Reports indicate that Chris Paul has reached an agreement to join the Los Angeles Clippers, as stated by Shams Charania of ESPN.
Veteran NBA reporter Chris Haynes announced on Monday that Paul is set to ink a one-year, $3.6 million deal with the Clippers, a team he previously represented from 2011 to 2017.
Both Charania and Haynes have indicated that the 2025-26 season, marking Paul’s 21st year in the NBA, is expected to be the final season for the 12-time All-Star.
He was part of the San Antonio Spurs this past season under a 1-year, $10.9 million agreement.
Paul entered the offseason as an unrestricted free agent and was considered among the top point guard options available. Following Fred VanVleet’s decision to re-sign with the Houston Rockets, Paul was designated as Yahoo Sports’ highest-rated free-agent point guard.
Even though his scoring output has diminished, Paul continues to be a proficient floor director and facilitator at age 40. Furthermore, he is coming off his most injury-free season in recent years. Paul participated in and started every one of San Antonio’s 82 regular season games last year.
Paul’s scoring average in 2024-25 was a career-low 8.8 points per game. Nevertheless, he remained one of the most effective playmakers in basketball, averaging 7.4 assists against only 1.6 turnovers per game. When he took shots, he displayed accuracy from beyond the arc, converting 37.7% of his 3-point attempts at a rate of 4.5 attempts per game. Additionally, the six-time steals leader continued to make contributions defensively, averaging 1.3 steals per game.
In summary, Paul might not be at the same level as his prime, during which he was arguably the best pure point guard of his generation on both offense and defense. Nevertheless, he is still an influential player and one of the league’s most admired veteran voices both on and off the court.
