Paul, who danced his last career, returned to his hometown for $3.6 million a year! ESPN Rating: Clippers A

(The original article was published on July 21, and the author is Kevin Pelton of ESPN website. The content of the article does not represent the translator's views)

Chris Paul returns to the Clippers for $3.6 million a year

Clippers rating: A

Paul returns to the old place, looking forward to creating glory again. Paul played for six seasons from 2011 to 2017, and as long as he knew what he would face, the reunion would be beneficial to both sides.

When he became a free agent last summer, Paul valued the most the most. He eventually chose to join the San Antonio Spurs and started in all 82 games, becoming the first player in NBA history to reach full attendance in or after his 20th season of his career.

Paul joins the Clippers and may serve as Harden's substitute. The former Rockets teammates led the team to the Western Conference Finals in their first season, but they broke up a year later. Now, both of them have entered a new stage in their careers, which may be the last chapter of their respective careers.

The introduction of Paul is the latest move for the Clippers to manage the team's age structure and star Leonard's injury history. By introducing enough experienced players, coach Tyron Lou should be able to find a viable rotation throughout the regular season.

When all players are healthy, the Clippers have 11 players who are averaging at least 17 minutes of playing time. Four new players - Paul (28 minutes), Bradley Bill (32.1 minutes), John Collins (30.5 minutes) and Brooke Lopez (31.8 minutes) all easily exceeded this standard. And they lost only two players: Norman Powell (32.6 minutes) and unsigned free agent Amir Kofi (24.3 minutes).

If the Clippers can enter the playoffs healthy, this playing time may lead to some players' dissatisfaction, but absence during the regular season means everyone has enough playing time. There are at least two substitutes in each position, and even five substitutes in the backcourt, including Paul, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Chris Dunn, who will all play behind Bill and Harden. This will prevent Coach Lu from overusing Harden and Leonard like he did last season’s first round against the Denver Nuggets.

I'm not sure if this will bring the Clippers closer to victory in the highly competitive Western Conference, after all, defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder retains their full rotation, the Nuggets strengthen the depth of the bench, and the Houston Rockets bring in Kevin Durant.

Nevertheless, the Clippers seem to have improved. While staying competitive, they also look to the future and prepare the team for freeing up salary space next summer by signing short-term contracts.

Original text: Kevin Pelton

Compiled: selu