Chris Paul choose Clippers over Suns for farewell tour, signing a one-year deal

Charania on Paul choosing Clippers over Suns:

In his 20th season with the San Antonio Spurs, Paul averaged 8.8 points and 7.4 assists, keeping his career-long 6.5+ assist streak alive. Despite in the twilight of his illustrious career, the 40-year-old ranked sixth in total assists and seventh in assists per game in the NBA. His most impressive feat might’ve been appearing in all 82 games for only the second time in his career.

Phoenix failed to bring back Paul to the Valley, where the duo of him and Devin Booker shared great success. The pair had a combined record of 120-42 and reached both of their first NBA Finals in their career in 2021 and set a franchise record in wins the following season with 64.

The front office elected that Paul would be on the decline of his career, after the team was eliminated by the eventual NBA champions Denver Nuggets in 2023. The Point God was shipped off in what is now considered the worse trade in the organizations history, bringing Bradley Beal to the Suns.

The franchise is just beginning feeling the aftermath of the trade, agreeing to a contract buyout with Phoenix a week ago. Beal will be paid for the team for the next five years, while Paul is closing out his storybook career with the Clippers, where he spent five seasons with from 2011-2017.

Paul will be a first-ball Hall of Famer in canton the moment he is eligible to be inducted. He has played for seven teams in his career and appeared close to picking Phoenix to be the team to close out his storybook career, but elected Los Angeles as it appears to be a better situation for Paul to compete one last time for his first championship.