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Chris Paul has been traded to the Phoenix Suns for a package that includes Kelly Oubre and Ricky Rubio. Shams Charania of The Athletic tweeted the news.
OKC has traded Chris Paul to Phoenix for Ricky Rubio, Kelly Oubre, Ty Jerome, Jalen Lecque and draft compensation, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. https://t.co/QA1hoZlxzM
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 16, 2020
While Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN has more detail on the return for Phoenix:
The deal sends Chris Paul and Abdel Nader to the Suns for Kelly Oubre, Ricky Rubio, Ty Jerome, Jalen Lecque and a 2022 first-round pick, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 16, 2020
The Oklahoma City Thunder are in the process of rebuilding after trading long-time star Russell Westbrook to the Houston Rockets for Paul last season. Paul played 71 games for them in 2019-20, scoring 17.6 with 6.7 assists in 31.5 minutes per game. The Thunder went 44-28 in the regular season but lost in the first round to the Rockets. Paul is scheduled to make $85 million over the next two seasons, which does not fit in with Oklahoma City’s position and prospects.
The Thunder are reportedly completing a trade to send reserve point guard Dennis Schroeder to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Suns, meanwhile, are looking to kick their rebuild into high gear after sweeping their tour in the Orlando Bubble this past summer. They lose a 24-year-old forward in Oubre, who averaged 18.7 points and 6.7 rebounds last season. Veteran point guard Rubio averaged 13 points and 8.8 assists per game, but shot only 41.5% form the field. In addition to accumulating young players and draft compensation, the Thunder will likely save money in the summer of 2021, when Oubre is a free agent and Rubio is on the books for $17.8 million.