expiring contract at $3.6 million, officially becomes trade-eligible on Dec. 15. This is set to be his last career season in the NBA, and he may have a opportunity for a proper send-off from one of the above-mentioned teams.