OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma City Thunder has acquired guard Ty Jerome, guard Jalen Lecque, forward Kelly Oubre Jr., guard Ricky Rubio and a 2022 first-round draft pick from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for forward Abdel Nader and guard Chris Paul, Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti said.
“We want to thank Chris for the contributions he has made to the Thunder and the Oklahoma City community both this season and during his initial tenure in 2005-06 with the Hornets,” Presti said. “Chris has been the consummate leader and has left a tremendous legacy in a short period of time. We wish him and Abdel and their families only the best moving forward. We also look forward to welcoming Ricky, Kelly, Ty and Jalen to Oklahoma City and are excited for them to join the Thunder program.”
Jerome, 6-5, 195, appeared in 31 career games in his rookie season with Phoenix, averaging 3.3 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 10.6 minutes per contest. The Virginia product was originally selected 24th overall in the 2019 NBA Draft.
Lecque, 6-3, 190, appeared in five career games as a Suns rookie, tallying 10 points, two rebounds and two assists in 32 minutes of action. The New York native appeared in 33 G League games, 23 starts, while on assignment with the Northern Arizona Suns, averaging 13.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 26.6 minutes per game, shooting 41.1 percent from the field.
Oubre Jr., 6-7, 203, has appeared in 348 career games, 99 starts, with Washington and Phoenix, averaging 10.9 points and 4.1 rebounds in 24.1 minutes per game, shooting 43.1 percent from the floor. Last season, the New Orleans native appeared in 56 games, 55 starts, and averaged 18.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.27 steals in 34.5 minutes. Originally selected 15th overall by Atlanta during the 2015 NBA Draft, the Kansas product has increased his scoring average by an average of 3.0 points per season in each of his five NBA seasons.
Rubio, 6-3, 190, has appeared in 563 career games, 542 starts, with Minnesota, Utah and Phoenix, averaging 11.3 points, 7.8 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.87 steals in 30.9 minutes per contest. Originally selected fifth overall by Minnesota in the 2009 NBA Draft, the 2019 FIBA World Cup MVP is also a two-time Olympic medalist, winning silver in 2008 and bronze in 2016.
Nader spent two seasons in Oklahoma City where he appeared in 116 games, seven starts, and averaged 5.1 points and 1.9 rebounds in 13.5 minutes per game, shooting 44.8 percent from the floor.
In his lone season with the Thunder, Paul appeared in 70 games (all starts) and registered averages of 17.6 points, 6.7 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 1.59 steals in 31.5 minutes per contest, shooting 48.9 percent from the field, 36.5 percent from three-point range and 90.7 percent from the line, fourth best in the NBA, while leading all players with 150 clutch points and 10 clutch steals. This season, the 15-year NBA veteran was named an All-Star for the 10th time in his career, selected to the All-NBA Second Team, his ninth All-NBA honor, and awarded the End-of-Season NBA Cares Community Assist Award.