Spurs' painful Chris Paul decision looks better with each passing game

Chris Paul somewhat heroically played every game for the San Antonio Spurs last season at 39 years old. But after the 2024-25 campaign concluded, the Spurs and Paul parted ways and the veteran point guard headed to the much less green pastures of Los Angeles, where he was eventually cut by the Clippers for... Trying to be too much of a leader? That part is still a mystery to me.

But two months into this year, it's pretty obvious that not retaining Paul — despite how it's kind of sad to let a future Hall-of-Famer walk after he provided what was expected of him — was the correct decision for this franchise.

Stephon Castle has been so good that we have to rethink his entire career outlook, Dylan Harper is one of the most promising point guard prospects in years, and De'Aaron Fox is still the floor general and clutch player the Spurs traded for last season. This is a full, fun, and explosive backcourt.

Even if Paul did still have something in the tank, there wouldn't be much role for him in this suddenly stacked backcourt. The training wheels have been taken off Castle, while Harper was good enough off the bat not to require training wheels in the first place. Plus, it's not like De'Aaron Fox, now in his ninth NBA season, is a bad vet to have in the locker room. He's been around the block a few times himself — and he also provides high-level production, which Paul obviously no longer did.

Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper no longer need a "veteran presence"

Paul was the ultimate locker room guy in addition to being pretty solid for the Spurs (albeit with much lower volume) last year. That's an invaluable guy to keep around — unless you're the Clippers, apparently — but the young guards on this Spurs team are different than your typical young stars.

They play like veterans and conduct themselves like veterans, too, and you won't be blamed for forgetting just how young they are.

I don't know if a player can elevate themself to "legend" status with a franchise, and I don't think Chris Paul was enough of a difference-maker to qualify for that tag. But he'll be remembered positively in the context of this Spurs' rebuild. Still, a handshake and "best of luck" was the right path forward with CP3, and letting Harper and Castle (whose combined ages equal Chris Paul's age, for what it's worth) take the reins has proved a wise decision.