The Brooklyn Nets made the inevitable decision to trade star point guard Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday. However, the Nets had other offers for Irving, including a reported trade offer from the Phoenix Suns which included 12-time All-Star Chris Paul.
TNT’s Chris Haynes revealed on Sunday that the Suns offered a package centered around Chris Paul, Jae Crowder, and “unspecified picks” for Irving.
Sources: Brooklyn Nets received Los Angeles Lakers’ proposal that did include team’s two first-round picks (2027, 2029) and Phoenix Suns’ offer of Chris Paul, Jae Crowder and unspecified picks: @NBATV pic.twitter.com/cJuABbaYGy
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) February 6, 2023
The Nets ultimately ended up getting Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a 2029 first-round pick and 2027 and 2029 second-round picks in return for Irving and veteran forward Markieff Morris.
It is certainly shocking to see Paul being offered in a trade considering all he has helped build with the Suns. Since joining the team in the 2020-21 season, he has made two All-Star appearances and helped change the culture of Suns basketball.
From 2010-11 season to the 2019-20 season, the Suns made the playoffs just once. Paul played a big role in turning things around, helping Phoenix make the playoffs in each of the last two seasons. That included an NBA Finals appearance in his first season with the Suns.
Many around the NBA world took notice of Paul’s inclusion in Phoenix’s trade offer and were also quite surprised.
no way Chris Paul is happy about this https://t.co/QwrRnYkSZH
— Dave King (@DaveKingNBA) February 6, 2023
Well, this will make for a very interesting dynamic in Phoenix https://t.co/XEhiKDsTph
— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) February 6, 2023
Oh, I love what this news will do to the Suns. https://t.co/THcMtNJPkI
— Kevin Barrios (@kevinbforbounce) February 6, 2023
1) i do not understand phoenix including chris paul
2) were the laker picks unprotected?
3) if i need to match up against the celtics/bucks then dfs is incredibly valuable
4) a new fake trade has emerged: bk gets fvv & khem birch for harris, curry, and 3 first-round picks https://t.co/SXXsQrDuPK— Michael Pina (@MichaelVPina) February 6, 2023
Sources say Phoenix offered up CP3 in a trade package for Kyrie…
Will be interesting to see how the 37-yo Hall of Famer handles that rumor moving forward.
Has to sting. https://t.co/nfETGgJlcU— Zach Crenshaw (@ZachCrenshaw) February 6, 2023
Chris Paul has finally started to see a small drop in his production this season, but he is certainly still a valuable player at this stage of his career. Considering all he has helped build in Phoenix, he surely won’t be happy about now being publically discussed in trade talks.
