NBA Trade Deadline 2020: The 20 best players available

1. Chris Paul — G, Oklahoma City Thunder — Salary of $38,506,482

It’s not entirely clear if Paul is even available at the trade deadline. The Thunder are a surprisingly competent team, firmly seventh in the West and well above .500. It’s possible Oklahoma City wants to keep the band together and see what happens. But when teams start calling and offering picks, young players, and cap relief, it’s difficult to stand pat when you have so many enviable assets who don’t fit in the long-term plan. Perhaps the Thunder have a fire sale.

If Paul does get traded, it won’t be for the most assets of anyone traded at the deadline. That’s life when you make almost 40 million dollars a year. Paul won’t be traded straight up for another star  either, as whichever team wants him will want to keep its own talent and make a run at the title. Paul also can’t be traded for young assets and picks because he makes too much money. So it’s difficult to put a deal together that would fit both buyer and seller. The most likely deal is cap consideration, perhaps a young talent, and then maybe a pick, but that could be stretching it. It’s hard to see the Thunder receiving a treasure trove, and then it’s hard to see why the Thunder would trade Paul for so little. As they like him, and want him on the team, his salary is less of an impediment to the Thunder than to other teams.

But Paul is certainly the best and most talented player available; he will impact winning to the largest extent. Paul is still a phenom point guard. He can control the entire pace of the game, defend stars, and take over a game late. There are innumerable stats that describe Paul’s game, but there are none more descriptive than his fourth-quarter scoring. Paul is 16th in the entire NBA, scoring 6.3 points per fourth quarter. He’s doing it with an efficiency slash line of 54.9/38.8/95.7. And among players who play 8.0 minutes or more per fourth quarter, Paul has the third-highest net rating, behind only Kawhi Leonard and Karl-Anthony Towns. He doesn’t really make mistakes on the court, can create an efficient shot for himself or a teammate at will, and his defense is still excellent.

Paul still impacts winning at the highest level. If a team on the bubble of contention can acquire him, say either Los Angeles team, the Milwaukee Bucks, or the Philadelphia 76ers, that team would vault to the top of the pile.