Chris Paul of the San Antonio Spurs and LeBron James of the L.A. Lakers
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SAN ANTONIO, TX - NOVEMBER 15: Chris Paul #3 of the San Antonio Spurs greets LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers before the start of the Emirates NBA Cup game at the Frost Bank Center on November 15, 2024 in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images)
Following on from this week’s report that 12-time NBA All-Star point guard Chris Paul will leave the San Antonio Spurs after just one season – itself coming after other reports that the 20-year veteran is not yet interested in retiring – thoughts turn to where he might go next.
Having played for both the Spurs and the Houston Rockets, the other Texan NBA franchise, the Dallas Mavericks, are gaining some traction as a potential Paul destination. With Cooper Flagg expected to soon to join the Mavericks via the draft alongside Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis, the Mavericks will have a two-timeline thing going on, and an unabashed veteran such as Paul who could help bridge the gap between them and raise the team’s immediate floor could be a strong candidate team. In light of their reported plans to pursue a point guard, such a move makes sense.
Paul, however, was also once a member of the Los Angeles Clippers. Therefore, what about if he was to start ticking off the Californian teams, go back to the City of Angels, and become a member of the Lakers, just like he was supposed to in 2011?
Lakers Must Evaluate Multiple Factors
Famously, the Lakers tried to complete a trade for Paul with the then-New Orleans Hornets, only for it to be vetoed by then-NBA Commissioner, David Stern. At the time, the NBA – awkwardly – owned the Hornets, having been required to step in as an intermediary owner while the team extricated itself from financial difficulties; Stern’s position was that the Paul trade was being vetoed purely because he did not like it as a basketball move for the team he was reluctantly in charge of at the time, rather than any wider comment on the trade partner being the Lakers. (Conspiratorially-minded fans may believe otherwise.)
Fourteen years later, though, and there are no such obstacles. Paul is a free agent, and the Spurs are preparing to move on without him. Both player and team are of course in very different positions to where they were fourteen years ago. That may, however, be a good thing. The possibility exists. For real, this time.
Broadly, any hypothetical move of Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers should be viewed through four different lenses.
What would he do for the team’s competitiveness timeline, both now and in the future?
How would he work on the court, particularly in comparison to other options?
How would he affect the team’s cohesion and chemistry?
Can they afford him, and if so, is he worth it?
The Best Veteran Point Guard Available
In terms of the timeline, this is perhaps the easiest part to answer.
Paul has perhaps one, two at most seasons left in him, as does incumbent Lakers superstar LeBron James, whose status for 2025-26 is still not officially determined but who now seems likely to opt in and return. James is the oldest-current player in the NBA, and Paul is the third. If LeBron is going to win another NBA championship, it will have to be next season. And the same is true of Paul. Any positive effects on the development of Luka Doncic and the remainder of the Lakers roster will simply be ancillary benefits.
In terms of the on-court fit, the Lakers have had a point guard problem this season. With Doncic and James on the court, a point guard’s role in the Lakers’ offence is not as dribble-intensive as it would be elsewhere, yet for all of Austin Reaves’s talents, he proved in his time trying to adapt to the role in the first half of this season that he is not a natural full-timer at the position. Reaves can create, but this is different to being someone who can always get to his spot, and get everyone else the ball in theirs. Paul, in theory, will maximise the talents of a Lakers roster replete with scoring talent, especially if the centre spot is concurrently upgraded with somebody worth passing to.
A point guard is perhaps not the Lakers’ most pressing need. That would be the centre spot, the exposure of which is what ended their season early. Nevertheless, Paul’s perimeter defence, unselfish, mid-range touch and endless knowledge would still be a big boon to one of the weakest point guard rotations in the league.
Paul’s Relationship With LeBron James
In terms of the off-court synergy, while there have been rumblings of Paul’s terse nature and testiness in his career, what Paul does have is high standards, for both himself and everyone else. He does not suffer fools gladly, and backs that up on the court by playing hard and taking the court almost every night.
More importantly, despite being rivals their entire careers, Paul and LeBron are known to be very good friends. They refer to each other as brothers, and Paul is godfather to LeBron’s child – and current L.A. Laker – Bronny James.
In James’s own words from 2018, he said he had “three very good friends in the NBA” – Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul. It is hereby noted that James has previously teamed up with the other two.
And finally, in terms of how much it would cost the Lakers to acquire Paul – he just signed a one-year, $11 million deal with the Spurs last summer, using the non-taxpayer mid-level exception. Due to luxury tax and second apron concerns, the Lakers will not have that much to spend, instead limited to the Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception amount that is currently projected to be worth $5,685,000 next season. So, if Paul will take it – that. That is the cost.
“If.”
Could The Lakers Finally Get Their Man?
Free agency opens in slightly more than a month, and because of their payroll expenditure, the Lakers will have few bullets to fire in it. For Paul to join the team, a lot of things need to happen, the most obvious of which would be a willing pay cut.
That said, if Paul is as willing to extend his career as he currently claims to be, a unison with his close friend makes sense. Suitors will be otherwise limited – Paul will not want to go to a lottery team, for there is no need for him to do so, and most contenders have their point guard situation sorted.
As above, the Mavericks figure to be a candidate for Paul’s signature, but so too could be the Lakers. And be advised – this is not a 2004 Gary Payton-esque situation. Paul still has it.