Chris Paul returns to the Los Angeles Clippers on a one year, $3.6 million deal for his presumed final season in the NBA to conclude a storied career, which has spanned 21 years and seven teams. A surefire Hall-of-Famer, Paul has impacted every team in which he’s been on and has served as a prototypical floor general everywhere he’s gone. But does Paul elevate the Clippers, who flamed out disappointedly versus the Denver Nuggets last season in the first round, into legitimate contenders this upcoming season?
Adding Paul to the mix introduces a more-than-capable playmaker to fortify the Clips’ bench. Los Angeles also made moves this offseason by acquiring John Collins and signing Brook Lopez and Bradley Beal; unshabby replacements for losing a dynamic offensive force in Norman Powell.
Chris Paul signs with Clippers: Analysis
On DraftKings Sportsbook, the Clippers’ odds for this upcoming season have not changed following Paul’s signing. They remain at +2800 to capture the title, +1400 to win the Western Conference, and +180 to take down the NBA Pacific division. But make no mistake; this is a deep, veteran roster that contains championship pedigree in Brook Lopez and Kawhi Leonard. All-NBA point guard James Harden, despite his playoff woes, has a lot of toys to play with, here. We all know how high the ceiling gets when he gets to share play making duties with Paul, as we last saw during the iteration of the Houston Rockets that won 65 games and took the juggernaut Warriors to seven.
Paul is coming off a miraculously healthy season for the San Antonio Spurs in which he played all 82 games, an unreal accomplishment for a 39-year-old in the age of load management. He averaged 8.8 points and 7.4 assists, but his efficiency has waned over time. He’s not longer the savvy offensive force he used to be, but he still shot 37.7% from beyond-the-arc and will be able to pick apart opposing benches with ease.
Following Paul’s signing, DraftKings Sportsbook added Paul as a contender for 6MOTY at +15000 odds, a tremendous return for a player with Paul’s abilities in his twilight years. But it will be tough for Paul to take down the award, given 6MOTY historically has favored at least some degree of offensive output; the last winner who averaged single digit points was Anthony Mason in 1995 (9.9 PPG).
But as always with any team involving Kawhi Leonard, this team’s postseason success will ride on Leonard’s ability to get on the court. Having Paul will help the Clips manage Leonard’s playing time during the season and this will be, I suspect, one of the last few remaining championship pushes for a lot of players on this roster.
