SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Golden State Warriors guard Chris Paul completed his 19th NBA season in disappointing fashion, two weeks shy of his 39th birthday. While the NBA’s third-oldest player is now a reserve guard and likely past his All-Star prime, don’t expect him to retire.
“That isn’t even in question,” Paul said of his future after the Warriors’ 118-94 season-ending loss to the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night in the play-in tournament. “I just want to get back to playing.”
Where he will be playing next season is in question due to his uncertain contractual status with the Warriors.
Golden State is committed to $174 million in salary next season. The Warriors’ biggest free agent is guard Klay Thompson. Dario Šarić, a forward, is a free agent. Gary Payton II has the choice to opt into his $9.1 million salary for 2024-25 or decline the option and become a free agent. All-Star guard Stephen Curry, forward Jonathan Kuminga and guard Moses Moody are all eligible for contract extensions.
In 58 games primarily as a reserve, Paul averaged 9.2 points, a team-high 6.8 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 26.4 minutes. Paul led all NBA reserves in assists and was 12th overall in the league. The Warriors have until June 28 to decide whether to exercise his $30 million team option for next season or waive him.
While Golden State could try to re-sign the 12-time All-Star as a free agent, they run the risk of him signing elsewhere in what would be his first time entertaining free agency. By exercising Paul’s contract, they could keep him and also try to flip him in a trade. Ultimately, Warriors ownership and general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. will decide Paul’s fate.
“I loved being there this year,” Paul said. “Obviously, once the dust settles, we will talk. I want to see what Mike and them are thinking.”
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Paul told Andscape he truly enjoyed playing with the Warriors longtime stars Curry, Thompson and forward Draymond Green. Paul also seemed comfortable when he rode in the San Francisco Bay waters on Thompson’s boat recently. San Francisco is also short flight from Los Angeles, where Paul’s wife and two children live.
The Warriors, who have won four NBA titles since 2015, missed the playoffs for the third time in the past five seasons. For Paul, it was “weird” because he missed the postseason for the first time since 2010. He has made 15 career postseason appearances and played in the 2021 NBA Finals.
“It’s an eerie feeling right now,” Paul said. “I tore my meniscus in New Orleans back in the 2009-10 season. That was the last time I missed the playoffs. This is weird right now. I get to go be dad earlier than usual. It’s tough. It’s life in this league. You get back to work and figure out what it looks like next [season] …
“But playing with Steph, Draymond and Klay is something I will never forget. I’m glad I got that opportunity.”
If the Warriors’ goal is to save money on salaries, keeping Paul on the team at a $30 million salary could be counterproductive. But in terms of his value to the Warriors, coach Steve Kerr and several players — Curry, Green, Kuminga and rookie Brandin Podziemski — raved about Paul.
Kerr was impressed by Paul’s leadership, mentoring of young players and professionalism after coming off the bench for the first time in his career. Kerr, who has coached the Warriors for 10 seasons and played in the NBA for 15 seasons, added that Paul was one of “the greatest pros” he has been around.
“It is a difficult situation for him that he handled beautifully,” Kerr said. “He’s always been the starting point guard for his team. But you look at our team, we’re pretty small and even though he’s one of our best players — if we want to throw our best players out there, and he’s one of them — you start adding up Chris, Steph, Klay. It’s not the ideal roster for [Paul], but he was fantastic for us because he became our backup point guard. As I’ve said many times, our non-starter minutes were the best they’ve ever been because of Chris’ leadership …
“But the way he handled it this year was so professional. [Paul is] such a great mentor for the younger guys, one of the greatest pros I’ve ever been around … just his approach and his attitude and his sacrifice. I love coaching Chris and I really hope we bring him back next year. There is a long offseason. We’ve got to see how it all plays out.”
Curry said he enjoyed finally playing with Paul and hopes that his “friend” will be back in San Francisco. The two-time MVP and Paul, both North Carolina natives, went from Western Conference rivals when Paul was with the LA Clippers and Houston Rockets to teammates this season.
“He’s a professional who just goes about everything the right way,” Curry told Andscape. “He’s a hoop head that is always fun to play with. You can always talk basketball and figure it out. I appreciated playing against him in his prime. I always loved being in the same locker room [as him] because I was built like that.
“As a friend, he’s been my guy from day one. We had a little enemy situation. Just understanding how he approaches everything. He was fun to play with all year long.”
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The only Warriors player who can come close to being as fiery as Green is Paul. Green has received his share of technical fouls and was suspended by the NBA for 12 games this season after hitting Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkić in the face on Dec. 12, 2023. But in the latter part of the season, it wasn’t uncommon to see Paul play a big brother role with Green and helped calm him down.
“Chris was great,” Green said. “I’m thankful, honored and happy as hell that I got the opportunity to play with him this year, that we all got the opportunity to be teammates with Chris. That is something in a million years that I’ve said a million times that I wouldn’t have imagined. Other than winning [a championship], it couldn’t have gone any better.
“I learned so much from him. I built a relationship that will go beyond whether he is here next year or not, whether I’m here next year or not. I haven’t come across many guys like that in this league. It’s just an honor to play with him. As a teammate, I hope we can continue to do what we do in these uniforms. I hope and pray that he is back and I’m back because it’s an honor having him as a teammate. The way he competes, you love going to war with a guy like that.”
While the Warriors’ roster is composed mostly of veterans, there were several young players who made an impact during their 46-36 season including Kuminga and rookies Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis. Paul has a reputation for mentoring young players, and Kuminga and Podziemski were grateful for what they learned from him.
“I learned the pace of the game,” Kuminga told Andscape. “CP is one of the guys who is so poised in the way he plays the game. He brings so much knowledge to the court and just life.”
Podziemski told Andscape: “CP is great. He breaks things down so much to a basic level that anyone can understand it. I feel like my IQ was pretty advanced for a rookie. So, the conversations that we had about basketball, things that can help me in my future — little things like 2-for-1s and 3-for-2s, tendencies — all that kind of stuff that he poured into me this year is going to help me going forward.”
Paul, a future Hall of Famer, has played with the New Orleans Hornets, Clippers, Rockets, the Oklahoma City Thunder, Suns and Warriors. Time will soon tell if Paul will wear a Warriors jersey again or move elsewhere in hopes of winning his first NBA title.
While waiting for the Warriors’ verdict, Paul said, he will enjoy the unexpected time with his family in Los Angeles while staying open-minded to a return to Golden State.
“I loved everything about being here,” Paul said. “But I guess I got to see what it looks like.”
