Why the Oklahoma City Thunder might do this deal
Here’s where the second glass of Kool-Aid with extra sugar comes in. It’s evident that Sam Presti is valuing picks over anything else these days even though he allegedly told Pat Riley otherwise. During their solo careers. It’s evident that Chris Paul doesn’t want to play there and it’s apparent that Oklahoma City plans to move him quickly as Adrian Wojnarowski was quoted saying on ESPN’s Get Up, “The market for CP3 is small, but Miami is at the top of that list. Would like to get that deal done as soon as they can. Their hope, in getting this deal done with Chris Paul, was that he doesn’t play a game in a Thunder uniform.”
He also had this to say on his own twitter account where my eyes were drawn to “and OKC obviously has picks to incentivize deal if needed.”
Houston hoped to find third-team destination preferable to Chris Paul, but ultimately leaves it OKC to execute next step once Presti confers w/ CP3 agent Leon Rose. Miami remains possibility for Paul (3 years, $124M) -- and OKC obviously has picks to incentivize deal, if needed.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 12, 2019
I wish there were more the Thunder could do to get the picks and whatnot that Presti covets, but per the NBA’s CBA, Chris Paul’s contract cannot be aggregated in any deal for two months. Meaning, his salary cannot be combined with any other salaries from his new team, and he must be traded by himself with the exception of draft picks.
After all that hard balling with Pat Riley demanding the Heat give up two out three players between Herro, Winslow, and Adebayo while also trying to add injured Andre Roberson into the deal, they get left with the sour apple here in John Wall but I honestly wouldn’t trust any other GM more with a player in his situation.
There’s something about seeing Presti get burned after reaching into his bag during trade negotiations and having Riley leave the conversation. It’s interesting to see the reports coming out after the fact that Westbrook’s preferred destination was Houston although everyone was reporting for days that Miami was the clear front runner to land him. I’d take those with a grain of salt.
In Oklahoma City there’s no pressure for John Wall to rush back too early. In fact, it’s in the teams best interest if he waits until he’s 100 percent healthy for sure. At this point, the Thunder can step into their new star player in stride while learning from their mistakes and signing 3-point shooters or trade him to his preferred destination and get even more assets in return.
As we’ve learned this summer, whether you have cap space or not, star players or not, you still have the ability to get what you want for the right deal. Just stay sharp and make moves so that you’re prepared when the time comes.
While they wait, they can get a head start on continuing Derrick Jones Jr.’s development. He can already jump out of the gym and also grab any rebound, he’s got a nice base for a 3-point shot which will become more consistent with time. It should also be seen as a good thing to replace Miami’s 2021 pick with Cleveland’s 2022 pick.
The Miami Heat have never tanked so betting that they suddenly will now even without this trade going through is silly. Plus it’s a safe bet that the Cleveland Cavaliers will somehow mess this up and produce an excellent lottery pick for you in two summers.