The season didn’t end the way Chris Paul had hoped in his first season with the Golden State Warriors. Anyone who saw the Warriors get blown out by the Sacramento Kings in an NBA play-in game already knows that.
But Paul, 38, said he has no plans to call it quits. This despite the fact his game is clearly on the decline and his contributions to Golden State were minimal.
“I’ll talk to my wife and my kids, my family, my support system, see what it looks like,” Paul told Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “But this isn’t (the end of my career). I know it for sure.”
That said, Paul was on a one-year deal with the Warriors. It’s hard to envision them bringing him back. But he has the name and know-how to be able to perhaps find another NBA team in free agency.
“I haven’t thought about it,” Paul said of free agency, via Slater. “I’m too in it. I was in the gym at 8 a.m. this morning, lifting and getting ready for this game. When it’s time for that, (GM Mike Dunleavy Jr.) and (coach Steve Kerr), we’ll have a conversation and see what it looks like. But I loved it. It’s honestly — this is my fifth year living without my family — I probably saw them more than any other year.”
In his first season with the Warriors, Paul averaged 9.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and 6.8 assists while shooting 44.1% from the field, 37.1% from 3 and 82.7% from the foul line. He appeared in 58 games.
The Warriors have plenty of tough decisions to make, as their aging roster was on full display for most of the season — particularly in the second half against the Kings.
Along with Paul, shooting guard Klay Thompson will become a free agent. He may be back out of loyalty from the Warriors, but the sense is Thompson will test the market this summer.
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