Suns acquire Chris Paul from Thunder in a blockbuster deal

The Phoenix Suns have acquired point guard Chris Paul of Winston-Salem, North Carolina from the Oklahoma City Thunder in a blockbuster deal according to Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press. In the deal that was announced on Monday, the Thunder will receive Kelly Oubre Jr., Ricky Rubio, Ty Jerome, Jalen Lecque, and a first round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. The Suns also receive Abdel Nader.

Paul is the biggest name in the deal. The 35-year-old point guard still has a lot of basketball left in him. Last season with the Thunder, Paul averaged 17.6 points per game, 6.7 assists per game, five rebounds per game, a .489 field goal percentage, a .907 free throw percentage, and .365 three-point percentage.

A 10-time all-star, Paul has previously played for the Oklahoma City Hornets, New Orleans Hornets, Los Angeles Clippers, and Houston Rockets, in addition to his one season last year with the Thunder. Four times Paul has led the NBA in assists per game. In 2007-08 with the New Orleans Hornets, Paul had a career-high 11.6 assists per game. Six times Paul has led the NBA in steals per game.

The other two principal players in the deal are Oubre Jr. and Rubio who are on their way to Oklahoma City. Oubre Jr. of New Orleans, Louisiana, is now joining his third NBA franchise. In addition to playing with the Suns, the 24-year-old small forward spent four seasons with the Washington Wizards. In 2019-20 with Phoenix, Oubre Jr. averaged 18.7 points per game and 6.4 rebounds per game. He had a field goal percentage of .452, a three-point percentage of .352, and a free throw percentage of .780.

Rubio, a native of El Masnou, Spain, played his first six NBA seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves, before two seasons with the Utah Jazz, and one season in Phoenix. At 30 years of age, Rubio will be the starting point guard for the Thunder, in replace of Paul. Last season in Phoenix, Rubio averaged 13 points per game, 8.8 assists per game, and 4.7 rebounds per game. He also had a field goal percentage of .415, a three-point percentage of .361, and a field goal percentage of .863.

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From a Suns standpoint, the acquisition of Paul gives Phoenix a primary premier distributor to get the basketball to their star player, Devin Booker. Do not be surprised if center Deandre Ayton, who averaged 18.2 points per game, and 11.5 rebounds per game with the Suns in 2019-20 will also benefit by Paul’s presence.

Also in the trade, the Thunder significantly improve at the small forward position, which was a definite weakness in their lineup in 2019-20. Darius Bazley was the Thunder’s highest scoring small forward last year at 6.6 points per game.

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