According to Marc Stein, the Phoenix Suns preferred not bringing back Chris Paul due to his leadership and methods of speaking to the locker room and coaching staff.

Phoenix feared new head coach Jordan Ott wouldn’t mesh well with the veteran point guard. At one point, they wanted Marcus Smart over Paul.

Obviously, Phoenix did not land either player and decided to sign players like Jordan Goodwin and Jared Butler to fill their roster.

Despite Devin Booker wanting the 40-year-old to come back to the organization, the Suns had no intentions of fulfilling his wish. It appears Mat Ishbia and others wanted to do what was best for the coaching staff, not Booker.

Both Booker and Paul took the Suns to the NBA Finals back in 2021, which was the first time they saw success in decades. Then they shortly traded him away for Bradley Beal, who is no longer with the organization.

In the end, Paul signed a one-year deal to return home to the Los Angeles Clippers. He hasn’t been on that team in eight years.

According to the Los Angeles Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank, Chris Paul will not be a starter and will most likely be coming off the bench; being featured as their leader of the second unit.

“There’ll be nights Chris plays a lot, there’ll be nights he does not … Chris started 82 games last year and was a very, very productive player. So we don’t take that lightly when you’re taking on a different role. And so there were a lot of conversations, you put everything on the table and get everyone comfortable with it,” said Frank on Tuesday.

During Paul’s career, he’s only played off the bench in 40 games. In total, he’s started 1,314 of 1,354 career games. The Point God’s run with the Golden State Warriors was the only franchise in his career where he came off the bench.

Despite the 40-year-old saying he would want to be a starter and play a lot, it reportedly looks like he has changed his mind and has come to peace of the idea of no longer starting and taking a backseat role.

James Harden and Kawhi Leonard were brought in before the Clippers made the decision to have a reunion with the future Hall of Famer.

“What James talked about with Chris was his ability to see the floor like few others, the leadership skills he brings, the competitiveness and his everyday work ethic and approach. He thought that Chris would be a great fit for the team,” added Frank.

Even though changes are being made to his role and how many minutes he sees per night; the one thing Paul will not have to give up is his jersey number. Bradley Beal has confirmed that he is giving up wearing number three so that the veteran point guard can remain having that number.

In his 20 years of playing, Paul has not worn any other number. Number three is the only number he’s ever worn. For Beal, he will decide on a new number at a later date.

Last season, Paul averaged 8.8 points and 7.4 assists per game for the San Antonio Spurs.

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the veteran point guard has made the decision to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers – a deal triggering a reunion. It has been eight years since he has last played for the organization.

Chris Paul is set to sign a one-year, $3.6 million to play in his 21st season. This is reported to be his last contract of his professional basketball career, as the 2025-26 season will be his last.

Paul has made it very clear that he wanted to stay close to family and be in the Los Angeles area. This had been a constant theme for several months.

Despite him wanting to have a solid role that allows him to start, Los Angeles has informed the 40-year-old that he will not be having a big role and many see limited minutes at certain points of the season. Paul was fine with this.

The Clippers have been very active this season in acquiring Bradley Beal, John Collins, and now Paul.