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Clippers appear headed for reunion with their greatest player
Chris Paul. Katie Goodale / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Clippers appear headed for reunion with their greatest player

Chris Paul's return to the Los Angeles Clippers may not be a done deal, but team president Lawrence Frank says they're "strongly, strongly considering it."

After the Clippers officially added Bradley Beal to their roster, they have one roster spot open. Based on Frank's comments during a Zoom meeting Saturday, that spot is likely to go to Chris Paul, arguably the greatest player in the franchise's history.

After Frank emphatically declared that the Beal signing was "Done!" (the team had to wait until Beal received his $13M advance payment from the Phoenix Suns Tuesday), Frank said Paul was "a great player, a great Clipper" and added that the team was "strongly, strongly considering him."

Paul told Jemele Hill that he would play "at most, a year" in the NBA before retiring. He also suggested that if he did play in 2025-26, it would be near the Los Angeles area, where his family lives.

"My wife and my kids are in L.A.…My wife and my kids have been in L.A. all six of those years...I love to play basketball but I love my kids and my family more," Paul told Hill. "That is going to weigh a huge part on my decision on what happens next year."

Paul didn't have a bitter exit from the Clippers when he left to chase a title with James Harden and the Houston Rockets in 2017. Now, the team has an open roster spot, and a need for an additional point guard behind Harden. Kris Dunn is a top-tier defender, but not the playmaker and shooter that Paul still is.

After five All-Star teams, five All-NBA teams and six All-Defensive teams with the Clippers in his first stretch with the team, L.A. is the perfect place for Paul to wrap up his Hall of Fame career. He should strongly, strongly consider going back to his old team.

Sean Keane

Sean Keane is a sportswriter and a comedian based in Oakland, California, with experience covering the NBA, MLB, NFL and Ice Cube’s three-on-three basketball league, The Big 3. He’s written for Comedy Central’s “Another Period,” ESPN the Magazine, and Audible. com

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