A Hypothetical Trade for Paul

Knicks acquire Chris Paul

Thunder acquire Julius Randle, Dennis Smith Jr., Bobby Portis*

For the pairing of Paul and Anthony to materialize, the Knicks would first have to acquire Paul.

Portis comes with an asterisk as of now, because he’s subject to a club option for 2020-21. If the Knicks exercise the option, he would not be a free agent.

Without Portis, the Knicks would have to include Taj Gibson plus multiple young guards in order to match Paul’s salary heading back to the Thunder.

This deal gives the Thunder Randle, the most established piece heading back to Oklahoma City, while taking a flier on Smith Jr. and Portis.

The incentive for the Thunder is to acquire younger pieces in return while simultaneously moving Paul’s contract off of their payroll.