Spurs may pursue Chris Paul if he decides to leave the Warriors.
Even though Victor Wembanyama is only in his first season, he has done nothing but exceed expectations. Even though Wembanyama is a two-way beast who is quickly approaching unstoppable force, the San Antonio Spurs may not have increased their win number from the previous campaign, but it is evident that the Spurs are on course to take back the top spot in the Western Conference. The way the Spurs develop around Wembanyama over the coming years will be critical. Though it doesn’t seem likely, some have suggested they could go all in and trade for Trae Young. Alternatively, they might be looking for a seasoned point guard who won’t fetch as much as Young. Let’s introduce Chris Paul.
Should Paul and the Warriors split ways, San Antonio is a club to keep an eye on. One of the early rumors regarding personnel is that the Spurs might become a potential contender for Paul if they choose to seek some veteran expertise on a short-term contract basis in order to provide presumed Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama with more experienced support in the second season, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.
The Spurs have a few holes to fill still in their roster as they aim to return to contention. Acquiring a playmaker who is a threat on the outside is a must; Tre Jones, while a smart and willing passer, is someone defenses tend to ignore from beyond the arc. The Jeremy Sochan point guard experiment didn’t exactly work wonders as well.
Chris Paul is approaching his 40s, so it’s fair to wonder how much gas he has left in the tank. But Paul has helped most of his teams assume winning ways, turning around the New Orleans Hornets, Los Angeles Clippers, and Phoenix Suns, taking the Houston Rockets to a near-championship level, and then helping maintain a transitioning Oklahoma City Thunder team remain competitive
It’ll be interesting how the Golden State Warriors approach the offseason. Chris Paul is slated to make $30.8 million next season, but his contract is completely non-guaranteed. The Dubs can either keep him, trade him to a team in need of cap relief so they could bring in additional help, or completely wipe his contract off the books to reduce their cap burden.
Given where the Warriors stand in the league these days, it’s unlikely that ownership will be willing to continue shelling out record luxury-tax payments. But therein lies the problem; the Warriors will be deciding on whether or not they would want to bring Klay Thompson back, and if they do, it will be inevitable for them to pay the luxury tax if they keep Paul around.
It’s also worthwhile to point out if bringing back the band is what’s best for both Chris Paul and the Warriors. Paul put up career-low numbers off the Warriors bench after being a starter for most of his career, and with Stephen Curry still locking down the point guard position, the Dubs will have to sacrifice size yet again if they want to give Paul minutes alongside Curry.
