Chris Paul to sign with Spurs: reports

Chris Paul has had high praise for Spurs star Victor Wembanyama in the past.

Veteran point guard Chris Paul is set to sign with the San Antonio Spurs, according to multiple reports.

Paul, 39, spent one season with the Warriors, who acquired him before last season in the Jordan Poole trade. The transaction amounted to a salary dump for the Warriors, with Paul’s contract now coming off the books.

Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Paul’s agreed-upon deal with the Spurs is worth at least $11 million for one year.

Paul became a free agent on Sunday when the Warriors waived him. They agreed to move his contract guarantee date back a couple days while searching for a possible trade, but none materialized.

In San Antonio for his 20th NBA season, the 12-time All-Star will team up with 20-year-old phenom Victor Wembanyama. Before Wembanyama became the league’s Rookie of the Year, Paul watched him play in an exhibition against the G League Ignite.

“To see him putting it all together and to know the type of work ethic…and hear how they talk about him around here is pretty cool, too,” Paul said after the Warriors beat the Spurs in San Antonio on March 11.

In that win, Paul started in place of Steph Curry and logged 19 points, nine rebounds and eight assists — among his best performances of the season. He still has game.

For the Warriors, Paul accepted a bench role for the first time in his career, but has a good chance to start for the Spurs. San Antonio struggled at the point guard position last year, experimenting with Jeremy Sochan as the lead guard.

Paul should be excellent for Wembanyama’s development. As a playmaking maestro, Paul can help Wembanyama hone his game in the pick-and-roll. Wembanyama averaged 21.4 points and 10.6 blocks per game in his rookie campaign and is already an elite defender; he led the NBA with 3.6 blocks per game.

“He’s such a smart player and a good defender that he changed a couple of my middies tonight,” Paul said on March 11. “You’ve got to shoot it to the moon. One of the lobs I threw to Trayce, he got a hand on it. He does a lot of things that don’t show up on the stat sheet.”

The Spurs went 22-60 last year, finishing 14th in the West. Paul has a history of making young, upstart teams credible, though; in 2019-20, he helped a 21-year-old Shai Gilgeous-Alexander take the Thunder to the fifth seed.