At the age of 40, he can still lead new stars! Who will bet on the Mavericks or the Trail Blazers?

On May 28, the point guard god Paul is not expected to return to the Spurs next season. The Mavericks and the Trail Blazers are becoming Paul's potential next home, coaching Flag or Henderson, hoping to reach the heights of SGA and Thunder.

Paul's departure is closely related to the "overflow" of the Spurs' backcourt talent reserves. This season, the Spurs introduced Fox through trades, and rookie Stephen Castle also made its mark. If the second pick Dylan Harper is beaten in the draft, the backcourt will be in a fierce competition between Paul, Fox, Castle and Harper. For a rebuilding team with young players at its core, compressing rookie growth space is obviously contrary to long-term plans. Although Paul helped Wenban Yama grow as a mentor during his time at the Spurs, the cooperation between the two sides is difficult to continue under the actual needs.

However, Paul's value is much more than the Spurs' short stay. Looking back on his career, he has helped the rise of new teams as a "mentor" many times: after joining the Hornets, the team's winning games jumped from 18 games to 38 games; when he switched to the Clippers, he led the team to counterattack from 32 wins and 50 losses to 40 wins and 26 losses; when he joined the Thunder, he even led the youth team with SGA (Alexander) as the core to the seventh in the Western Conference, who averaged 19 points per game and was selected as the first team of the Best Rookie Team. Now, this youth army has entered the Western Conference Finals, which shows Paul's guiding role. Joining the Rockets from 55 to 65 wins the previous year, and joining the Suns from 34 to 51 wins the previous year, the data also proves its value. In the first season of Paul's career, the team's winning rate has generally improved, and his organizational ability and experience are a "catalyst" for the growth of young players.

Because of this, it is natural for the Mavericks and the Trail Blazers to be interested in Paul. The Mavericks are in urgent need of a starting point guard to share the organizational pressure between Doncic and Irving. The team has explored the possibility of trading Ju Holiday and Lonzo Ball, but the former has a complex contract ($104 million in three years), and the latter has high potential for injury, which is not ideal. In contrast, Paul, who is a free agent, does not need to trade and attends 82 games this season, averaging 8.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game, proving that his physical condition can still support high-intensity games. If Paul joins, his ability to control the field and experience in championship competition may become the key to the Mavericks breaking through the bottleneck of the playoffs. The

Trailblazers also showed a strong interest in Paul. General Manager Joe Cronin has expressed satisfaction with the current lineup, but league insiders revealed that the team still hopes to introduce a veteran defender to coach the second-place pick Henderson. The latter's rookie performance has fluctuated and urgently needed experienced mentors to lead. Paul's leadership and organizational skills may accelerate Henderson's growth while improving the depth of the Trail Blazers' backcourt. For a team in the reconstruction period, Paul's joining can not only provide immediate combat power, but also set a benchmark for young players, which can be said to be a killing two birds with one stone.

No one could have thought that Paul, 40, is still very popular in the league, is being fought for by many teams, and can also get a good contract, and is worthy of being the God of point guard.