What Chris Paul could Bring To The Phoenix Suns?

Chris Paul was recently traded to the Phoenix Suns for Kelly Oubre, Ricky Rubio, Jalen Lecque, and a couple of draft picks. Chris Paul had a resurgent season with the Oklahoma City Thunder this past season leading them to the playoffs, where they would eventually lose to the Houston Rockets in 7 games. The Thunder were one of the best feel-good stories last season with the growth of Shai Gilgeous Alexander as a future all Star point guard, the stellar play of Lu Dort during the 2020 playoffs, and how they proved everyone wrong after people said they had a “0.4%” chance of making the playoffs. Chris Paul proved that he was still one of the best point guards of this generation with his outstanding leadership and how he was able to accept the reality that he was traded to Oklahoma City, a city not known for attracting big free agents, and produce at a high level that resulted in an All Star appearance and an All NBA Third Team selection. CP3 also exhibited strong mentorship skills, when he took Shai under his wing, and taught him about what life is like to be an NBA player on and off the court. Paul, which his critics will point out, has one of the worst contracts in the NBA and an aging point guard who is injury prone and entering father time. While that is true, you cannot deny the fact that every organization that CP3 goes to gets better, which is proven when he was traded to the Clippers, who were one of the biggest laughingstocks in the NBA, to a perennial 50 win playoff team with Lob City teammates, Blake Griffin and Deandre Jordan, who if not decimated by injuries and bad luck, had the potential to bring the first championship in franchise history. Another example is when he played with the Houston Rockets, alongside one of the greatest scorers in Nba History, James Harden. The 2017-18 year saw CP3 and James Harden lead the Rockets to 65 wins and narrowly came close to dethroning the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals, if it was not for Paul injuring his hamstring in the closing minutes of Game 6. This would be the closet both Paul and Harden would come to winning a championship. The year after, there was reported tension between Chris Paul and James Harden, which came with a second round exit to the Warriors once again. Although CP3 and James Harden were unable to lead to the Rockets to a championship, they were able to push the Rockets to heights that the city of Houston has not seen since the Hakeem Olajuwon days. CP3 has a rare trait of making the players around him better with his ability to pass the ball and get his teammates involved. CP3 would make a great fit on team like the Phoenix Suns, a team who has young players who need veteran leadership to really reach their full potential. The Phoenix Suns went 8-0 in the NBA Bubble beating a bevy of quality teams like the Clippers and Mavericks shocking people across the NBA world. This gave a real sense of hope and optimism for Suns fans who had endured a bad front office, management decisions, and several coaching changes. The two players who are crucial to the future of this franchise, are Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton. Booker has quietly become one of the brightest and talented young guards in the NBA during his time in Phoenix. He can score on all three levels with the ability to drive to the basket, shoot from the mid range and three point line, and has grown as a playmaker himself. On the other hand, Ayton, was the number 1 pick in the 2018 draft coming out of Arizona, who has all the tools necessary to become not only one of the best offensive centers in the NBA, but overall, one of the best centers in the NBA. Ayton can work in the post game and there is reason to believe in his ability to shoot from the mid range as well. There are other promising players on the team as well such as Mikal Bridges, who has the potential to become a great 3 and D player and Cameron Johnson, who can become a three point sniper. The Suns have not made the playoffs since the 2009-2010 playoffs, which was the last season of the Steve Nash era and are primed to make a return to the playoffs.