Sunday is the new deadline for Paul’s contract option.
Friday was set to be a big day for the Golden State Warriors and Chris Paul, but the two sides agreed that Sunday should be a big day instead. On Friday morning, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Warriors and their Hall of Fame-bound point guard agreed to extend the deadline for his contract option to Sunday, giving the sides an additional two days to figure out where to go. There were some talks that it could be extended until July, but that would make CP3’s potential free agency a bit more difficult to handle.
Paul’s deal is fully non-guaranteed, meaning the Warriors can choose between paying him $30 million to play for them next year and paying nothing to let him enter unrestricted free agency.
After purchasing a second-round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft on Thursday afternoon, the Warriors are now officially hard-capped at the second apron, which would make it a bit harder to stomach CP3’s contract. It remains a long shot (in my eyes, at least), that Paul will be both wearing a Warriors jersey and making $30 million next year.
But extending the deadline gives the team options for one of those two things to still happen. The Warriors and Paul could agree on a new contract that would pay him less annually to stay in town ... despite some grumbles from the fanbase, CP3 relationship with Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Steve Kerr was strong, and the partnership seemed to work well. Golden State could, of course, also use Paul’s large contract to facilitate a large trade, which is surely something they’re looking at.
Buying a few extra days also gives Golden State time to continue shopping Andrew Wiggins’ contract. It could be that the Warriors would like to retain Paul, but only if they can find a way off of the $26.3 million that is owed to Wiggins for the upcoming season.
Either way, Sunday figures to be a massive day: it’s the end of the free agency moratorium, and now the deadline for Paul’s contract as well. Things could heat up in a big way.
