The offseason trade which saw Houston Rockets send Chris Paul to Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Russell Westbrook surprised many people, but apparently, Paul himself was the one who at least expected it. In a recent interview with The Undefeated’s Marc J. Spears, Paul admitted that he “was shocked” when he learned he was swapping Houston for OKC.

According to Paul, the biggest reason for the surprise was that he talked with Rockets’ general manager Daryl Morey before the trade, and was told he wasn’t going to Oklahoma.

“I was shocked.” – said Paul. “Truth be told, I just talked to Daryl [Morey] a couple days before the trade and he said he wasn’t going to trade me [to Oklahoma City]. That’s funny because that is going to be the alert that pops up on everybody’s phone because nobody knows that. But what the hell, I just said it.”

Still, despite being caught off guard and send to a non-contender, Chris Paul doesn’t hold grudges towards Houston. He is just happy to play basketball.

“The way my mind is, as long as we’re on the court we have a chance to win. That’s the way I’ve always been. That’s the way I always will be. I’m just grateful to be hooping. … It could be a lot worse.” – he added.

According to the sources around the league, Morey was hoping a third team will join in Rockets and Thunder in a trade, which would help Paul land on a team of his preference. This, however, didn’t materialize and the 34-year-old guard ended up starting the season in OKC’s jersey.

Paul has played 20 games with Thunder this season and is currently averaging 15.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 1.6 steals.

The post Chris Paul Says He “Was Shocked” After Learning About OKC Trade appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Although Chris Paul started the 2019/20 NBA season with Oklahoma City Thunder, no one really expects him to finish it there. Paul is a veteran interested in competing for the title, while Thunder are a rebuilding team that are far from contention.

Now, Thunder has always intended to deal Paul since acquiring him from Houston Rockets in a trade that sent Russell Westbrook in the opposite direction. For a longtime, Miami Heat seemed like the most likely option, but it seems like the veteran point guard has other plans.

According to The Ringer‘s Ryen Russillo, Paul would like to join the reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and play for the Milwaukee Bucks.

“I had heard he wanted to go to Milwaukee,” – Russillo told Adrian Wojnarowski during his appearance on The Woj Pod. “Of course you’d want to go play with Giannis.”

While you can’t blame Chris Paul for wanting to go and play for the talented Milwaukee team, it’s highly unlikely that Bucks would be interested in bringing in a veteran player on such a big contract. Paul will earn $38.5 million this season, and is scheduled to make $41.3 million next year while also having a player option for $44.2 million in 2021-22.

Considering the fact that Bucks decided to let Malcolm Brogdon go instead of giving him a max and entering the luxury tax makes the possibility of them taking on Paul’s giant deal very slim.

In the meantime, Paul is with the OKC, where he will try to show that he can still play quality basketball even at age 34. In the four games he played with Thunder this season, Paul averaged 13.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.0 steals.

The post Chris Paul Reportedly Wants to Play For the Bucks appeared first on SportzBonanza.

It seems like point guard Chris Paul is staying with the Oklahoma City Thunder for the time being. Although Thunder explored trade options for Paul in the recent days, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the 34-year-old will start the season with OKC after all.

After Thunder acquire Paul in a trade that sent All-Star Russell Westbrook to Houston  Rockets, the organization began working with the player and his representatives in order to find a suitable trade for both sides. However, as the most NBA teams lost flexibility due to free agency deals, getting the deal done became highly unlikely.

Considering these circumstances, both Chris Paul and Oklahoma City agreed that it would be better to wait until December 15th when NBA teams can trade players they’ve signed this offseason. Another problem the Thunder faced during the talks was that Paul’s big contract which pays him $124 million in the next three years.

It is also possible that Paul plays out 2019/20 NBA season with the Thunder as the organization believes he could provide valuable mentorship to their young guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Paul played 58 games with the Rockets this past season, averaging 15.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 8.2 assists, and 2.0 steals per game.

