Chris Paul gave Kevin Durant free agency advice before he joined Warriors

CHICAGO — Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul won't be a free agent until next offseason, but his mentality on free agency was made clear based on his advice to Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant, who shocked the basketball world this summer with his departure from the Oklahoma City Thunder.

“It’s free agency, you know. You get the ability to choose,” Paul told Paste BN Sports after an event at the Boys & Girls Club of Chicago on Monday. “I remember I told KD, ‘man this is one of the only times in your career where you get to pick and choose where you want to play and where you want to live. Enjoy it.’ His decision, it is what it is. I’m happy for him.”

Paul said of other free agents, including close friend Dwyane Wade — who left the Miami Heat to sign with the Chicago Bulls — “everybody that ended up where they are, I’m happy for them. That was their decision. I’m not mad.”

Paul has played alongside Durant and Wade on the U.S. men’s national team, but chose to sit out of this summer's Rio Olympics after winning gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Games and 2012 London Games.

While Paul’s free agency advice to Durant was based more on friendship, as a competitor, he knows what the Clippers will be up against next season. Los Angeles unexpectedly lost in the first round of this year's playoffs to the Portland Trail Blazers after both Paul and Blake Griffin were forced out of the series with injuries, ruining a potential matchup with Golden State — a much-wanted clash between two of the Western Conference’s powers.

Paul suggested a dogfight when the two teams meet in 2016-17.

“We’ll have to figure it out,” Paul said, smiling.

Follow Scott Gleeson on Twitter @ScottMGleeson