When the Oklahoma City Thunder acquired veteran point guard Chris Paul this past summer, many expected that he would soon be moving on to join a title contender. However, the NBA's trade deadline is quickly approaching, and CP3 is still running the point for OKC.
During an ESPN "Trade Season Special" with ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe, Woj explained that there's "no belief" OKC will look to deal Paul before the February deadline.
Says Wojnarowski (H/T CBS Sports):
"There is no belief in Oklahoma City or even the CP3 camp that there's going to be a trade for him. After the season, another year off that giant contract? Maybe. He's played well for them. Forty million dollars plus, they're resigned that he'll be there."
The nine-time All-Star is in the middle of a four-year, $160 million deal that will pay him $38M this season, $41.3M in 2020-21 and $44.2M in the season after that, when Paul will be 36. Needless to say, that contract isn't exactly appealing to any teams that may be interested in adding the veteran point guard to their roster.
In 25 games with the Thunder this season, Paul is averaging 15.6 points, 6.3 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game. OKC is 11-14 thus far, which is currently good enough for eighth in the Western Conference.
