Phoenix Rising: Chris Paul to the Suns
Why Chris Paul Makes the Suns a Playoff Team Next Season
The NBA offseason is finally here and the Thunder, as they’re always wont to do, have already made some massive moves that will send ripple effects through the rest of the NBA. Over the weekend, Oklahoma City sent Dennis Schroder to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for their first round pick. Then, on Monday morning, they sent away Chris Paul in a blockbuster trade with the Suns. Phoenix will acquire CP3 and Abdel Nader and will send Kelly Oubre, Ricky Rubio, Ty Jerome, Jalen Lecque, and a 2022 first-round pick.
After playing just 58 games in each of his two seasons in Houston, Chris Paul had been written off by many in the NBA world. He wasn’t exactly a desirable trade asset - a 35-year-old point guard coming off the worst season of his career with an average annual salary of just under $40 million. However, that all changed last season in Oklahoma City. A Thunder team that nobody expected to succeed finished as the #5 seed in the uber-competitive Western Conference. CP3 had a resurgent season as he finished as an All-Star for the first time since the 2015-16 season and finished with the 9th-most win shares in the NBA.
Oklahoma City is playing the long game. Their playoff run was exhilarating for their fans, but the plan was never to build around Chris Paul. By making this trade with the Suns, they’ve now acquired three future first-round picks and two pick swaps from their initial trade with the Rockets for Russell Westbrook. The Thunder now have more future draft assets than any other team in the NBA and are perfectly set up to draft and develop their next franchise star or make a blockbuster trade for one if he becomes available. Sam Presti deserves a ton of credit for transforming the Thunder from an aging team restricted to first-round playoff exits into a franchise built for the long-run with more assets than anyone in basketball.
The Suns, meanwhile, have had an incredible few months. Their 8-0 run in the bubble almost earned the team its first playoff appearance since the 2009-10 season and undoubtedly provides long-term momentum for what has been a downtrodden franchise. New head coach Monty Williams instilled a culture of hard work and grit in his first season and coaxed better results out of this club than any of their past several coaches were able to. For the first time in a long time, the rudderless Suns have direction and purpose.
Devin Booker made his first All-Star game with some career-best numbers and dazzled all season long. In the Orlando bubble, he led his team to an 8-0 record and should have won the bubble MVP as he averaged 30.5 points and 6 assists per game. Since coming into the NBA, Booker has played alongside a ragtag cast of point guards in Brandon Knight, Eric Bledsoe, Tyler Ulis, Isaiah Canaan, Mike James, Shaquille Harrison, De’Anthony Melton, Elie Okobo, and Jawun Evans. Last season, in his first year with a real point guard in Ricky Rubio, Booker put together the most efficient season of his career. He should only grow and improve alongside such a leader as Chris Paul.
CP3 is going to invigorate a roster full of young players. Paul has always helped coax career numbers out of big men - think DeAndre Jordan on the Lob City Clippers - and he should help third-year center DeAndre Ayton finally reach his potential as a rim-running, athletic lob threat and low-post scorer. Mikal Bridges is evolving into a premier 3-and-D wing and his efficiency should skyrocket next to a willing passer and cerebral floor general in Paul. Cam Johnson proved everyone who criticized the Suns for drafting him wrong as he shot 39% from 3 as a rookie - his shooting and two-way impact will be huge for this team moving forward.
The Suns haven’t landed a big fish in free agency seemingly in decades, and the acquisition of Chris Paul seemed impossible a few years ago. However, momentum is a powerful thing in the NBA and Phoenix is undoubtedly headed in the right direction. The Western Conference is going to be a bloodbath and the Suns will have to navigate a Pacific Division featuring the defending champion Lakers, former champion Warriors who return Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, and the Clippers who bring back Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. However, something big is happening in the Valley of the Sun and after years of lousy squads and depressing season results, Phoenix is finally rising.
