The fallout from this whole Russell Westbrook trade has been the sudden, and not so surprising, downfall of Chris Paul.

I have talked about Paul on this site and on the pod before. I think he is a great player. He is gritty, grimy, plays defense, can score and can run a team. He is everything you could want from a point guard. But, he is also the dirtiest player since John Stockton, he is whiny, he burns bridges incredibly fast, and leaves them scorched and he has never won anything of importance. He has only been to one conference finals, of which he missed the last 2 games of due to injury. Other than that, he has flamed out in round one or 2, and he has had bad, bad close out games. He is great, but to me, he is unimportant. He is a super star, but he is not on the level of guys that never won a ring like Charles Barkley, Stockton or Karl Malone, Russell Westbrook or James Harden. And he can't even sniff players like Magic, Jordan, Steph, Allen Iverson or Clyde Drexler. Those guys, at the very least, made the Finals, some won in epic fashion, and played their best when it mattered most.

But the news I read today, that the Thunder cannot find a trade partner for Paul, did take me back a bit. The Thunder are clearly in reload mode, and they have about a thousand draft picks that go all the way through 2026. I really feel like all they wanted for Paul was picks, or young guys they could cut, or try to help build around Shai Gilgeous Alexander. But, apparently the teams that Paul wanted to go to, and the teams the Thunder engaged with, said thanks but no thanks.

I feel like this speaks volumes to his personality, and his tendency to come up short in big games. I know that the Heat were the first team mentioned, but I don't think he and Jimmy Butler could coexist, and the Thunder already have a ton of their picks. The Clippers were another team mentioned, but again, the Thunder have all of their picks for the next 5 years, and they gave Pat Beverly a much deserved raise, and he is clearly the point guard they want to ride with. Other possible teams that may have been on the market, or a preferred destination, either have a point guard already, or play position less basketball.

So where does this leave Chris Paul now? I think it would be foolish for the Thunder to keep him. They, as I said, are clearly in rebuild and they have a great young point guard in Gilgeous Alexander. I feel like Paul would either be poison to him, or he would take away much needed minutes from him. Either way, it is not good for the Thunder. And the fact that any other contender just said no speaks volumes.

Chris Paul, like I said, is a great player. He is probably a top 250 player of all time. But, I feel like he is overrated a ton, he has never done anything of importance other than fight with teammates, shrinks in the big games and should be looked as a top 50 point guard, not top 10. He isn't that great, and this end of his career is showing his true colors. He forced his way out of New Orleans, then LA and now Houston. Yet no one else seems to want him. Not even the team that traded for him. Maybe Chris Paul is just an okay NBA player, not an all time great.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

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