Chris Paul Trade Rumors: Boston Celtics can trade star guard for CP3

As the Phoenix Suns have reportedly decided to waive Chris Paul with no guarantee if they will restructure his deal and re-sign him, trade rumors followed suit.

On FS1's "The Herd with Colin Cowherd," he proposed a trade scenario for the Boston Celtics and the Suns.

"Send Marcus Smart to Phoenix, Chris Paul to Boston," Cowherd said. "He's also tough. He's physical. I think Phoenix can use some of that. This team in Boston doesn't play with a lot of intention offensively. They don't have a true quarterback. Marcus Smart's a defensive-guard first. Chris Paul is an offensive-minded guard."

It was a disappointing finish for both Marcus Smart and Chris Paul as their teams fell short of the NBA Finals.

After the acquisition of Kevin Durant in the trade deadline, Paul sounded ecstatic in an interview with ESPN's Nick Friedell.

"It's different," Paul said. "It's taken some getting used to. I was telling (Devin Booker) the other day, I played with a lot of great players – (but) probably never two guys of this caliber, as far as Devin and KD. ... I know I'm not taking it for granted. I told (Booker) not to."

However, they fell flat in the second-round series against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets as they got eliminated in six games. Making things worse, Paul suffered a groin injury in Game 2 and was sidelined for the rest of the series.

In the 2023 playoffs with the Suns, Paul averaged 12.4 points (41.8% shooting, including 32.1% from 3-point range), 7.4 assists and 5.4 rebounds.

Meanwhile, for Marcus Smart, after coming up short in the 2022 finals, the Celtics got bounced out in the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Miami Heat. After an impressive comeback down 3-0 to even the series, the Celtics came out lifeless in a pivotal Game 7, with Jayson Tatum tweaking his ankle.

In the Celtics' 2023 postseason run, Smart averaged 14.9 ppg (45.3% shooting, including 36.1% from 3-point range) and 5.1 apg.

Chris Paul's stats in the 2023 playoffs

Compared to previous playoff runs from Chris Paul, his most recent one saw him with lower career averages but with a nagging injury again.

During the first-round matchup against the LA Clippers, Paul averaged 13.6 ppg (41.4% shooting, including 34.8% from 3-point range), 8.2 apg and 6.0 rpg.

In the semifinalsagainst the Nuggets, he was only available for two games, averaging 9.5 ppg (42.9% shooting, including 20.0% from 3-point range) and 5.5 apg.