Chris Paul to wear San Antonio uniform… and expect to work with Wembanyama

Veteran point guard Chris Paul of the National Basketball Association (NBA) is expected to join the San Antonio Spurs and work with “new man” Viktor Wembanyama.

Citing sources, sports media ESPN reported on the 1st (Korea Standard Time) that Paul agreed to a contract with San Antonio on the condition of a one-year term and an annual salary of $11 million (about 15.2 billion won).

Paul, who played for the Golden State Warriors for the 2023-2024 season, was released by his team the previous day and became a free agent. Paul’s choice was San Antonio, where Wembley will stay.

Local basketball commentator Chris Haines announced Paul’s trip to San Antonio on social media, saying, “He had a satisfying conversation with coach Gregg Popper Beach. He was attracted to help increase Wembley’s performance.”

“Paul wants to prove that he is still a quality guard in the league,” he added. 동행복권파워볼

Paul, born in 1985, will play his 20th season in the NBA in 2024-2025. Paul made his debut with the New Orleans Hornets (now the Pelicans) in the 2005-2006 season and later played for the Los Angeles Clippers, Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State.

He has been named an All-Star 12 times, was named an All-Star Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 2013, and has been named the season’s best 5 four times following the 2006 Rookie of the Year award.

He was also selected as the world’s strongest U.S. national team and won gold medals at the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympics, making him a top guard in the league.

During the 2023-2024 season, he played in 58 regular league games while wearing the Golden State uniform, averaging 9.2 points and 6.8 assists and 3.9 rebounds. The record for a regular league game is 17.5 points and 9.4 assists and 4.5 rebounds.

San Antonio, where Paul will join, is rebuilding its team around Wembley, who unanimously received the 2023-2024 Rookie of the Year award.

Paul is glad to join the team, as he struggled last season due to lack of ball handlers to handle the situation. San Antonio is ranked 14th in the Western Conference with 22 wins and 60 losses.

Wembanyama, who joined San Antonio as the No. 1 overall rookie draft last year, was earlier called the “talent of the century.”

Even with a height of more than 220cm, he showed the same movements as guards and forwards, producing stable shots while dribbling.

He played 71 games in his debut season and averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 3.6 blocks. His field goal success rate was 46.5 percent and his three-point success rate was 32.5 percent. His average of 3.6 blocks was the highest in the last eight seasons.