Getty Chris Paul guarding LeBron James.
If there’s one thing Chris Paul did this season, it was that he proved a lot of people wrong. When he was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder, it looked like he was either stuck on a tanking team or he was just going to get traded at some point. However, that didn’t happen and he led the Thunder to the playoffs.
They even put up a really tough fight against the Houston Rockets in the playoffs. If it wasn’t for a disastrous end to the game, Paul could be facing off against the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round. After the game, the superstar was clearly frustrated with how the season ended. This led to O’Shea Jackson Jr., the son of Los Angeles icon Ice Cube, to suggest that perhaps Paul should don the purple and gold.
Coming to L.A. Could Be Best Chance at Winning Title
This isn’t the first time the idea of Paul playing for the Lakers has been floated around. Obviously, he was very close to getting traded to the team before former NBA Commissioner David Stern blocked the deal. Paul ended up getting sent to the other Los Angeles team and the Lakers landed Dwight Howard. NBA history would probably be very different right now if the Lakers would’ve landed Paul over Howard.
The guard proved in 2020 that he’s still got some juice left in the tank but he’s going to decline eventually. He’s 35 and has dealt with a lot of injuries throughout his career. Despite a Hall of Fame career, Paul has never won a championship. While the Thunder are a solid team, he’s not bringing Oklahoma City a title in the near future. If he’s determined to at least win one championship before he hangs it up, he should see if he can join his good friend LeBron James in Los Angeles.
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How Lakers Could Land Paul
The Thunder may have delayed the inevitable this year but they’re going to have to enter a full-on rebuild at some point. They can keep delaying it as they have Paul under contract for two more seasons. He’s shown that he’s good enough to lead this team to the playoffs and they probably don’t love the idea of letting him go.
If Paul wants to stay, he’s going to stay. However, he should really consider asking for a trade. With each passing year, he’s going to lose value and if he gets injured again, he’s not going to be worth anything. This is where the Lakers come in. They clearly want a third star and Paul would be a really strong fit on this team. LeBron, Anthony Davis and Paul would be a full-fledged big three. The Lakers are great now but there was no Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant or Kyrie Irving for most of the season. The NBA will be better next year and the Lakers will need to improve no matter what happens this season.
The Thunder shouldn’t expect a huge haul for Paul considering his age. Perhaps the Lakers can make it happen by sending them Kyle Kuzma, Talen Horton-Tucker and Danny Green to Oklahoma City. The Thunder gets some young talent and a veteran while the Lakers get a superstar towards the end of his career.
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