It's safe to say Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson never dreamed of teaming up with Chris Paul. After the smoke cleared from last week's stunning trade that brought the Point God to the Bay and sent Jordan Poole packing, though, it was clearly easy for the Splash Brothers to realize the benefits of Paul suiting up for the Golden State Warriors.

“The business is crazy. We all know that. If you asked us six months ago if this was something that could happen, the answer probably would’ve been no just based on where we were,” Curry said Tuesday of Paul's acquisition, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “Then you get to the summer and are trying to find ways to get better and put yourself in position to chase another championship. Every team that CP has been on gets better. That’s the most consistent thing on him and who he is and what he brings to the team. Everybody’s going to talk about the age. It’s on us to put that all together and figure out how all the pieces work.”

Golden State swapped Paul for Poole last Thursday, mere hours before the NBA Draft. The Warriors also sent Patrick Baldwin Jr., Ryan Rollins, a top-20 protected first-round pick in 2030 and 2027 second-rounder to the Wizards as part of the deal.

While long-term financial ramifications and Poole's fraught place in the locker room were perhaps the driving factors behind Golden State trading for Paul, his singular presence should be an on-court boon for the Dubs next season regardless.

They've always struggled offensively when Curry's on the bench, a dynamic that could finally change in 2023-24 with a future Hall-of-Famer playing table-setter for the second unit. Paul isn't the defender he once was and has never been a high-volume spot-up shooter from deep, but nevertheless stands to give Golden State more on both ends next to Curry in the playoffs—health provided, of course—than a struggling Poole did against the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings.

“Any time you get to play with a player who is one of the best of your generation it’s an honor,” Thompson said of Paul's addition. “It’s a little weird because we’ve had so many battles in the past with Chris and he’s led so many teams that nearly knocked us off or did knock us off all the way back in 2014. I think he’s just going to add such a calming presence and leadership component that we need. I know Steph and him have a long history together being both from North Carolina. For me, it’s going to be a smooth transition playing with such a passer and playmaker, I’m just excited.”