When Chris Paul joined the Los Angeles Clippers in December of 2011 it rejuvenated the fanbase that had been longing for a winning environment. The Clippers have reached the postseason every year since then, but have had little success.
After falling in the first round this year to the Utah Jazz, there are a lot of important decisions that need to be made this summer and the biggest revolve around Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, both of whom are unrestricted free agents. Things have panned out the way they were supposed to with the three All-Stars at the helm and Paul has the decision of signing a massive five-year contract extension worth $205 million dollars this offseason.
Paul could be looking to spend the end of his career with a winning franchise and that possible destination could be the San Antonio Spurs. ESPN’s Zach Lowe said on his podcast that the Spurs could give the Clippers a serious threat of luring Paul away.
“There’s been a lot of rumblings about Chris Paul, and I think that’s real,” Lowe says. “I think there’s mutual interest there. I don’t know how real it is given the Clippers can offer a gigantic amount of money and are also a really good team; and the Spurs, like I said, have no sort of cap flexibility to get there. I’m very curious about what they do this summer and who’s on the team next year.”
With Tony Parker’s best years behind him, Paul could be a tremendous fit in San Antonio because he fits Gregg Popovich’s style of playing unselfishly. He would be able to maximize the most out of Kawhi Leonard and most importantly, LaMarcus Aldridge.
Aside from a few strong performances, Aldridge struggled in the postseason and in combination with Leonard’s ankle injury, the Spurs sputtered against the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals.
The biggest factor in all of this is whether Paul is willing to give up a large chunk of money to look elsewhere to end his career. Signing his extension would make him the highest paid player in the league and would allow to finish his career trying to bring the Clippers fanbase an NBA Championship.