SACRAMENTO, California. – Chris Paul is 11 hours away from the end of his 19th NBA season. He is less than a month away from turning 39 years old. He takes a seat in the third row of the Golden 1 Center after the Golden State Warriors’ morning shootaround in Sacramento. Later that night, the Sacramento Kings defeated them 118-94, an elimination that also put Paul’s immediate future in doubt.
But one thing is clear: Paul is not retiring. He’ll be playing his 20th NBA season somewhere.
“I’ll talk to my wife and my kids, my family, my support system, and see what it’s like,” Paul said. The Athletic. “But this is not (the end of my career). “I know that for sure.”
Paul remains under contract with the Warriors next season, but there is a necessary caveat. The $30 million in his deal is not guaranteed. Part of the Warriors’ reasoning behind trading Jordan Poole for Paul last offseason was the financial flexibility it would provide this summer. The Warriors can use it as a trade vehicle or wipe the $30 million off the books before it is guaranteed on June 28.
These options and decisions will be explored in the coming weeks. But Joe Lacob and the Warriors ownership group have already indicated their desire to avoid the second apron and even bypass the luxury tax altogether, by resetting the repeater clock. To achieve that goal, a salary reduction is needed. Tuesday’s elimination, which capped a turbulent 46-win season that ended with 10th place and zero home playoff dates, would only seem to accelerate that desire for a financial setback.
So Paul’s future with the Warriors is as uncertain (and perhaps more unlikely) than any other player who left the locker room Tuesday night.
“I haven’t thought about that,” Paul said. “I’m involved in this too. I was in the gym at 8am this morning, lifting weights and getting ready for this game. When the time comes for that, Mike (Dunleavy) and Steve (Kerr), we’ll have a conversation and see what it looks like. But I loved it. “Honestly, this is my fifth year living without my family, I probably saw them more than any other year.”
This is due to the proximity to Los Angeles, but also Kerr’s open culture. Families are welcome inside the Warriors building and the team more than usual in the NBA.
“That’s probably what I appreciated most of all: the communication of letting me know when the days are going to end,” Paul said. “Then your family can fly on the team plane like they never saw that. I thank Steve for that.”
When Paul went to look for a temporary place to stay in San Francisco after the exchange, his wife helped him find a skyscraper. Shortly after moving in, he discovered another notable tenant living one floor below. He had moved into the Draymond Green building.
“Fortunately, it’s nice enough that you can’t hear the person underneath,” Paul said.
Paul’s inner circle showed various forms of shock and apprehension after he joined the Warriors, their heated conference rival from the previous decade. There had been many competitive disputes and heated playoff nights between both teams. But Paul quickly accepted it, believing in the shared traits between both parties.
“I didn’t expect it to be bad,” Paul said. “When the trade happened, I was excited, I had energy. It’s been really cool to see all the basketball knowledge, the way the different guys approach each day. “When people ask me about my experience here, I tell them I got a chance to peek behind the curtain.”
The Warriors faced the Utah Jazz at home on a Sunday toward the end of the season. They faced the Lakers on Tuesday in Los Angeles. After the Utah game, Paul, Green and Klay Thompson, who have homes in Los Angeles, chartered a plane a day before the team. Trevor Ariza was in town. Paul told Ariza to get on his plane.
Ariza was part of those Houston Rockets teams that the Warriors eliminated twice in the Western Conference finals. He knows how heated the rivalry between Paul and the Warriors became, how angry Paul got about losses, and how the Warriors mocked him after wins.
“I was sitting on the plane saying, ‘Man, I never would have thought of that.’ …’” Pablo said. “’He never would have thought we’d all be here together.’”
Paul and Green didn’t imagine it, but they accepted it once it arrived on their doorstep. Literally. Green took the elevator one floor up and went to Paul’s house several times throughout the season, watching other NBA games, college games, NFL games, talking about basketball schemes, life, family, the children, the future.
“I feel grateful and honored, very happy to have had the opportunity to play with him this year,” Green said. “It’s not something we ever imagined in a million years. Aside from winning, it couldn’t have gone better. I built a relationship that will go beyond whether he will be here next year or not and whether I will be here next year or not. I haven’t come across many guys like him, if any.”
Paul and Green also built a connection off the court. (D. Ross Cameron / USA Today)
Paul also built a relationship with Thompson. Paul accepted a reserve role in the third game of the season, coming off the bench for the first time in his 19-year career, a move Kerr said sent a message to the rest of the roster about sacrifice. Thompson accepted a bench position in February for the first time in more than a decade. The two then connected a second unit duo. Kerr tied his minutes.
Paul told Thompson several times throughout the season that he was getting on his boat for a ride around San Francisco Bay. They had to cancel once due to bad weather. Last week, before the final game of the regular season, Paul and Moses Moody crossed the water with Thompson to the game.
“Really cool,” Paul said. “There will always be a bit of shaking when you reach deep water, but…”
Then Paul took a broader perspective.
“I have so many (former teammates) in my career that I have no relationship with,” Paul said. “I don’t really care or anything like that. Or people who don’t like me or whatever. That doesn’t keep me up at night. But I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to be here with these guys. Steph and I were already connected. Dray and I definitely have a real connection now. And someone I am grateful to have had the opportunity to meet is Klay.”
Paul understands the business better than any other current player. He knows the configuration of his contract, the Warriors’ fiscal crisis and will be in the conversations that dictate his NBA home in 2024-25. In theory, some paths could bring you back to a cheaper deal. He says he enjoyed his time with the Warriors on a personal level.
But there is the basketball side that also complicates the equation. Paul isn’t necessarily ready to accept a lesser-used backup point guard role for the later seasons of his career. He continues to believe that he can still lead a team with a lot of minutes. Paul averaged 26.4 minutes per game this season. He had been at 32 the last couple of seasons and averaged 34.6 in his career, never dropping below 31. All of his accounting stats were the lowest of his career.
“I try to make the most of the opportunity I was given,” Paul said. “For me, it has always been about winning, no matter what. But I know that I have much more to contribute to the game. The situation is what it is. But I’ve loved everything (this season). I loved every detail. Having the opportunity to compete with these guys.”
As the Warriors changed their rotation repeatedly this season, Paul fit right in as Stephen Curry’s backup point guard. They performed better as a team without Curry than they have in several seasons. But Kerr had trouble finding usable lineups with Curry and Paul on the court because of the size disadvantage, especially with Thompson out there as well.
“It’s a difficult situation for him that he handled wonderfully,” Kerr said. “He has always been the starting point guard on his team. But if you look at our team, we’re pretty small. Although he is one of our best players, if we want to get our best players, and he is one of them, you start adding Chris, Steph, Klay, it is not the ideal roster for him.
“But he was great for us because he became our backup point guard. “As I have said many times, our minutes without Steph were the best because of Chris’ leadership.”
It is not the ideal template for him. That’s the subsection of that Kerr quote that’s probably the most impactful. Paul, we have a reasonable deal, he still makes a lot of sense for the Warriors as a backup point guard to stabilize them with Curry out. But he still wants more and his impact on the court, his production and his market could justify it, making a reunion unlikely.
“Tonight you saw (the Kings’) size and physicality overwhelmed us,” Kerr said. “When you look at the combinations we have, it usually separates Steph, Chris and Klay. So there aren’t as many minutes as Chris would like.
“But the way he handled it this season was incredible. He is very professional. A great mentor for the youngest. One of the great professionals I have never been with. “I love coaching Chris and I really hope we bring him back.”
(Top photo: Sean M. Haffey/NBAE via Getty Images)
