Chris Paul Gets Something He’s Never Had Before from the San Antonio Spurs
Watching the San Antonio Spurs play last season, one thing was abundantly clear: Victor Wembanyama is a top-15 player in the NBA as long as he has a steady point guard on the floor with him. Last season, Tre Jones was his running mate. While Jones is perfectly capable of getting Wembanyama the ball in the right spot, he is far from elite, so the Spurs upgraded.
This summer, they drafted Stephon Castle and signed free agent Chris Paul, who is widely considered one of the greatest point guards of all time. While he is 39 years old and past his prime, the expectation is that he will be an upgrade from Jones and will serve as a mentor while Castle adjusts to the NBA. Paul has played 19 NBA seasons and has had his fair share of talented teammates.
DeAndre Jordan, Deandre Ayton, Blake Griffin, David West, Tyson Chandler, and Clint Capela are all high-level NBA big men who played with Paul, although none of them were outside shooting threats. Griffin, who added a three-point shot during his tenure with the Detroit Pistons, shot a measly 29.9 percent from three on incredibly limited attempts in games he played with the Point God.
Victor Wembanyama, on the other hand, took 5.5 threes last season and made 32.5 percent of them. While those numbers aren’t elite by any means, he does serve as a shooting threat and is expected to improve this season. Chris Paul has never played with a big man who can defend, shoot, cut, and catch lobs like Wembanyama can. In the final stages of his career, Paul will be passing to a 20-year-old who encapsulates all the best attributes of all of his former teammates.
Not only is he the biggest lob target Paul has ever played with, but he is a solid pick-and-pop threat that spaces the floor while Paul drives to the basket. He can also occupy the dunker’s spot.
