Last week, when news broke that the all-time great Chris Paul was acquired by the Toronto Raptors in what was essentially an Ochai Agbaji salary dump trade, I’ll admit I held onto a sliver of hope. Maybe, just maybe, the masterful playmaker would don Raptors colors for one last hurrah in the NBA. My fellow Raptors Rapture colleague, Daniel O’Connor, shared this feeling, and we both speculated about how even a 40-year-old Chris Paul could still bring value to this squad.
However, as subsequent reports revealed, the most obvious outcome of this somewhat eye-popping trade — at least for us Raptors faithful — was that Paul would be waived shortly after and not expected to report to Toronto. Raptors head of basketball operations, Bobby Webster, echoed this sentiment in his post-trade deadline media scrum. He mentioned that while CP3 is one of his all-time favorites, the deal was never meant to see Paul suit up for Toronto. The organization was working closely with his camp to determine the next steps.
Even though I knew Paul being waived was on the horizon, I couldn’t help but dwell on the hypothetical scenarios where CP3 could have been massively beneficial for what the Raptors were trying to accomplish. For one, given Jamal Shead’s recent slump, I believe it would have done tremendous wonders for the 23-year-old to learn firsthand from one of the greatest point guards to grace the court. I mean, they don't call Chris Paul the "Point God" for nothing, right.
I also think back to the February 4 game between Toronto and Minnesota, where the Raptors’ late-stage collapse could have been a completely different story with a veteran leader like Paul to settle things down and take command.
Sure, Paul’s most recent stint with the Clippers left a lot to be desired, but he proved to serve that exact role during his time with the Spurs and Warriors not that long ago. Age may have caught up to Paul’s body, but I don’t believe it diminishes his basketball IQ — I think that remains timeless.
I thought there might still be some tangibility to the idea of CP3 ending up in Toronto to finish out the season, especially since the team hadn’t waived him yet. Unfortunately for us CP3 fans holding onto hope, it was announced earlier today that the Raptors waived Chris Paul. He then announced his retirement in an Instagram post shortly afterward.
Chris Paul retires from the NBA
Just like that, the chapter closes on what has undoubtedly been a first-ballot Hall of Fame career, one that impressively spanned 21 seasons and across seven different NBA teams. Even though he never officially joined the Toronto Raptors during his career, I'm sure that many in Raptors Nation are giving Chris Paul his well-deserved flowers and respect as he steps away from the game.
After waiving Paul, Toronto opens up a roster spot they can either fill in-house by converting one of their two-way contracts to a standard deal or explore on the open market.