Chris Paul explains why he chose to sign with Spurs instead of a top contender

Chris Paul had a simple explanation for why he picked the San Antonio Spurs rather than other teams more primed for contention.

Paul was released by the Golden State Warriors late last month. He didn’t waste any time agreeing to sign a one-year, $11 million deal with the Spurs.

In his introductory news conference Tuesday, Paul was asked about the quick decision to join the Spurs, who don’t project to be a contending team next season.

The 19-year veteran pointed to the huge role he’ll likely be asked to play while wearing silver and black. Paul also admitted that the comfort of playing somewhere in the West Coast, closer to his Los Angeles home, was trumped by his desire to play.

“I love nothing more than the opportunity to play and contribute and hoop … I love basketball so much that I could be close to home, but if I’m not playing, I’m not happy,” Paul said.

“And I love my family to death. So when we saw this opportunity, even though it’ll put me away from my family, my family knows me better than anybody and they know that I just want to play. I want to play more than anything.”

In his lone season with the Warriors, Paul took on a bench role for the first time in his career. He played a career-low 26.4 minutes per game and averaged fewer than 10 points for the first time.

With the Spurs, Paul will take on a much more critical role as the floor general next to French phenom Victor Wembanyama.