The post Thunder Unlikely to Trade Chris Paul Before the Start of the Season appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The offseason trade which saw Houston Rockets send Chris Paul to Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Russell Westbrook surprised many people, but apparently, Paul himself was the one who at least expected it. In a recent interview with The Undefeated’s Marc J. Spears, Paul admitted that he “was shocked” when he learned he was swapping Houston for OKC.

According to Paul, the biggest reason for the surprise was that he talked with Rockets’ general manager Daryl Morey before the trade, and was told he wasn’t going to Oklahoma.

“I was shocked.” – said Paul. “Truth be told, I just talked to Daryl [Morey] a couple days before the trade and he said he wasn’t going to trade me [to Oklahoma City]. That’s funny because that is going to be the alert that pops up on everybody’s phone because nobody knows that. But what the hell, I just said it.”

Still, despite being caught off guard and send to a non-contender, Chris Paul doesn’t hold grudges towards Houston. He is just happy to play basketball.

“The way my mind is, as long as we’re on the court we have a chance to win. That’s the way I’ve always been. That’s the way I always will be. I’m just grateful to be hooping. … It could be a lot worse.” – he added.

According to the sources around the league, Morey was hoping a third team will join in Rockets and Thunder in a trade, which would help Paul land on a team of his preference. This, however, didn’t materialize and the 34-year-old guard ended up starting the season in OKC’s jersey.

Paul has played 20 games with Thunder this season and is currently averaging 15.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 1.6 steals.

The post Chris Paul Says He “Was Shocked” After Learning About OKC Trade appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Although Chris Paul started the 2019/20 NBA season with Oklahoma City Thunder, no one really expects him to finish it there. Paul is a veteran interested in competing for the title, while Thunder are a rebuilding team that are far from contention.

Now, Thunder has always intended to deal Paul since acquiring him from Houston Rockets in a trade that sent Russell Westbrook in the opposite direction. For a longtime, Miami Heat seemed like the most likely option, but it seems like the veteran point guard has other plans.

According to The Ringer‘s Ryen Russillo, Paul would like to join the reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and play for the Milwaukee Bucks.

“I had heard he wanted to go to Milwaukee,” – Russillo told Adrian Wojnarowski during his appearance on The Woj Pod. “Of course you’d want to go play with Giannis.”

While you can’t blame Chris Paul for wanting to go and play for the talented Milwaukee team, it’s highly unlikely that Bucks would be interested in bringing in a veteran player on such a big contract. Paul will earn $38.5 million this season, and is scheduled to make $41.3 million next year while also having a player option for $44.2 million in 2021-22.

Considering the fact that Bucks decided to let Malcolm Brogdon go instead of giving him a max and entering the luxury tax makes the possibility of them taking on Paul’s giant deal very slim.

In the meantime, Paul is with the OKC, where he will try to show that he can still play quality basketball even at age 34. In the four games he played with Thunder this season, Paul averaged 13.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.0 steals.

The post Chris Paul Reportedly Wants to Play For the Bucks appeared first on SportzBonanza.

It seems like point guard Chris Paul is staying with the Oklahoma City Thunder for the time being. Although Thunder explored trade options for Paul in the recent days, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the 34-year-old will start the season with OKC after all.

After Thunder acquire Paul in a trade that sent All-Star Russell Westbrook to Houston  Rockets, the organization began working with the player and his representatives in order to find a suitable trade for both sides. However, as the most NBA teams lost flexibility due to free agency deals, getting the deal done became highly unlikely.

Considering these circumstances, both Chris Paul and Oklahoma City agreed that it would be better to wait until December 15th when NBA teams can trade players they’ve signed this offseason. Another problem the Thunder faced during the talks was that Paul’s big contract which pays him $124 million in the next three years.

It is also possible that Paul plays out 2019/20 NBA season with the Thunder as the organization believes he could provide valuable mentorship to their young guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Paul played 58 games with the Rockets this past season, averaging 15.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 8.2 assists, and 2.0 steals per game.

The post Thunder Unlikely to Trade Chris Paul Before the Start of the Season appeared first on SportzBonanza.