In a recently published list of trade ideas for Philadelphia 76ers standout Ben Simmons, Complex suggested that the Oklahoma City Thunder could offer their own star playmaker, 10-time All-Star Chris Paul, in a deal for the 24-year-old.
As explained by the outlet’s Zach Frydenlund on Friday, the Thunder are among the teams that have several future draft selections they can offer for a possible superstar acquisition. Aside from those picks, he mentioned Paul as a theoretical trade chip for Simmons, noting that the 35-year-old could turn out to be a “much better fit” at point guard alongside All-Star center Joel Embiid.
In addition, Frydenlund suggested that Philadelphia might “get really greedy” and demand that Oklahoma City also include its second-year guard, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, in its offer for Simmons. However, he stressed that it’s unlikely the organization would want to part ways with a promising youngster like Gilgeous-Alexander, who averaged a team-leading 19 points, as well as 5.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game in the 2019-20 regular season, per the Thunder’s Basketball-Reference team page.
Although Frydenlund did not mention any other specific assets that could be included in the hypothetical deal, he concluded by saying that the Thunder might need to add “another piece and some picks” if they want to send Paul to the Sixers in exchange for Simmons.
Despite his status as a 15-year veteran, Paul has continued to put up big numbers, averaging 17.6 points, five rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game and shooting 48.9 percent from the field and 36.5 percent from three-point range, leading the Thunder to a 44-28 regular-season record in his first year in Oklahoma City. His age, however, was brought up as one reason why it might be risky to acquire him.
Meanwhile, Simmons made his second All-Star appearance this season, averaging 16.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, eight assists, and 2.1 steals per game and shooting 58 percent from the field for Philadelphia, according to Basketball-Reference . However, he suffered a potentially season-ending knee injury shortly after the NBA resumed the 2019-20 season, forcing him to undergo surgery. With Simmons out, the Sixers have lost the first three games of their first-round playoff series with the Boston Celtics.
Due to the expectation that the Sixers will be making major changes in the offseason, Simmons has been a staple of trade rumors and suggestions in recent weeks. The Inquisitr recently covered another proposed swap of superstars involving the former No. 1 overall draft pick, with Simmons heading to the Phoenix Suns and shooting guard Devin Booker moving to Philadelphia.
