Chris Paul has won all the NBA recognition except for the coveted Larry O’Brien Trophy.
The 40-year-old reached 12 All-Stars and 11 All-NBA teams in his career.
Stephen A. Smith recently rejected a comparison between Ty Halliburton and Paul because of the latter accomplishments.
In his 20th season, Paul played all 82 games of the San Antonio Spurs league games, making him the third NBA player in all games at the age of 40.
The Spurs were not qualified for the playoffs, but Paul showed off his sparkle with eight points and seven assists per game during the season.
He is an unlimited free agent in the offseason and one of his destinations may be LA.
Paul was a player that was supposed to perform for Kobe Bryant and La Lakers.
However, in 2011, the league refused to trade, which meant he had to move to the Houston Rockets instead.
At the time, Paul was one of the league’s best security guards, and pairing with Bryant was expected to lead to a championship.
Over a decade later, the 40-year-old had the chance to move back to Angel Land again.
He expressed his desire to be with his now-based family member.
“I’ve lived without them. I’ve been away from them for the past six years. That’s the conversation,” Paul said at the Pat McAfee Show.
Paul is friends with Lakers star LeBron James and has always appreciated his ability to perform at a high level of point guard.
The veteran is 40 years old and cannot play like his previous self, but Paul can still be worthy of the roster.
He led the team with the Spurs last season, making several clutch shots and helping Victor Wenbagnama become one of the best young players in the league.
Rob Perinka outlined the Lakers’ priorities as being center position this offseason, but bringing in talented free agents like Paul is something the Lakers do to develop other young stars.
| season | The game has been played | Average points | I’ll help on average |
| 2021-2022 | 65 | 14.7 | 10.8 |
| 2022-2023 | 59 | 13.9 | 8.9 |
| 2023-2024 | 58 | 9.2 | 6.8 |
| 2024-2025 | 82 | 8.8 | 7.4 |
The two-time Olympic gold medalist is likely to sign a veteran minimum contract, and having him as a backup guard can solve the problems the team has with production from the bench.
Gabe Vincent, who moved to the team two seasons ago, hasn’t had a major impact as he is in the final year of his contract with the Lakers.
Austin Reeves’ name is thrown into the trade mix and he could be impressed if the Lakers want to add another size.
With these two options gone, Paul was able to step up by filling out the team like he had in the past few years of his career.
He also has considerable experience in the playoffs and if the Lakers sign him as a free agent, they can expect professionalism.