Why did the Suns waive Chris Paul? Phoenix cuts star guard after injury-riddled season

The Suns’ transformative offseason hit another gear on Wednesday.

According to Turner Sports’ Chris Haynes, Phoenix has notified Chris Paul that he will be waived ahead of the 2023 offseason. The news comes just one day after the franchise introduced Frank Vogel as its new head coach.

Paul, 38, just completed his third full season with the Suns and his 18th in the NBA. He was limited to 59 of the team’s 82 games. The Suns entered the 2023 NBA Playoffs as the West’s fourth seed, defeating the Clippers in five games before losing to the Nuggets in six games. A groin injury kept Paul out of each of Phoenix’s last four playoff games.

Why did Phoenix elect to waive the 12-time All-Star? Injuries are among a number of factors that led to the Suns’ decision.

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Why did the Suns waive Chris Paul?

The decision to waive Paul is part of a larger strategy from the Suns and new owner Mat Ishbia to move towards winning the first title in franchise history.

Since taking over the franchise, Ishbia has signed off on the blockbuster trade that sent Kevin Durant to Phoenix, made a number of personnel changes, including the firing of head coach Monty Williams and subsequent hiring of Vogel, and now the decision to waive Paul.

For the second straight season, Paul and the Suns were eliminated from the playoffs in demoralizing fashion, suffering a blowout home loss to the Nuggets in Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals this year.

As noted above, Paul was unavailable to help his team due to injury, which has become an unfortunate theme during the latter years of his career. Paul was under contract with Phoenix until 2025 but the final two years of his deal were non-guaranteed.

Because only half of Paul’s salary for the 2023-24 season was guaranteed, Phoenix gets immediate financial relief from the move. It is the first step for the team to have flexibility ahead of a free agency period in which it will look to build around Devin Booker and Durant.

Half of Chris Paul’s $30M for 23-24 is guaranteed. Suns will pay him $15M but save the other $15M by having him walk away. https://t.co/sFgcXmKIAn

— Eric Walden (@tribjazz) June 7, 2023

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Chris Paul contract details

After coming up short in the 2021 NBA Finals, Paul re-signed with the Suns on a four-year, $120 million contract. The first two years of the deal were fully guaranteed, the third came with a partial guarantee and the fourth was non-guaranteed.

Year	Salary
2021-22	$30.8 million
2022-23	$28.4 million
2023-24	$30.8 million ($15.8 million guaranteed)
2024-25	$30.0 million (non-guaranteed)