CP3 has a new home in the West. As per The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the Warriors waived Chris Paul ahead of his $30 million contract guarantee date on Sunday. This made Paul eligible as an unrestricted free agent, free to sign with any team. The team turned out to be the San Antonio Spurs, who reportedly will sign him on a $11 million, one-year deal. The interesting aspect of this move is that Paul has mostly played on the teams who have been rivals of the Spurs.

Notably, the 12x All-Star joined the Golden State Warriors after a trade, sending Jordan Poole to the Wizards last summer. But the decline in his performance and a career-low 9.2 ppg made the Warriors decide to move on from Paul.

A closer look at Chris Paul’s time against the Spurs

Having played on teams having a rivalry with the Spurs, Paul faced the franchise in the post-season on three occasions. The first of these came during the 2007-08 season when the Point God was with the Spurs’ divisional rivals, New Orleans Hornets (now New Orleans Pelicans). Pauls’s team faced a 4-3 loss in the Conference semi-finals, where he averaged 23.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 10.7 assists against the Spurs.

As for the Clippers’ rivalry with the Spurs, it lasted only till the time Paul stayed with the LA franchise. The 5x assists leader faced the Spurs in the playoffs with the Clippers on two occasions. The first instance turned out to be an embarrassing experience for CP3 as the Spurs swept the Clippers in the 2012 Conference semi-finals.

Paul managed just 12.8 points per game against the Spurs, but the situation changed for good in the 2015 playoffs. In the first round of the 2015 playoffs, the Clippers had their revenge on the Spurs with a 4-3 win. The 12x All-Star delivered an impressive average of 22.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 7.9 assists against the Spurs. Moreover, he hit the series-clinching shot in Game 7 with just a second left.

Apart from this, the Phoenix Suns was yet another team that had one of the most popular rivalries with the Spurs. However, Paul played with the Suns during the time (2020–2023) when not much of it was left. Now one may wonder why, after all of this, Paul would want to head to Spurs as his next destination.

“Sold on the culture“: Paul’s intent behind joining Spurs as per reports

Paul’s reported deal with the Spurs will yield him $11 million for one year. The team was looking to surround their Rookie of the Year, Victor Wembanyama, with a floor general. And despite Paul’s age, there aren’t many better at running an offense than the Point God. As for CP3 himself, NBA insider Chris Haynes reported Paul had a conversation with Spurs head coach, Gregg Popovich.

“(Paul) was sold on the culture and opportunity to help elevate the game of Victor Wembanyama. CP is eager and motivated to showcase he’s still an elite guard in this league,” Haynes reported. Notably, Wemby had an impressive start to his NBA career with a season where he averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 1.2 steals and a league-high 3.6 blocks per game.

The Spurs have already strengthened its backcourt with Stephon Castle — the fourth pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Now, Chris Paul had his career-low season in terms of points per game. But his passing abilities reflected in 6.8 assists per game last season and a shooting percentage of 44.1% cannot be ignored. So the possibility of Spurs getting a boost with his addition is very real.

Stay tuned for more such updates. And to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.