-
Andrew Lopez, ESPN
Free agent point guard Chris Paul is signing a one-year contract worth more than $11 million with the San Antonio Spurs, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Sunday.
The Spurs and Paul wasted no time in negotiating a deal just hours after the Golden State Warriors informed the veteran point guard they were waiving him the day his $30 million salary for the 2024-25 season was set to guarantee.
Instead, Paul, 39, will spend his 20th NBA season in San Antonio, joining forces with coach Gregg Popovich as the Spurs look to build a winning team around 20-year-old star center Victor Wembanyama.
After a loss to the Warriors on March 11, Popovich had nothing but praise for Paul.
“He’s one of the all-time best competitors ever in the league,” Popovich said. “He’s a great leader, great competitor. It’s always fun to see him.”
Last season with the Warriors, Paul, a 12-time All-Star, accepted a bench role and started only 18 of the 58 games he played, averaging 9.2 points and 6.8 assists in 26.4 minutes. In his starts, Paul averaged 11.9 points and 7.3 assists.
Paul is third all time in the NBA in assists with 11,894 and joins a roster that went into the offseason with a need at point guard.
The Spurs started last year experimenting with forward Jeremy Sochan at the spot before pivoting to a more traditional look with Tre Jones. San Antonio also chose Stephon Castle with the No. 4 pick in this year’s draft. Castle has said he’d like to play point guard in the NBA.
Paul is on track to become the 11th player in NBA history to play 20 seasons. He returns to Texas, where he played two seasons with the Houston Rockets during 2017 to ’19.