Victor Wembanyama has done nothing but surpass expectations despite being in only his rookie season. The San Antonio Spurs may not have improved their win total from last season even with Wembanyama being a two-way monster who’s well on his way to becoming an unstoppable force, but it’s clear that the Spurs are on track to re-assuming their place at the apex of the Western Conference.

The next few years will be crucial in terms of how the Spurs build around Wembanyama. Some have floated the idea that they could go all-out and trade for Trae Young, but that doesn’t appear likely. Instead, they could be in the market for a veteran point guard who won’t command a pretty penny like Young would. Enter Chris Paul.

“A potential team to watch, should Paul and the Warriors part ways, is San Antonio. Among the early personnel rumbles in circulation: The Spurs could emerge as a Paul suitor if they decide to pursue some veteran know-how on a short-term contract basis to furnish presumptive Rookie of the Year winner Victor Wembanyama with more seasoned help in Year 2,” NBA insider Marc Stein wrote.

The Spurs have a few holes to fill still in their roster as they aim to return to contention. Acquiring a playmaker who is a threat on the outside is a must; Tre Jones, while a smart and willing passer, is someone defenses tend to ignore from beyond the arc. The Jeremy Sochan point guard experiment didn’t exactly work wonders as well.

Chris Paul is approaching his 40s, so it’s fair to wonder how much gas he has left in the tank. But Paul has helped most of his teams assume winning ways, turning around the New Orleans Hornets, Los Angeles Clippers, and Phoenix Suns, taking the Houston Rockets to a near-championship level, and then helping maintain a transitioning Oklahoma City Thunder team remain competitive.

He should have value for the Spurs. The question now is, can San Antonio find a way to acquire the famous Point God?

What will the Warriors do with Chris Paul’s contract?

It’ll be interesting how the Golden State Warriors approach the offseason. Chris Paul is slated to make $30.8 million next season, but his contract is completely non-guaranteed. The Dubs can either keep him, trade him to a team in need of cap relief so they could bring in additional help, or completely wipe his contract off the books to reduce their cap burden.

Given where the Warriors stand in the league these days, it’s unlikely that ownership will be willing to continue shelling out record luxury-tax payments. But therein lies the problem; the Warriors will be deciding on whether or not they would want to bring Klay Thompson back, and if they do, it will be inevitable for them to pay the luxury tax if they keep Paul around.

It’s also worthwhile to point out if bringing back the band is what’s best for both Chris Paul and the Warriors. Paul put up career-low numbers off the Warriors bench after being a starter for most of his career, and with Stephen Curry still locking down the point guard position, the Dubs will have to sacrifice size yet again if they want to give Paul minutes alongside Curry.

A parting of ways seems to be the wisest course of action, which could open up the possibility that the Spurs pair him up with Victor Wembanyama.

The Spurs’ point guard situation, a rundown

The Spurs began the 2023-24 season with Jeremy Sochan as the nominal point guard. Sochan has good ball skills for his size, but a point guard he is not. The experience sharpened Sochan’s court vision and passing, but exposed his weaknesses as well. He doesn’t have dynamic ballhandling that allows him to dissect defenses like a modern floor general, and he tends to get tunnel vision at times.

Tre Jones soon returned to the starting lineup, and the Spurs’ lineup regained some sense of normalcy. Jones played well, averaging 11.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 7.0 assists in 48 starts. Jones should be a quality player for some time. But his scoring game is limited, and his defense at the point of attack isn’t exactly top-tier.

San Antonio will have money to spend this offseason, so they could bring in Chris Paul, not just so the team’s young guys could learn from him, but because there are few players as accomplished in working with talented big men than he is. Paul made Deandre Ayton look like a million bucks. Ditto for DeAndre Jordan. David West had the best years of his career playing alongside Paul.

Even in his declined state, Paul can help bring out the best in Wembanyama, paving the way for the Spurs to develop the league’s next unstoppable force for the next decade or so.