Chris Paul’s tenure with the Phoenix Suns is officially over as he was traded to Bradley Bell on Sunday.
There was constant talk throughout the offseason about whether the Suns would trade or waive Paul and extend him, or just waive him.
The only way he would have been able to return to the Suns under those scenarios is if the team waived him because the team can’t reacquire a player they traded away during that season.
Instead, he was traded and could not re-sign with the Phoenix if he was waived by Washington under league rules.
The Wizards are said to desire Paul on their team but would be willing to find a second business partner in the trade if the wizard wants to play with a rival at the end of his career, The Athletic’s Josh Robbins reported.
TNT’s Chris Haynes reported The Wizards are likely to redirect Paul to the Los Angeles Clippers in a trade that would reunite him with his former team in the city where his family lives.
Paul came to Phoenix after a bubbling run of COVID-19 left the Suns within striking distance of the playoffs in 2020.
In three seasons at the Valley, Paul averaged 15.1 points per game, 9.5 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocked shots in 194 games. Most importantly, Phoenix has made the playoffs in all three seasons that Paul has been on the team, marking the first time the Suns have made the playoffs three times in a row since 2005-08.
He was also a major factor in the Suns’ first appearance in the NBA Finals since the team fell to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in 1993 in six games.
Plus, he not only came to Phoenix in the twilight of his career, but also revived the win-hungry Valley basketball culture.
The Point God made the All-Star Teams his first two years in the Valley and was named to the All-NBA Second Team in 2021.
Paul was second in the NBA in assists behind only LeBron James in 2020 and second behind Trey Young in 2021.
“Alcohol enthusiast. Twitter ninja. Tv lover. Falls down a lot. Hipster-friendly coffee geek.”