Russell Westbrook and Chris Paul Set to Join Hands for Post-Retirement Plan, Says NBA Legend

Russell Westbrook retired in August. In the meantime, Chris Paul had already been forced out mid-season by the Clippers. For years, they were placed against each other as the point guards of their era. Now, Matt Barnes has given his take on their next chapter.

“Him and [Russ] are going on a vacation," Barnes said in the latest All the Smoke episode. "So that was interesting. They’re taking their wives on a vacation. So that’s dope.” The trip is framed as a celebration of two careers that just ended in the same calendar year.

Barnes went further. “Two of the greatest PGs going to kick their feet in the sand, have some drinks, and really just celebrate. I mean, because this is the end of CP’s career, too. Obviously his s-t was cut short during the season the way the Clippers dogged him, but two of the greatest point guards we’ve ever seen, particularly Russ, man. One hell of a run, bro. One of the most feared point guards we’ve ever seen.”

That pairing would have sounded strange to fans who only remember the on-court battle. They occupied the same position, the same conversations. Neither left with a championship. Both left with Hall of Fame resumes.

Barnes described them as finished players who still want to mark the run together.

They were rarely described as close when both were still starring. Paul was the floor general other stars wanted. Westbrook was the engine other stars had to survive. Awards, All-NBA teams, and “who is the real point guard” arguments kept them in the same sentence for a decade.

A vacation does not erase that history. It marked the first time the story is no longer about which one should have the ball.

Los Angeles is the other thread that connects both. Paul had his peak Clippers years there. Westbrook passed through the same franchise and left with a different kind of scar.

Russell Westbrook and Chris Paul Will Celebrate Together Off the Court

The plan is a trip with Jada and Nina, sand, drinks and no film session the next morning. The meaning is the company. For more than a decade, the league treated them as competition.

Now the first joint booking of retirement is not a podcast debate. It is a holiday.  Paul’s exit was abrupt. Westbrook’s announcement was formal. A vacation is the first unofficial handshake after both careers ended.

Russell Westbrook and Chris Paul are set to join hands on a post-retirement trip, according to an NBA champion who just spoke with Paul. Matt Barnes put the plan on the record: two of the greatest point guards he has seen, wives included, celebrating the end of the run. That is the source, and that is the title.