School is in session: Grading Chris Paul’s move to the San Antonio Spurs

In perhaps one of the more intriguing deals in free agency, the San Antonio Spurs signed Chris Paul to a one-year deal worth just over $11 million as reported by Bleacher Report. Paul joins a young team looking to re-enter the Western Conference playoff mix. We’ll review all the relevant angles of this signing, both for Paul and San Antonio. All statistics were sourced from Basketball Reference.

It seems like Chris Paul has accepted the fact that he might not win an NBA title during his illustrious career, as the Spurs are a long way away from championship contention. That might be the only downside for him as the 39-year-old plays out the twilight of his career. With that said, he’ll have the chance to make a significant impact on a rising roster.

It’s hard to view this as anything but a tremendous pickup for the Spurs. They now have one of the greatest point guards in NBA history in their building, when just last season they experimented with playing guys out of position there. Fadeaway World and others have written about Paul’s exceptionally high basketball IQ, which he’ll impart on Victor Wembanyama and others.

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Before Paul could become a mentor to the young Spurs, his contract situation had to play out with the Golden State Warriors. He was potentially going to make $30 million guaranteed next season, but the Warriors cut him just before free agency began. Paul reportedly had to pick between a few teams, according to Bleacher Report.

Before cutting him, Golden State tried to move Paul and his salary for an asset via trade. CBS Sports and others reported that they talked to the Chicago Bulls about including him in a deal for Zach LaVine, but the Warriors ultimately turned the package down. It’s unclear if Paul had been bought out by Chicago had the trade went through.

It’ll be interesting to see how Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich deploys Paul this season. Given San Antonio’s rotating cast of players at point guard last year, he might opt to start Paul, who has a special talent when it comes to organizing teammates on offense. This experience and know-how might serve as a valuable example for Wembanyama and his teammates.

Popovich could choose to go in the other direction, and have Paul lead as a reserve player, while he and the organization continue to evaluate their pieces. It’s not certain if Paul was given any assurances upon signing, but it seems like he would have to know that this would be a possibility.

GiveMeSport and others have lauded new San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle for the defensive ability he showed at UConn. Given his physical tools, he should have a great chance to make life difficult for opposing guards in the NBA. It stands to reason that absorbing tips from Paul about anticipating steals and plays would only make him that much better.

Because Paul signed a one-year deal, his contract immediately becomes valuable once again as a trade asset before the deadline next winter. If the veteran expresses a desire to be traded to a championship contender, his pact makes it pretty simple for another team to accommodate.

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Paul is 39 years old, and certainly isn’t what he once was from an ability perspective. He told the New York Times in April 2024 that he wasn’t retiring, and this transaction lends credence to that. However, it seems possible that this might be the last uniform fans see Paul in during his NBA career.