Chris Paul Trade Rumors: Insider Expects Suns to 'Aggressively Shop' PG in Offseason

Following their elimination in the second round of the playoffs by the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night, the Phoenix Suns are reportedly looking to make a significant change to their roster by moving on from future Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul.

Speaking Friday on Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective (beginning at the 31:30 mark), ESPN's Tim MacMahon said he expects the Suns to "aggressively shop" Paul on the trade market.

MacMahon called it "pretty likely" that CP3 will play for a different team in 2023-24 and added that he believes the Suns will try to trade Paul before June 28, which is when his guaranteed salary goes from $15.8 million to $30.8 million.

Paul, 38, is under contract through 2025, but per Spotrac, only $15.8 million of his deal is currently guaranteed for next season, and none of it is guaranteed for 2024-25.

While Paul is one of the all-time great point guards with 12 All-Star nods, 11 All-NBA selections and nine NBA All-Defensive Team choices, he is nearing the end of the line.

His averages of 13.9 points, 8.9 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game this season would be strong for a typical player, but they lagged behind his career averages of 17.9 points, 9.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 2.1 steals per contest.

Paul also shot just 44.0 percent from the field after shooting just shy of 50 percent in the previous two seasons.

He also missed 23 games because of injury during the regular season, and a groin ailment caused him to miss Phoenix's final four playoff games.

Paul has not played more than 70 games in a season since the 2015-16 campaign, and over the past six seasons, he has played in fewer than 60 games three times.

The Suns have the foundation for a potentially dominant team with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker leading the way, but after getting knocked out in the second round of the playoffs in two straight seasons, some tweaks seem inevitable.

In addition to Paul, MacMahon discussed his expectation for the Suns to attempt to trade 2018 No. 1 overall draft pick Deandre Ayton as well after the center struggled in the playoffs against Denver.

MacMahon suggested the Suns could also look to move on from head coach Monty Williams.

The one major accomplishment not yet on Paul's resume is an NBA championship, so if the Suns try to trade him, it seems likely that Paul's preference would be to go to a team that has a chance to vie for a title next season.

Even with his advancing age and durability concerns, Paul is still a solid player when healthy and an excellent leader, so the Suns would have a huge void in their backcourt if they trade him.

As of now, Cameron Payne would be the top internal candidate to take over as Phoenix's starting point guard next season.