The Clippers had a need for a playmaker and ballhandler, and they were able to find that “natural fit” with Chris Paul.
Paul spent six seasons with the Clippers, a time when he had plenty of success leading them to relevancy and now he’s back to play his 21st season, which might be his last.
Paul, 40, a 12-time All-Star, agreed to a contract that will pay him $3.6 million next season.
“Chris was a natural fit,” Lawrence Frank, the Clippers’ president of basketball operations, said over Zoom on Tuesday. “His roots with the organization are deep and meaningful. He obviously played a tremendous role in the upward trajectory of the franchise. He wanted to return to the Clippers and we wanted it the same, as long as it made sense with our current roster — and it does.”
Paul has spent his entire 20-year career as a starter in the NBA, playing in all 82 games last season with the San Antonio Spurs. He averaged 8.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 7.4 assists in 28 minutes per game while shooting 42.7% from the field.
Over the course of playing in 1,354 regular-season games, Paul has started in 1,314.
Frank said Paul will “slot into our roster as a reserve point guard,” a role the two of them discussed.
“So, we don’t take that lightly when you’re taking on a different role,” Frank said. “And so there were a lot of conversations. You put everything on the table and get everyone comfortable with it. But the fact that Chris wanted to come back, wanted to be at home, wanted to be with the Clippers, we obviously know what his skill set is, but we also wanted to make sure the role made perfect sense from both people’s perspective.
“And so I thought it was a very, very thorough process in terms of how we went about it, just to make sure that everyone knows exactly what we’re signing up for and we feel really, really good about it.”
Playing time also could be tricky at the guard spot with Paul now on board.
James Harden, who averaged 35.3 minutes per game last season, and Bradley Beal are the likely starters in the backcourt for Clippers coach Tyronn Lue. Then there is Kris Dunn, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Paul who could be in the rotation.
“We know that ballhandling was a little bit of an issue for us last year and we wanted to get … Chris was the best guy for the job as long as everyone understood exactly what the role was and we can all embrace it,” Frank said. “And so, we’ve been very, very honest and direct and we feel great that Chris is back.”
Frank said Harden played a big role in the team acquiring Beal. Frank was asked if Harden talked to Paul about returning to the Clippers. Harden and Paul played two seasons together in Houston, from 2017 to 2019, and there were reports that their relationship was strained.
Frank said, “They did.” when asked if Harden and Paul had talked.
“And when talking to James, talking to Kawhi [Leonard] — and we talked about what the role would be — both guys said CP would be the best guy for this role,” Frank said.
Paul and Beal have both worn No. 3 their entire careers. But Frank said Beal will let Paul wear No. 3 and decide later what his new number will be.
“So, it’s awesome that Brad made such a great gesture like that,” Frank said. “And so Chris will be No. 3.”
During his six seasons with the Clippers, from 2011 until 2017, Paul helped the franchise reach new heights. He joined Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan to form “Lob City.”
But it sounds as if this will be Paul’s last season in the NBA and it’ll be with the Clippers and it’ll allow him to play in front of his family that lives in the Los Angeles area.
“Well, I think there’s the nostalgic aspect,” Frank said. “But I think the No. 1 question that we always say, is how can he help impact winning? … And yeah, look, there’s the heartstrings part of it, of someone who was such a significant part of the Clippers’ rise to be able to bring it back. Whether this is his last year or not, that’s obviously Chris’ story in terms of what he feels and what he wants. But I think No. 1 is his ability to help impact winning.”
