Why Spurs Should Sign Chris Paul If Cut by Suns

The San Antonio Spurs could sign Chris Paul to mentor rookie Victor Wembanyama.

Jeremy Brener | Jun 8, 2023

Why Spurs Should Sign Chris Paul If Cut by Suns /

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The San Antonio Spurs are just two weeks away from taking Victor Wembanyama with the No. 1 pick.

While Wembanyama is expected to hold down the fort at the center position for years to come, the Spurs still need a point guard to help him out. While Chris Paul isn't a long-term option for the Spurs, he may be looking for a new home after conflicting reports came out about his future with the San Antonio Spurs.

Paul, 38, has two years left on his contract with the Suns, but he's only guaranteed part of his salary this season, while all of his money next year isn't guaranteed. This means that the Suns and Paul could be heading for divorce.

"If the Suns want to dump Chris Paul this offseason, the Spurs should offer to absorb him into their cap space," CBS Sports tweeted. "He only has one guaranteed year on his deal. Ask Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Devin Booker what a great mentor he can be for a young star."

The Spurs can afford Paul's contract with their oodles of cap space, and having a veteran of his stature could do wonders for a young team, and a budding star like Wembanyama. In every stop along his 18-year NBA career, Paul has left a place better than how he found it.

He led the New Orleans Hornets to the No. 2 seed in the West, pushed the Los Angeles Clippers to multiple deep playoff runs, positioned the Houston Rockets one game away from the NBA Finals before a brutal injury, shocked the world with the Oklahoma City Thunder and catapulted the Suns to 65 wins. Now, one can only imagine what he can do with Wembanyama and the upstart Spurs.

Paul may be a short-term investment, and perhaps the money shelled out to him would hinder the opportunity to give a chunky, four-year deal to a prized free agent this year that would be better for the future, but the Spurs don't need to compete for an NBA championship next season. It would be far from the expectation, but if Paul was in the fold, the Spurs would be closer to competing for one.

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Published Jun 8, 2023

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.