Windhorst: Phoenix Suns have had discussions about acquiring Chris Paul

[JimmyPlopper]

Take on me...... Take meeeeee onnnnnnn *singing to Rubio and the Suns*....

But what about Rubio to the Knicks?

Thibs, forget about it.

That's a good point. I wonder if Westbrook went to the Knicks, Paul to the Suns, and Rubio to the Clippers

[ThunderBolt]

Just... no.

Paul's contract, no matter what he might bring as a player despite his highly advanced age, is a dealbreaker and it just isn't worth it over Rubio AND Oubre seeing that's what it would cost to acquire him. Rubio is an actual distributor and looks to do that first; Paul, while a solid distributor, is primarily looking to score and we don't need any more of that.

This tells me you haven’t watched Chris Paul. The guy was our best player and fourth in usage on the team.

[Ballerhogger]

Why would suns want to his contract he doesn’t get them to the playoffs.

[Slava]

Why would suns want to his contract he doesn’t get them to the playoffs.

I think he does, not knowing how Klay comes back, Booker and Paul would become the best backcourt in the league if not the second best. Suns have some other nice pieces on top of it with Ayton, Bridges, the #10 pick, Saric, Baynes and Okobo. They could be the OKC of this season and if I were the Phoenix GM, I'd try to find a way to get in on Gallo too while I'm on the phone.

[Brofessor24]

LOL at Suns fans who are complaining about this!

The Suns clearly need more help, and CP3 will help the team in a big way.

Don't be delusional.

[Brofessor24]

Damn what did Rubio do wrong

Not be Chris Paul

Seems like a big time risk even if the fit works. They are going to get Paul for one or maybe two years so what’s the end goal? Do they believe they are a title team or is it just in the hopes of building a winning culture and it stays after CP3 is gone? Rubio I could of seen with them for another 3-5 years and we all know how long it took the Suns to finally get the right PG

Rubio ain't cutting it lol.

[Crives]

Why would suns want to his contract he doesn’t get them to the playoffs.

I think he does, not knowing how Klay comes back, Booker and Paul would become the best backcourt in the league if not the second best. Suns have some other nice pieces on top of it with Ayton, Bridges, the #10 pick, Saric, Baynes and Okobo. They could be the OKC of this season and if I were the Phoenix GM, I'd try to find a way to get in on Gallo too while I'm on the phone.

This is an important point... bring in CP3 will really help them maximize cap space in FA.

[Merc_Porto]

This is bad for the Suns, i don't get it. Yes, they shouldn't overreact over the 8-0 run they had in the bubble. But they can't also ignore what they did and how well that starting five worked together.

And that's a very young starting 5 to see what they can do moving forward. Especially with Ayton playing 80% of the games.

[Marcus_Shart]

If all it costs them is Rubio and Oubre I don't see why the Suns don't do this. Oubre sucks and has the most punchable face this side of Booker. Booker however is worth dealing with the punchable face, and he wants an upgrade. So despite Ricky being great for them last season and fitting the timeline better you make the deal to improve in the short term to placate Booker for the long term.

CPdouche should be better for the next season or two, and it's not like he's going to bungle the Suns nonexistent chances at contention in that timeframe. They're one of the few teams that wont be killed by his contract. Unless you really value having Rubio beyond 21-22 instead or you think the Suns are missing out on the opportunity cost of signing a big FA sometime in the next two seasons I don't see the downside? The young guys on the team will gain some valuable playoff experience, and hopefully learn some stuff from veteran leadership. If the amazing Phoenix medical staff is still a thing maybe he holds up and you can get him on a team friendly contract to end his career?

[sasquatchBob]

If all it costs them is Rubio and Oubre I don't see why the Suns don't do this. Oubre sucks and has the most punchable face this side of Booker. Booker however is worth dealing with the punchable face, and he wants an upgrade. So despite Ricky being great for them last season and fitting the timeline better you make the deal to improve in the short term to placate Booker for the long term.

CPdouche should be better for the next season or two, and it's not like he's going to bungle the Suns nonexistent chances at contention in that timeframe. They're one of the few teams that wont be killed by his contract. Unless you really value having Rubio beyond 21-22 instead or you think the Suns are missing out on the opportunity cost of signing a big FA sometime in the next two seasons I don't see the downside? The young guys on the team will gain some valuable playoff experience, and hopefully learn some stuff from veteran leadership. If the amazing Phoenix medical staff is still a thing maybe he holds up and you can get him on a team friendly contract to end his career?

The amazing medical staff is not a thing anymore. If anything, it's bad now. Everyone's always injured.

[Phreak50]

Why would suns want to his contract he doesn’t get them to the playoffs.

I think he does, not knowing how Klay comes back, Booker and Paul would become the best backcourt in the league if not the second best. Suns have some other nice pieces on top of it with Ayton, Bridges, the #10 pick, Saric, Baynes and Okobo. They could be the OKC of this season and if I were the Phoenix GM, I'd try to find a way to get in on Gallo too while I'm on the phone.

