Chasing dreams again, the 40-year-old veteran may be abandoned by the Spurs, and returning to the Thunder may have a perfect career

In the NBA, most players' careers will not exceed 10 years, and the average career of a player is even only 4.5 years, so it is an amazing honor for players who can continue their careers to over 35 years old. As for being over 40 years old, it is definitely worthy of people's respect to being able to be active in the league.

And in the league last season, there are still elderly players like James, Tucker, and Paul in the league. However, after Tucker was laid off by the Clippers, he has no playing time in the Knicks at present, and it is unlikely that he will continue to see him in the league next season. James is still the core of the Lakers. He can still deliver a record of 25.4 points, 9 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 2 steals and 1.8 blocks per game in the playoffs. He is likely to compete for the championship with Doncic next season. Among the three, Chris Paul will have the greatest suspense.

The Spurs signed Paul last season with a price close to the full middle class, and his average of 8.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game this season is worthy of this salary. Especially, he can still rank 7th in the league in assists per game and 23rd in the league in steals per game. It has to be said that the former "No. 1 point guard in the league" can still contribute a lot of energy to the team even when he is old.

However, the Spurs signed Chris Paul, perhaps more often, would regard him as a mentor. After the team chose to rebuild, they won two best rookies, Vinban Yama and Castle for two consecutive years, and having Paul by their side will undoubtedly make them grow faster. Especially Castle, in the first half of the regular season this season, Paul can often be seen coaching him one-on-one in the game, which also allowed him to become the final winner from the first ten in the rookie rankings.

However, next season, the Spurs are likely to not renew their contract with Paul. For one thing, Castle has made great progress. At the end of the season, he averaged 14.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 0.9 steals per game, especially in the second half of the season, he scored 20+ points many times. Next season, as long as Castle has a stable playing time of 30+, then a data average of 20+5+5 can be expected.

2}In this year's draft lottery, the Spurs were very lucky to get the second draw, and in all the forecast lists, the second pick in the first round was occupied by Dylan Harper, the double-energy defender. According to the draft reports given by many institutions, it is not difficult to find that Harper may be the most likely backcourt player to be the ball-holding core in the past five years after Cunningham. The Spurs will naturally not let go of such a cornerstone of the team building.

In addition to the above two players, Fox, who was traded from the Kings last year, has booked a starting position in the backcourt. Obviously, the star guard who is only 27 years old and averages 21.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.4 steals in his career, is the real controller of the Spurs in recent years. In addition, Vassel and KJ can also appear on the court in the team. For the Spurs, which are crowded in the backcourt, there is not much time to give Paul.

For Paul, a historical star who has been selected as an All-Star in his career, won the league assist king 5 times, won the steal king 6 times, 9 best defense teams, and 11 best teams of the season, the only regret at present is the lack of a championship trophy. So, if Paul wants to compete for another year, perhaps joining a championship team with a minimum salary is a good choice.

For now, returning to the Thunder is definitely the best solution for Paul. After receiving Alexander's support from Javier, Chett and others, the Thunder are currently leading the Timberwolves 3-1 in the Western Conference Finals and are the most powerful championship contender in the 24-25 season. Paul played for the Thunder in the previous 19-20 season and played side by side with this year's regular season MVP Alexander, also known as Alexander's "mentor". If Thunder can return to Thunder and continue writing this teacher-student relationship, perhaps it will be a warm story for Paul, Thunder and Alexander. Which team do you think Paul is the most suitable to join next season? Welcome to leave a message for discussion!