The summer of 2019 hasn't exactly been kind to Chris Paul.

After unceremoniously being eliminated by the Golden State Warriors, again, in Game 6 of the second round of the NBA Playoffs, Paul was sent packing to a rebuilding Oklahoma City Thunder.

OKC isn't expected to compete for a championship anytime soon, so it's likely that Paul isn't looking forward to a year of meaningless basketball.

But now that a deal to move him to the Miami Heat isn't expected to "materialize," it's likely that he won't be on the move any time soon.

According to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, the Heat, despite being interested in Paul, believe that they would be doing OKC a favor by taking him in a potential deal and therefore "should be compensated" for bringing him to South Beach.

On the other hand, the Thunder believe that Paul is still a "great asset," and to them, that means they "shouldn't need to entice Miami."

What does that mean, exactly?

It means that despite the mutual interest, Paul will more than likely have to begin the season playing for Oklahoma City.

That sentiment was further corroborated by Shams Charania.

"The Heat have a level of interest in Oklahoma City's Chris Paul entering the NBA season," Charania wrote for The Athletic, citing league sources. "Paul had shared a strong mutual interest in ending up in Miami after his trade to the Thunder—but the sides could not agree to a deal and now OKC and Paul are prepared to enter training camp with CP3 in the role of veteran star and leader.

"Paul has three years and $124 million left on his deal. Miami will likely elect to see how it starts the season before gauging a new pursuit of Paul, which would take several large contracts to match salary."

All of this isn't lost on Paul, 34, who despite struggles with injuries the last few seasons, still showed that he could be a top-tier point guard while playing in Houston.

Last season, he averaged 15.6 points, 8.2 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 2.0 steals a game, despite having to play alongside James Harden, who had the highest usage rate in the league at 39.6.

Now that he won't have to share the ball with Harden, CP3 should be able to show that he can still contribute to a contender, which may move the Heat to come to terms with the Thunder for a deal sooner rather than later.  

Lakers Won't Have Kyle Kuzma to Start the Season?

The Los Angeles Lakers may have to begin their season of high expectations without Kyle Kuzma on the floor.

According to Marc Stein of the New York Times, the Lakers "increasingly fear" that their young forward's left foot won't be healed in time to start training camp.

Kuzma injured his left ankle while playing for Team USA in an exhibition game against Australia for the 2019 FIBA World Cup.

He was playing well, too.

Kuzma shot 4-of-5 from behind the three-point line against the Boomers, finishing with 12 points.

Going into his third year in the NBA, Kuzma wanted to improve on his shooting from deep—a skill he'll need this year with the Lakers—and from the looks of his play in pre-World Cup games, he was well on his way.

But after suffering the injury, he then left China to focus on getting healthy for the upcoming season in L.A.

And while he may not be ready for camp, which begins on Saturday, Sept. 28, Stein reported that his rehab is "said to be progressing well."

His new head coach seemed to agree.

"Kuzma is a 10-out-of-10 attitude and worker, and just a guy that's going to be an ass-kicker for us this year," Frank Vogel told NBA.com's Mike Trudell.

Last season, Kuzma averaged a career-high 18.7 points and 5.5 rebounds. Once healthy, he's expected to have a breakout year for the Lakers.

Rockets Bring Back Anderson

Deja vu, anyone?

While all eyes are on the trade that the Houston Rockets made to bring Russell Westbrook to town to pair with James Harden, the team are also expected to make a more familiar move.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, Ryan Anderson agreed to a "significantly partially guaranteed deal" with Houston.

This would be Anderson's second stint with the team.

The free-agent forward signed a four-year, $80 million deal with the Rockets back in 2016.

He was brought in to be a stretch-4 in Mike D'Antoni's system, and for the most part, he succeeded in that role.

During the 2016-17 season, he averaged 13.6 points per game while shooting 40.3 percent from deep.

His numbers declined the following year to 9.3 points per outing on 38.6 percent shooting from the 3-point line.

In an effort to dump salary, he was then jettisoned to Phoenix last August.

Now that he's reunited with the Rockets, he could be a valuable threat from deep off the bench, especially considering that there should be plenty of open shots to go around with the dribble penetration abilities of Westbrook and Harden.

Nets Have Eyes for Lance Thomas?

Looks like the Brooklyn Nets will be taking something else away from the New York Knicks.

According to Newsday's Greg Logan, Lance Thomas went through a workout for the Nets and could be signed "to add to veteran presence."

Should Thomas head over to Brooklyn, it will be another key loss at the hands of the team that landed superstars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, thwarting the Knicks' plans at making a major splash in this year's free agency.

Last season, Thomas averaged 4.5 points per game while shooting only 27.8 percent from the three-point line.

The Nets are likely hoping the 6'8" forward can return to form, though. He shot 40.3 percent from deep the year prior and 44.7 percent the season before that.

Follow Maurice Bobb on Twitter, @ReeseReport

Statistics obtained from NBA.com