In Photos: Chris Paul coaches next generation, including own son and Trevor Ariza's son, at Jayson Tatum's Elite Camp
After agreeing to a deal with the San Antonio Spurs, veteran point guard Chris Paul recently spent time coaching the next generation of hoopers. Paul took part in Boston Celtics superstar forward Jayson Tatum's prestigious Elite Camp this week, sharing numerous photos of the event.
Tatum's invite-only camp in Las Vegas featured 14 college players and 13 high school players. The college invitees included Kansas' AJ Storr and Duke's Kon Knueppel. Meanwhile, Westchester's Tajh Ariza, son of Paul's former teammate Trevor Ariza, was among the high school invitees.
Paul's son, Chris Paul II, was also in attendance, with the elder Paul reportedly also conducting his own camp. On Wednesday, the 12-time All-Star shared photos of him coaching/playing against his son and Ariza's son on his Instagram stories.
He also shared pictures of himself alongside fellow NBA stars, including Tatum and Houston Rockets point guard Fred VanVleet.
Other big-name NBA players in attendance included Orlando Magic and Miami Heat stars Paolo Banchero and Bam Adebayo.
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Chris Paul on coaching future
Given his renowned leadership throughout his 19-year NBA career, Chris Paul has long been viewed as a future NBA coaching candidate. The league's general managers have voted him the active player most likely to "make the best head coach someday" during their annual survey on several occasions.
However, during an appearance on "The Shop" last year, Paul dismissed the notion, citing his desire to avoid travel post-retirement.
"No. Honestly, I'll tell you, I don't wanna travel like that," Paul said.
Paul added that coaching NBA players would likely be too difficult, as they are too set in their ways. He noted that he prefers coaching at the AAU level, as younger players are more likely to heed his advice.
"That's why I love AAU, 'cause you get a chance to actually mold kids at an early age," Paul said. "'Cause when we get to the NBA, we ain't trying to hear none of that s**t. For real, you get to the NBA, I mean, I can't imagine coaching us 'cause we feel like we know everything."
Paul reportedly agreed to a one-year, $11 million-plus deal with San Antonio on Sunday. He is widely expected to play a key veteran leadership role on the young squad next season. The veteran playmaker will likely be mentoring the likes of rising star big man Victor Wembanyama and this year's No. 4 pick Stephon Castle.
However, given his previous comments, it appears Paul will likely spend more time molding pre-NBA players upon retirement.
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