Chris Paul's future projects to be away from the Warriors

Chris Paul has a $30 million team option on his contract for next season. The Golden State Warriors are widely expected to decline that option. Paul would then enter unrestricted free agency in the summer. After missing out on a potential championship run, Paul is still searching for an opportunity to get his hands on the Larry O'Brien Trophy. 

According to NBC Sports' Kurt Helin, that opportunity is unlikely to come with Golden State.

“It’s highly unlikely Chris Paul will be back with the Warriors next season,” Helin wrote. “It’s not that Steve Kerr or anyone else is unhappy with his play — this was the best Golden State’s non-Curry minutes have been in years, and much of that was thanks to Paul. It’s just a financial situation where the Warriors are trying to cut back on their steep tax bill, and another team will likely offer CP3 more money than the Warriors want to pay their backup point guard.”

Warriors owner Joe Lacob has previously spoken about the team's desire to duck under the luxury tax for the 2024-25 season as Golden State looks to begin retooling its roster.

“Our Plan 1, or 1A, is actually we’d like to be out of the tax, and we think that we have a way to do that,” Lacob said during an interview with Tim Kawakami of The Athletic. “That kind of is the plan, not just under the second apron. I’ll tell you why that’s important, because the truth is that we need to be out of the tax two years out of the next four, below the tax line, in order to get this repeater thing off our books. We don’t want to be a repeater."

Paul's reputation as an elite playmaking guard will ensure he has multiple options during the summer. The Warriors would likely welcome him back next season if he was willing to take a significant pay cut. After all, he will be entering his age-39 season. 

It's unlikely that Paul will opt to join a rebuilding team or a roster that doesn't project to be in contention. At this point in his career, playing a role for a contender will likely be at the top of his priorities as he chases the one thing that has alluded him throughout his career: a championship. 

If Paul is open to continuing his new role as a bench guard, he won't be on the free-agent market for long.