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Another year, another early playoff exit by point guard Chris Paul and the Los Angeles Clippers. This is what people expect from the Clippers now and they always seem to deliver. It is crazy that Chris Paul has never made it to the Conference Finals in his career. At age 32, he has to make the choice whether to give it another go with the Clippers or try his luck elsewhere.
After the Clippers lost to the Utah Jazz in the first round of the playoffs in Game 7, many people wondered what would happen to the Clippers. Paul will become an unrestricted free agent when opts of his contract this offseason and can walk away from the Clippers if he thinks they won’t compete for a championship. If he does choose to sign with L.A., he is in for a massive payday. Paul is eligible for 35.35 million per year, the starting maximum starting salary. He is also eligible to sign a 5-year contract with the Clippers.
That is, if the Clippers want him back. That is most likely going to be the case because Paul has been fantastic in L.A.. Not producing results has gotten coaches fired in the NBA but great players are hard to find and Paul is as special as they come. He will most likely be coveted by the Clippers and half of the NBA.
Can Paul win with the Clippers? That is the question everyone including Paul is asking at the moment. The Clippers have lost in the first round the past two years against lower ranked seeds. There is a problem within the Clippers culture and has to be addressed if they want to keep the same team. What they are doing now isn’t working. They have to change either the coaching staff or the players in order to make the Western Conference Finals.
This is the biggest decision of Paul’s NBA career. He has to decide whether he wants to keep trying the same thing with the Clippers or leave and try to win an NBA title with another team, one that may be better off than the Clippers.
Paul is 32 years old and age is going to catch up to him. He needs to win now or it will be too late. That is why Paul needs to think really hard whether or not he wants to keep trying with the Clippers or leave and try somewhere else.