Despite the fact that he is set to be released by the Phoenix Suns, Chris Paul remains convinced that he still has some gas left in his tank.
Following his breaking news about the Suns and Paul, Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes reported that the star point man is planning to “play for several more years” and help a team to win a championship.
Paul, 38, is already at the twilight stage of his career, and he has shown some significant signs of aging this season for Phoenix upon playing just 59 games and averaging a career-low 13.9 points averages. His sudden groin injury against the Denver Nuggets in the second round of the postseason ultimately swiped away the Suns’ contending chances for a title this year despite acquiring Kevin Durant in a blockbuster trade.
With owner Mat Ishbia and the Suns looking to flip their next page with new coach Frank Vogel set to lead them, waiving Paul only means that they haven’t found any significant trade offers from the market to shoulder the future Hall of Famer’s $60.8 million left in his contract for the next two years – albeit that his current deal only guarantees him to earn $15.8 million of his $30.8 million salary for 2023-24.
Given that he is still hunting for that elusive championship, joining a contending club is a no-brainer for Paul. But landing in a developing team won’t also taint his reputation as he notably led a young Oklahoma City Thunder squad to a surprise finish last 2019-20 campaign.
It is yet to be seen which team will demand his service. But Paul, still being one of the wisest and greatest floor generals in this game regardless of his age and injury vulnerabilities, will still attract plenty of suitors when the free agency market finally opens.
