Chris Paul has forged a Hall of Fame-worthy career, with a healthy number of NBA executives envisioning the superstar as a future head coach in the league.
A. Sherrod Blakely of Bleacher Report looked at a number of African-American assistant NBA coaches who are also primed for promotions and noted that Paul is likely to be head-coaching material when his playing days are done.
“The consensus among league executives is the next player to make a similar leap to calling plays will be Chris Paul,” Blakely said.
Delving further into Paul’s qualifications, one unnamed executive offered the reasons for such an assessment.
“You look at his leadership, the fact that every team he winds up with is better once he gets there than they were before he arrived,” an Eastern Conference executive said. “It makes you believe that he’ll be a hell of a coach. I think any organization would be crazy not to see if there’s a way to get him on board when he’s done playing.”
For now, the 35-year-old Paul is aiding the playoff push of the Phoenix Suns and is currently averaging 16.4 points, 9.0 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game.
Paul has already forged a connection with players across the league as president of the National Basketball Players Association. In addition, he’s long been seen as a leader among the five NBA teams that he’s played for during the course of his career.
Given Paul’s continued production, the date of any coaching consideration for him may be years away, but it’s clear that he’s already on many teams’ radars.
