Warriors to waive future Hall of Famer

The Warriors are waiving point guard Chris Paul, Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Reports tweets. Paul will now become an unrestricted free agent once he clears waivers.

Golden State had to decide on Sunday whether to pick up its $30M option on Paul’s contract. Both the Warriors and Paul agreed to push back the guarantee date from Friday to Sunday.

The Warriors had attempted to include Paul’s contract in a blockbuster deal, including a potential swap with the Clippers for Paul George. However, they were unable to pull anything off.

Paul, who turned 39 in May, remained productive in 2023-24, averaging 9.2 points, 6.8 assists, and 3.9 rebounds in 26.4 minutes per game in 58 appearances (18 starts) for the Warriors. He posted a shooting line of .441/.371/.827.

The new rule prohibiting apron teams from signing a waived player whose previous salary was higher than the full MLE only applies if the player is waived during the regular season. Thus, Paul is free to sign with anyone.

The Suns, who can only offer veteran’s minimum contracts, could be an option for Paul. The Clippers have also mentioned as a potential landing spot. Another intriguing possibility is the Spurs, according to Marc Stein. The 12-time All-Star could be a natural, if short-term, pick-and-roll partner for Victor Wembanyama. There will undoubtedly be other suitors for the future Hall of Famer.

The Warriors, meanwhile, are in the unusual position of being under the tax aprons by shedding Paul’s contract. They currently have $147.2M in salary commitments among 12 players, nearly $31M under the first tax apron, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets. Klay Thompson and Dario Saric are now free agents.