According to Ken Berger, a Bleacher Report staffer with inside sources within the NBA, the OKC Thunder are willing to keep Chris Paul on the books one condition: he wants to be there on his own accord. While Berger doesn't list his sources, and rightly so, moles are treated like infidels in the NBA - there are some advantages to swapping Russell Westbrook for Chris Paul despite the glaring drop in quality.
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For starters, Chris Paul has one less year on his contract (than Russ), and secondly, Berger's sources also claim that should he commit himself to the OKC rebuild in lieu of joining his ring-chasing peers, ownership will compensate HEAVILY for his troubles. It's no secret amongst NBA insider: the Thunders' championship window has been standing on shaky ground for some time now, pitting the management group in a constant of existential contemplation.
To their credit, the Thunder commandeered the ship with utmost patience, unlike the management philosophy of their trading partners in Houston. Daryl Morey is the NBA's equivalent of a cat in heat, with the backing of ownership might I add! Unfortunately for Chris Paul, the way things are trending, he might not have a choice but start the season with the Thunder, given the dearth of NBA interested in taking on his sizeable contract. What a quagmire in the making!