The Golden State Warriors are facing a June 28 deadline to either pick up the opton on Chris Paul and his contract or decline it for the 2024-25 season.
Paul, 39, has $30 million non-guaranteed due to him after spending his first season with the Warriors in 2023-24.
Conventional wisdom seems to suggest that the Warriors will decline said option. The 12-time All-Star is no longer the player he used to be. Golden State is coming off a 2023-24 campaign in which it boasted the largest payroll in NBA history. It also represented the third time in five years that this team has missed the playoffs. Paying an over-the-hill Paul $30 million makes no sense.
With that said, it looks like Paul and the Warriors could be coming to an agreement to push his contract option from that June 28 deadline.
NBA insider Marc Stein reports that it would be for Paul to help facilitate a trade to another team. It could be a win-win situation with Paul earning more in 2024-25 than he would on the open market and the Warriors picking up assets for the future Hall of Famer.
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Chris Paul trade scenarios from the Golden State Warriors
Paul averaged 9.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and 6.8 assists in 58 games for the Warriors this past season. It represented the worst statistical performance of his career.
Despite this, contending teams would love to have his veteran experience in the mix. That includes Paul being linked to best friend LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.
There are also other teams who might simply take on Paul’s contract while declining his option. That would be a pure cost-cutting move by sending out a contract or two to the Warriors.
Pure conjecture here. But the Chicago Bulls are looking to unload Zach LaVine’s contract. He does not have a tremendous amount of value following an injury-plagued 2023-24 season. Golden State is also said to be in the market for a wing.
Paul’s former Phoenix Suns team is also in the market for a point guard. They could offer up big man Jusuf Nurkic and guard Grayson Allen to make the contracts work.
Either way, it’s no longer a foregone conclusion that Paul will hit NBA free agency. A trade could take hold before then. There is also a chance he returns to the Warriors on a smaller contract.