Ranking 5 destinations for Warriors' Chris Paul should he hit NBA Free Agency

4. LA Clippers

The idea of a blockbuster reunion between Paul and the LA Clippers was reported by NBA insider Marc Stein on Sunday, with the 12x All-Star having played six seasons for the franchise between 2011 and 2017.

Yet beyond the familiarity of the organization and what would be a homecoming of sorts, the Clippers don't make a whole lot of sense for Paul necessarily. They're unlikely to have any meaningful contract offer on the table, unless they lose both Paul George and James Harden in free agency.

If they do lose one of those two players, particularly George, then that puts a huge dent in LA's chances of championship contention which would surely have to be a big factor. If Harden remains, Paul would be pigeonholed into the backup point guard spot at best even before mentioning Russell Westbrook who has a $4 million player option.

Stein has reported that Paul would like to remain in the California area, but that's about all that's going for the Clippers who are also interested in Philadelphia 76ers guard Kyle Lowry.

3. Golden State Warriors

Despite plenty of conjecture on whether Paul would work with the Warriors after his arrival last offseason, he was reasonably effective for the franchise even if it didn't translate to great team results.

If Golden State do waive Paul, one would expect them to have interest in bringing him back on a minimum contract or the taxpayer mid-level exception. That puts them at the peril of rivals offer though, and it's difficult to see what the Warriors could actually offer aside from the stability of being his current team.

Paul made 18 starts and averaged over 26 minutes this season, but could get more opportunity on other teams who don't already possess one of the greatest point guards of all-time. He's likely to also get better financial offers elsewhere, not to mention that Golden State aren't screaming championship contention after missing the playoffs.