Golden State Warriors guard Chris Paul's form has been slowly declining over the past few seasons, proving once again that no matter how great you once was, time will eventually catch up, and now the greatest point guard of all time seems to be at the end of his career.
ESPN officially announced today that Paul will officially be a guest analyst on the NBA's countdown show during the upcoming Eastern Conference Finals, where the 12-time All-Star will be paired with sports celebrities such as Marika Andrews, Stephen A. Smith, Bob Myers and Michael Wilburn, while ESPN ace reporter Woj will also be in attendance. Many fans interpret this message as saying that Paul has found a new job and is about to retire, and although this is still inconclusive, the editor believes that Paul may play at least another season.
Paul just had the worst season of his career, averaging just 9.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and 6.8 assists in 26.4 minutes per game while shooting 44.1 percent from the field. With the exception of assists, which ranks 12th in the league, all other stats are career lows, and even worse, the 39-year-old has started just 18 games this season, 27 fewer than his second-lowest starts.
There's no need for Paul to be ashamed of this season's stats, given that there are only a handful of people who have been in the NBA for 19 years, let alone as a primary bench player on a playoff team. But Paul's career has not been perfect, he still hasn't won a championship so far, and if that's Paul's only goal for the rest of his career, he should leave the Warriors because this player doesn't have any outstanding talent other than the aging superstar Stephen Curry.
But no matter what, Paul still expressed his desire to return to the Warriors in an interview with The Athletic's reporter Anthony Slater. "I'll talk to my wife, kids, family, team of agents to see how it goes, but it's not the end of my career, I'm sure of that," Paul said. ”
Paul has one year left on his contract, $30 million of which is not guaranteed, and the Warriors can cut him by June 28 or have the option to trade him, and his expiring contract is still attractive to some teams that desperately need to clear salary space. While Paul has already confirmed that he will play at least one more season, presumably his becoming a full-time commentator may be something that will happen sooner or later.