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Andrew Lopez, ESPN
Free agent point guard Chris Paul has signed a one-year deal with the San Antonio Spurs worth more than $11 million, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Sunday.
Hours after the Golden State Warriors said they would waive him on the day his $30 million salary was guaranteed for the 2024-25 season, the Spurs and Ball wasted no time in talking about a deal.
Instead, Paul, 39, will spend his 20th NBA season in San Antonio as the Spurs look to build a winning team around 20-year-old star center Victor Wembaniyama along with coach Gregg Popovich.
After the March 11 loss to the Warriors, Popovich had nothing but praise for Paul.
“He’s one of the best competitors the league has ever had,” Popovich said. “He’s a great leader, a great competitor. It’s always fun to watch him.”
Last season with the Warriors, Paul, a 12-time All-Star, assumed a bench role and started just 18 of his 58 games, averaging 9.2 points and 6.8 assists in 26.4 minutes. In his debut, Paul averaged 11.9 points and 7.3 assists.
Ball is third in the NBA with 11,894 assists and joins a roster that went into the offseason with a need for a point guard.
The Spurs began experimenting last year with Jeremy Sochen at forward for a more traditional look with Dre Jones. San Antonio also selected Stephen Castle 4th overall in this year’s draft. Castle has said he wants to play point guard in the NBA.
Ball is on track to become the 11th player in NBA history to play 20 seasons. He returns to Texas where he played two seasons with the Houston Rockets from 2017 to 2019.
