3 Most Likely Trade Destinations for Chris Paul After Trade to Oklahoma City Thunder

David Kaestle
Golden State Warriors v Houston Rockets - Game Three
Golden State Warriors v Houston Rockets - Game Three /
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On Thursday night, Chris Paul was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder, along with a couple of draft picks, in exchange for Russell Westbrook. Since the trade went down, there have already been rumors that the Thunder are looking to trade Paul.

With OKC gearing up for a full rebuild and Paul in the last chapter of his career, you have to imagine there is mutual interest in finding a new home for the future Hall-of-Fame point guard.

With that in mind, let's take a look at three teams that could make a deal for Paul.

3. Minnesota Timberwolves

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

If the Thunder's main goal is to simply dump Paul's contract, then gaining any substantial assets in return would be major icing on the cake for OKC. That's what makes Minnesota a viable option. A deal built around Jeff Teague's expiring contract and some other younger role players or throw-ins could make sense. Minnesota gets a veteran point guard to help Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns possibly take the next step and OKC dumps Paul's salary, which will be off the books next summer.

2. Detroit Pistons

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Although Paul and Blake Griffin reportedly didn't have the best relationship during their tenures with the Los Angeles Clippers, maybe, after some time apart, the Motor City could be Lob City 2.0. The Pistons could build a deal around Reggie Jackson's expiring contract and bring in another big-name that their owner has been longing for. The current Pistons' roster isn't a contender and Detroit isn't exactly a free agent destination, so getting Paul could be the team's best option to move in a positive direction.

1. Miami Heat

Michael Reaves/Getty Images

The Miami Heat, after missing out on Russell Westbrook, have immediately been tossed to the forefront of teams rumored to be interested in acquiring Paul. The Heat are in a pretty tight cap situation and probably aren't interested in trading any young assets for the aging point guard, so a third or fourth team might need to get involved in order to swing a deal. Miami could start by shipping out Goran Dragic's expiring contract and build the deal out from there. You have to imagine Paul would be open to teaming up with Jimmy Butler in Miami, both for the location and the talent, compared to the other teams he could potentially be traded to.


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David Kaestle is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, David also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username davekaestle. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

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