Chris Paul apparently won’t be a member of the Washington Wizards for long.
The Phoenix Suns traded the 12-time All-Star to the Wizards Sunday for guard Bradley Beal. Suns guard Landry Shamet and multiple draft picks also changed hands.
Roughly an hour after that news broke, TNT’s Chris Haynes reported that the Wizards are “likely to reroute” Paul. The most likely destination? The Los Angeles Clippers, where Paul starred for six seasons before leaving in 2017.
The Washington Wizards are likely to reroute Chris Paul in a trade and the Los Angeles Clippers are expected to pursue a reunion with the future Hall of Famer, league sources tell @NBAonTNT, @BleacherReport.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 18, 2023
Paul has sparked plenty of speculation recently after news broke the Suns planned to cut ties with him. The Clippers had been mentioned as a possible landing spot for Paul, along with the Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets.
At age 38, Paul is definitely not vintage “CP3,” but he can still play at a high level as a playmaker and he could be the critical final piece for a contender. The Clippers make sense, especially with point guard Russell Westbrook likely to depart in free agency this offseason.
NBA fans had mixed feelings about Paul possibly reuniting with the Clippers.
Teams won’t guard Chris Paul like this, which is a plus pic.twitter.com/DoPs1tJNY0
— Justin W. (@LAClippersFilm) June 18, 2023
The Clippers would need to send out $22.6M to match for Chris Paul.
They have plenty of ways to get there with a combination of Eric Gordon, Marcus Morris, and Robert Covington, among others. https://t.co/DndGEC3zGx
— Yossi Gozlan (@YossiGozlan) June 18, 2023
The Clippers can quickly make salaries work for a Chris Paul trade with Eric Gordon’s $20.9 million salary (fully guarantees on 6/28) + Robert Covington or Nicolas Batum.
Whether it’s with the Clippers or Lakers, CP3 seems destined to end up in Los Angeles. https://t.co/5GowuWynLE
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) June 18, 2023
Let's get the band back together! On the horn to Blake and DeAndre!! ☎️
— Francis 🇦🇺 (@FrancisOKC) June 18, 2023
Chris Paul coming back to takeover the Clippers locker room pic.twitter.com/DL1RAqyWsS
— Rob Lopez (@r0bato) June 18, 2023
Paul gets hurt every single post season. He’ll fit in well with George and Kawhi.
— CMP (@CMP_MD) June 18, 2023
Wow. This is wild…it’s not even draft day yet 😭
— Drew Norton (@IamDrewNorton) June 18, 2023
CP3, Kawhi, and PG13 are gonna have the best seats in the house watching the clippers play from the sideline during the playoffs.
(I love PG13 and Kawhi but I gotta keep in real) 🤷🏾.
— Darnell Gilet (@DarnellGilet) June 18, 2023
