Top Landing Spots for Future Hall of Fame NBA Point Guard Chris Paul

This can't possibly be the farewell tour that Chris Paul imagined for 2025-26.

After making just 16 appearances for the Los Angeles Clippers, he was unceremoniously sent home. And this week, the Clippers found a trade destination for him.

The only problem is that the destination (the Toronto Raptors) doesn't appear to be a long-term home.

"The Raptors will not require Chris Paul to report to the team and could still discuss trades involving him over the next day," ESPN's Shams Charania wrote. "Toronto is now out of the tax."

This move was about the money for Toronto. And even if it can't find another home for CP3 before Thursday's deadline, he'll likely be waived and become a free agent.

No matter the path forward, there are a few teams that could sell themselves on Paul's experience and leadership for the rest of this campaign.

San Antonio Spurs

Megan Briggs/Getty Images

The San Antonio Spurs don't really need Chris Paul. They already have De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper.

But the 40-year-old's value goes beyond what he can do on the floor, and Castle and Harper are both big enough to log some minutes on the wing.

Ultimately, this is about bringing Paul's leadership and experience with Victor Wembanyama back into the fray.

If he has to play a handful of minutes in the absence of one of the younger guards and looks like he did last season, great. If not, you'd still have another coach-like mind on the bench, as well as a potential liaison between the players and the coaching staff.

Los Angeles Lakers

Jim Poorten/NBAE via Getty Images

Longtime friends, NBA legends and banana-boat veterans CP3 and LeBron James have never found themselves on the same roster. Now, they have an opportunity to finally be teammates.

The Los Angeles Lakers already have a wealth of playmaking from LeBron, Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves, but they've still had to play Gabe Vincent over 500 minutes this season. And although Paul turns 41 in May, it's not hard to imagine him outperforming Vincent (who's 301st out of the 305 players with 500 minutes in box plus/minus).

Beyond that, L.A. could use a savvy veteran who could mentor Bronny James on what it means to be a traditional point guard (he's almost certainly too small to play elsewhere).

Houston Rockets

Logan Riely/NBAE via Getty Images

When Fred VanVleet went down with a torn ACL prior to the start of the campaign, it was reasonable to think Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard could pick up the slack and develop the skills necessary to fill in the gaps created by that injury.

But now, on the verge of the All-Star break, the Houston Rockets are 21st in the league in points per halfcourt play. And if it wasn't for offensive rebounding (which will be less common without the injured Steven Adams) and Kevin Durant's isolation scoring, the offense would look pretty disorganized.

CP3 wouldn't be able to log a ton of minutes for Houston, and he probably wouldn't need to start, but just having a traditional 1 available, particularly in the clutch, would go a long way toward addressing Houston's flaws.

Denver Nuggets

Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images

The Denver Nuggets might provide Chris Paul with his best "ring chaser" scenario.

They entered the season thinking that Bruce Brown might be a viable option at backup point guard, but he's been woefully inefficient.

Jalen Pickett has had some big moments during this injury-ravaged portion of Denver's schedule, but he obviously doesn't bring the same level of experience as CP3.

As is the case with these other options, Paul wouldn't be required to do much more than provide depth to the backcourt, but Denver could absolutely use it. And combining his basketball IQ with Nikola Jokić's could give the Nuggets a pretty serious advantage over opponents in clutch situations.