Chris Paul was not expecting to hear he was getting traded while on a plane to New York.
The 38-year-old point guard, who found out Sunday he may get dealt to a third team as part of a trade that is sending Bradley Beal from the Wizards to the Suns, had a pre-scheduled interview on “Good Morning America” on Monday to discuss his new memoir, “Sixty-One,” and was asked about the trade by Michael Strahan, who said he was surprised to hear the news.
“I was surprised, too,” Paul answered with a smile. “I found out on the plane yesterday flying here for this. You know, in this league, anything can happen. So, you just figure out what’s next.”
George Stephanopoulos then asked Paul, “You literally found out on the plane?”
“Absolutely,” Paul replied.
News broke Sunday afternoon that Washington would be trading Beal, a three-time All-Star shooting guard, to Phoenix to form a new Big 3 with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.
Paul and Landry Shamet, along with multiple second-round picks and pick swaps, were originally reported to be heading to the Wizards, though part of the reason the trade isn’t finalized is a third team could be brought in to get Paul to a contender.
According to Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes, the 12-time All-Star is “likely” to get sent to a third team, and the Clippers, one of Paul’s former teams, are expected to be in the mix.
Paul spent six seasons with the Clippers from 2011-17, and while Los Angeles made the playoffs in each of those six years, the team did not make it past the second round during that stretch.
After spending two seasons with the Rockets and one with the Thunder, Paul was traded to the Suns in 2020 and made his first NBA Finals appearance during the 2020-21 season.
The Suns lost to the Bucks in six games, and followed that with a second-round exit at the hands of the Mavericks last year and a second-round ouster by the eventual-champion Nuggets this season.
Teams are looking to make moves fast with the 2023 NBA Draft set for Thursday, and NBA free agency set to begin on June 30.
