About a year ago at this time, the Golden State Warriors were continuing their championship celebration late into the offseason. Nobody outside the organization thought it would be possible for this group to get back to the top of the NBA world, yet Stephen Curry and Co. accomplished this feat, setting up high expectations for them entering the 2022-23 season.
Drama ensued for the Warriors, though, starting with an altercation that occurred ahead of the start of the season involving four-time All-Star Draymond Green punching Jordan Poole. Nothing seemed to be right after this for the Warriors, and they ended up falling in the Western Conference Semifinals to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Just about six weeks later, the Warriors shocked the NBA world by packaging Poole with other assets in order to acquire future Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul from the Washington Wizards. Aside from what happened with Poole and Green ahead of the season and Poole's struggles in the postseason for Golden State, there were multiple other reasons as to why this trade occurred.
The Warriors have never been shy about spending money in order to remain a championship contender through the years, as they have consistently sat at the top of the league's payroll and tax rankings. However, cutting costs with the new CBA rules coming into effect was essential, and Poole ended up being the odd man out in the team's equation seeing as they had committed $128 million to him over the next four seasons.
While he is set to make $30.8 million this year, Paul's contract is nonguaranteed for the 2024-25 season, meaning that the Warriors can utilize the veteran as a one-year rental with no long-term obligations or penalties. This sets the Warriors up to save themselves about $30 million next offseason in payroll.
It is worth noting as well that including Patrick Baldwin Jr. in this Paul-Poole trade also saved the Warriors a lot more in luxury taxes than his $2.3 million contract for the new season may suggest.
Someone was going to be moved this offseason in order for the organization to cut costs. Even though he is a talented player, now made the most sense for the Warriors to move on from Poole. They could have gone out and traded him for anyone, though, which is why it is interesting that the Warriors wanted Paul.
Warriors' reasoning for Chris Paul trade
From a financial situation, this trade made sense for Golden State, but this may not be the only meaning behind acquiring Chris Paul. Talent-wise, Paul can aid the Warriors as a primary ball handler and facilitator, allowing the two Splash Brothers to do what they do best: running off screens and shooting threes. With a high understanding for the game and an ability to impact winning everywhere he has been in his career, Paul fits the mold of a veteran player the Warriors have pursued through the years in their quest for more titles.
The deeper meaning to this trade may have gone unnoticed since new GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. made his first signature move last month. Warriors fans may be familiar with this type of move as well, especially since a similar one was made with D'Angelo Russell ahead of the 2019-20 season.
Knowing that Kevin Durant was leaving for the Brooklyn Nets in 2019, the Warriors decided to add Russell to their roster not only to salvage lost value but also to still contend at the highest level possible, especially with Klay Thompson recovering from his ACL injury. Things did not go as planned for the team, as Kevon Looney, Curry and Green all dealt with injuries that year, leading to Golden State winning just 15 games.
The Warriors made a key trade during the 2019-20 season despite all of their struggles. If this deal was never made, they may not have won their championship in 2022. Swapping Russell for Andrew Wiggins during a lost season paid off down the road, so a very similar approach could be on the horizon heading into the 2023-24 season with Paul.
At this moment, the Warriors envision the veteran point guard being an instrumental part of their roster and someone who can help them compete for their fifth title since 2015. Then again, there is no telling how the first part of the new season could play out and what teams around the league could be in need of a player like Paul more than the Warriors.
Financially, trading Poole away had to happen even though Golden State developed him and loved his skillset. Keeping Paul around through the 2023-24 season does not have to happen, so all of a sudden, the Warriors have opened up options for themselves this offseason to explore month-after-month heading into the new year.
The 12-time All-Star and 38-year-old guard is expendable to this organization. If the right opportunity comes their way, they will not hesitate to move Paul for added value, especially if this means adding one or two younger, more dynamic player(s) who can increase their championship outlook. Much like they did with Russell not too long ago, moving Paul ahead of the trade deadline with a nonguaranteed clause on his contract could result in the Warriors getting a high-impact player like they did with Wiggins.
Chris Paul's role in starting lineup or bench
It is going to be very interesting to see how the Warriors look to utilize Chris Paul's skills, especially since his role will be undefined heading into training camp. One of the smallest teams in the league last season, Golden State did not really add any size this offseason despite signing Dario Saric to a one-year contract.
Oftentimes, the Warriors' main starting rotation consists of Curry, Thompson, Wiggins, Green and Looney, with Looney being their tallest player at 6-foot-9. If the Warriors were to insert Paul into the starting rotation, this would likely mean Green would start at center and Wiggins at power forward, leaving Wiggins as their tallest player at 6-7. This is why Paul's role is a key topic of discussion right now in the offseason, as there is a possibility he could come off the bench for the first time in his career.
Over his 18 years in the league, Paul has played in 1,214 games for five different franchises. Never once has Paul come off the bench, as CP3 has logged 1,214 career starts as a point guard in the NBA.
But at this point in his career, all the veteran is missing is a championship ring. If coming off the bench presents his team with a better chance of winning it all, Paul will be very willing to accept such a role. Not to mention, he's on a completely different team than the ones he's accustomed to playing on.
“All of that will happen in training camp. Until we get everyone on the floor, we won't be able to assess what's best for our team and how everything is going to look,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said recently regarding the Warriors' starting lineup entering the new season, via Shayna Rubin of The Mercury News. “But I'm very confident that it's going to work out. We got great guys and we got great champions, great competitors. There's one goal next year, and that's to win at the highest possible level. Everything else will unfold as the season does.”
Despite the locker room potentially not being as connected as it has been in the past, the biggest flaw with the Warriors during the 2022-23 season was the fact that their second unit was a complete crapshoot each and every night. Poole presented a lot of uncertainty as the team's sixth man and leader of a bench that really struggled at times, especially in the postseason.
When you look at the championship teams the Warriors had in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2022, it is hard to overlook the stars leading the charge, but each of these teams had key, reliable, veteran contributors coming off the bench in the playoffs. This past year's team truly had no veteran presence or leader on their bench, which is why Paul accepting a role as the team's sixth man, much like Shaun Livingston did when he came to the Warriors in 2014, could prove to be extremely advantageous to both sides.
Not only could Paul play to his strengths with younger, more dynamic talents around him like Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody in the Warriors' second unit, but he would give this team the jolt of production and consistency they've been missing on the bench. This is not to say that Paul couldn't start in some games either, as it is unlikely that Curry and Thompson will be playing in all 82 games over the course of the 2023-24 season, and the same can be said about CP3 as well.
Whether he starts or comes off the bench, the Warriors seem to have a blueprint for how they want to utilize one of the best point guards this league has ever seen. There is no doubt that Paul will hold a big role for Golden State to begin the new season, but looking ahead to what could happen at the trade deadline, the Warriors are surely a team to keep an eye on given the options they have with Paul.