Future Hall of Fame Guard Becomes Trade Option for Bulls

Getty Chris Paul of the Phoenix Suns has been the subject of trade rumors.

Phoenix Suns point guard Chris Paul just became a very real option for the Chicago Bulls — if they want to pursue him, that is.

NBA insider Chris Haynes reported on February 5 that the Suns included the veteran point guard in a trade package for former Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving. According to Haynes, the Nets preferred the package sent by the Dallas Mavericks, so Irving went to Dallas instead.

“The Phoenix Suns — and this may surprise folks — sources have told me that they proposed a package based around Chris Paul and Jae Crowder and unspecified picks for Kyrie Irving,” Haynes said on NBA TV. “At the end of the day, the Nets felt the Mavericks had the best package.”

If Paul is available, the Bulls may want to get on the phone and see what they’d have to give up to get him.

Reports Indicate Bulls Are Trying to Compete Now

“From everything I’m told about the Bulls, their full intention and full goal right now is to keep trying to win,” NBA insider Shams Charania said on ESPN 1000’s Waddle & Silvy in a February 3 appearance. “They’re trying to be a team that’s going to compete and contend for the playoffs.”

Charania also listed guard specifically as a position Chicago was looking to acquire in the trade market. “They have been active in the marketplace trying to go get a guard out there and see, can they get some help to this group?” Charania added.

With starting point guard Lonzo Ball out indefinitely with a knee injury, second-year guard Ayo Dosunmu has taken over the point this year. Dosunmu has started 42 games for the Bulls this year and is averaging 9.7 points, 2.7 assists and 3.0 rebounds in 27.7 minutes of work.

If the Bulls were to add Paul, they’d certainly have to include the likes of Dosunmu or Coby White, who has been the subject of trade rumors of his own, in the deal. It’s likely Phoenix would want a player like Zach Lavine in the deal, as Chicago doesn’t have much draft capital to send. Still, if Phoenix wanted to add a younger, cheaper guard, this would give them that opportunity.

Chris Paul’s Contract May Be too Much for Bulls to Handle

Paul, 37, is due $28.4 million this year, per Spotrac, and he has a $15.8 million guarantee and a $30.8 million cap hit for the 2023-24 season. By contrast, the far younger White (he’s 23) is due $7.4 million this year and will become a free agent this summer unless the Bulls re-sign him. Dosunmu is cheaper yet, making $1.5 million on the second year of his rookie deal.

If the Bulls wanted to make a splash addition, adding a future Hall of Fame player like CP3 would do it. They’d have to give up younger players on cheaper deals or one of their Big 3, though, and that is far from ideal.

Paul has started 34 games for the Suns this season and is averaging 13.8 points, 8.6 assists and 4.4 rebounds in 31.8 minutes per game. His ability to create is still excellent. He led the NBA in assists last season (stats courtesy of Basketball Reference), something he has done five times.

The 12-time All-Star has also been an NBA All-Defensive First Team selection seven times, but an NBA championship has eluded him. Pairing him with the likes of Demar DeRozan and Nikola Vučević — and potentially LaVine — would be intriguing to say the least. We’ll see what the Bulls do before the trade deadline on February 3.