NBA Rumors: Surprise team moving up the ranks for Chris Paul

Chris Paul was waived by the Phoenix Suns this past week, and there is one team that is moving up the betting odds to land the veteran guard.

The Phoenix Suns failed to make it back to the NBA Finals for the second year in a row following their second-round elimination by the eventual Western Conference Champions, the Denver Nuggets. After their season ended, the Suns fired head coach Monty Williams.

Then, this past week, there was a report that said the Suns were waiving veteran point guard Chris Paul, while there were subsequent reports noting that the team is still exploring their options before straight up parting ways with Paul.

If Paul does end up a free agent, there is one team that has seen its betting odds increase.

According to Bet US, the New Orleans Pelicans now have +700 odds to sign Paul this offseason as of June 11. On June 10, the Pelicans’ odds were +4,000.

Pelicans moving up ranks to land Chris Paul

Paul started his NBA career in New Orleans as the fourth overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft by the Hornets. During his six seasons with the team, Paul was named to the All-Star Game four times (2008-2011), the All-NBA First Team once (2008), and the All-NBA Second Team once (2009). His tenure ended in New Orleans after he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers.

In his New Orleans tenure, Paul tallied 7,936 points, 4,228 assists, 1,951 rebounds, and 1,010 steals. Paul also recorded a field goal percentage of 47.1 and a three-point percentage of 35.9.

In 2020, Paul was acquired by the Suns, and he proved to be a huge addition to the team, as they made it to the NBA Finals in his first season with the team. In that regular-season Paul averaged 16.4 points, 8.9 assists, and 4.5 rebounds while recording a 49.9 field goal percentage and a 39.5 field goal percentage. Then in his second season, Paul averaged a double-double with 14.7 points and 10.8 assists, the latter of which led the league.

As mentioned earlier, the Suns were unable to make it back to the Finals since they blew a 2-0 lead to the Milwaukee Bucks.

This past season, Paul averaged 13.9 points, 8.9 assists, and 4.3 rebounds while shooting 44.0 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from the three-point line.

As for the Pelicans, they matched up against Paul and the Suns in the 2022 playoffs, where Phoenix won the first-round series in six games. This past season, however, the Pelicans were unable to make it out of the play-in tournament, losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder to miss out on a chance to compete for the No. 8 seed.

Fans are waiting to see what exactly the Suns will do with Paul, whether that’s waiving him, trading him, or keeping him. If he is waived, the Pelicans could be a team to keep an eye on.