Heat, Blazers, Rockets, Warriors, are all better backcourts than Booker and an ageing Paul.

[bullsaficianado]

I really want to see CP3 win a ring so I was hoping he would be traded to a contender but not with that contract, this would be a good move for Phoenix though.

[ThunderBolt]

Who does Phoenix need to pay as long as CP3 is there? Ayton, Johnson and Bridges are all on their rookie contracts. I get it his contract is massive but if Phx believes Booker, Ayton, Johnson and Bridges make up their core,I don’t see the problem. Some people make it seem like the financials impact how these guys play together on the court. These Phoenix guys will still be young when paul is off the books.

[jsierra1985]

as a die hard suns fan... i would absolutely love this move...im hoping this trade happens... i dont give a crap about draft picks the whole roster is extremely young...bringing in a proven all star vet running the point position would be fantastic...i dont understand why fans would not like this move lol...booker is the priority in this whole situation in PHX....keep him happy and get him into the playoffs.

[SA37]

My biggest question from this would be, where does Rubio end up? I assume he gets shipped out and OKC is probably ready to hand the keys to SGA.

Suns insider (not Flex) reported this last week.

This is my prediction:

Suns get: Paul, OKC 25th pick
Thunder get: Wiggins, 2pick
GSW gets Rubio and Oubre

Suns shouldn't need to give up the 10 as they are taking on a massive contract and giving up 2 very valuable players.

That is A LOT to give up for a guy who -- at best -- has 2 more seasons left.

[SA37]

My biggest question from this would be, where does Rubio end up? I assume he gets shipped out and OKC is probably ready to hand the keys to SGA.

Suns insider (not Flex) reported this last week.

This is my prediction:

Suns get: Paul, OKC 25th pick
Thunder get: Wiggins, 2pick
GSW gets Rubio and Oubre

Suns shouldn't need to give up the 10 as they are taking on a massive contract and giving up 2 very valuable players.

That doesn’t make a lot of sense for the Warriors

I disagree.

They get an excellent point guard in Rubio, who is still "only" 30 and they get Oubre, who is probably a better overall player than Wiggins.

Whoever Golden St got at #2 probably would not help immediately, which is what GS needs. Curry is 32, Green and Thompson are 30. They have a roughly 3-4 year window.

[Mr Puddles]

I'm curious how this works fit-wise. Has Booker ever had to play with a true PG? I know he had Rubio (at times) last year, but Rubio isn't on the same level as Paul in terms of on-ball and scoring.

Any feedback from Suns fans on this?

There was a poll on the Suns board for the last couple weeks about whether people would trade Rubio and Oubre for him. It was 30% yes and 70% no.

I must have missed this poll, I'd absolutely love this move.

My only concern is Paul's health, the suns would need to secure a good backup PG incase Paul goes down.

A relatively healthy Paul would make the Suns a playoff team next year, no doubt.

[Mr Puddles]

Who does Phoenix need to pay as long as CP3 is there? Ayton, Johnson and Bridges are all on their rookie contracts. I get it his contract is massive but if Phx believes Booker, Ayton, Johnson and Bridges make up their core,I don’t see the problem. Some people make it seem like the financials impact how these guys play together on the court. These Phoenix guys will still be young when paul is off the books.

Agreed, Paul's contract shouldn't be the issue. It's also only two years long, so the risk is minimal IMO (e.g. in case Chris Paul suffers a career threatening injury).

To have Chris Paul's leadership for the next two years as the Suns' young core is looking to make the next step would be incredibly important. Also factoring in that the suns would still have the #10 pick to draft a PG to be mentored to take over the helms after CP3 leaves.

[ThunderBolt]

I'm curious how this works fit-wise. Has Booker ever had to play with a true PG? I know he had Rubio (at times) last year, but Rubio isn't on the same level as Paul in terms of on-ball and scoring.

Any feedback from Suns fans on this?

There was a poll on the Suns board for the last couple weeks about whether people would trade Rubio and Oubre for him. It was 30% yes and 70% no.

I must have missed this poll, I'd absolutely love this move.

My only concern is Paul's health, the suns would need to secure a good backup PG incase Paul goes down.

A relatively healthy Paul would make the Suns a playoff team next year, no doubt.

I think Paul's healthy year was due to a couple of things. He was pretty outspoken about his vegan diet and even made a documentary about it.

The second thing is how he approached the game. His clutch stats were very good last year in large part to being more fresh at the end of the games. Although OKC didn't really manage his minutes, the way Paul played the game contributed to that. As I already stated in this thread, CP3 was fourth in usage for the thunder. He deferred to Shai, Gallo, and Dennis for large portions of the game. However when the fourth quarters came, he was more more assertive on the offensive end. If he is indeed is traded to the Suns, I think their roster is conducive towards allowing him to continue to play this way.

[Scalabrine]

I've always thought that the Suns landing CP3 makes a lot of sense. Living in Arizona is a plus for a lot of athletes too because of it's central location between LA, San Diego & Vegas.

I mean I guess its close to there but Phoenix is east of all of those places. Definitely not in between.