The San Antonio Spurs may already be cooking something up for Victor Wembanyama’s expected arrival.
Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer reported on Friday that the Spurs are one of the teams that have been connected with a big-name guard — 12-time All-Star Chris Paul.
The 38-year-old Paul may soon become available, as the Phoenix Suns look to formally decide on his future (before Paul’s contract for next season is fully-guaranteed on June 28). An outright release by the Suns is a possibility, which would pave the way for Paul to become an unrestricted free agent.
Paul has already played in the state of Texas (for the Houston Rockets from 2017-19) and is also familiar with Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, from both the USA Basketball circuit and various playoff battles over the years.
For the purposes of Wembanyama, San Antonio’s expected No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft later this month, Paul would be an ideal veteran running mate. He could get the Spurs into their halfcourt sets, feed the ball to Wembanyama in optimal scoring pockets and calm the offense down when needed. At the same time, Wembanyama and his Goliathan frame would easily be able to create separation for Paul on screens while covering for the point guard's physical decline with his athleticism and his paint-to-paint play.
Still, it may not be as simple for the Spurs as printing out the documents for Paul’s signature. They will face big opposition for the 11-time All-NBA guard from some teams with a geographic advantage.
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