Chris Paul‘s deliberate, often ball-dominant style seems like a strange fit with how the Warriors operate offensively, but it could be just strange enough to work, opines Seerat Sohi of The Ringer.
As Sohi details, the contrasting styles between Paul and Golden State were on display multiple times in the Western Conference playoffs, with the Warriors prevailing on two of those three occasions (Paul’s Clippers defeated the upstart Warriors in the first round in 2013-14).
However, the Warriors have also had success with high-IQ veterans who can control the tempo, Sohi notes, particularly former swingman Shaun Livingston. Paul may be able to help get Golden State’s young players easy shots on the second unit, according to Sohi, and allow Stephen Curry to play more off the ball when they’re paired.
Obviously, it’s a risk since Paul is 38 years old and he could be backing up another older player who has been injured a lot in the past few seasons in Curry. But the Warriors might be better next season with Paul instead of Jordan Poole, and shedding Poole’s long-term contract while picking up Paul’s non-guaranteed deal for 2024-25 gives the team financial savings in the future, Sohi writes.
Here’s more on the Warriors:
- Paul and Curry are excited to be teammates, with the two-time MVP blessing a blockbuster trade, sources tell Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. Thompson takes a look at the shared history between the two former rivals.
- New GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. says the team plans to have Trayce Jackson-Davis on the 15-man roster, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter video link). The Warriors traded cash considerations to Washington to land the No. 57 pick in last night’s draft, which they used on the Indiana big man. “We’re not overly loaded in the frontcourt,” Dunleavy said, adding the Warriors had him much higher on their board.
- As Slater writes for The Athletic, agreeing to include 2022 first-rounder Patrick Baldwin in the Poole/Paul trade created considerable tax savings, but it was also a bet that Jackson-Davis will be more ready to contribute next season. Dunleavy’s brother, James Dunleavy, is Jackson-Davis’ agent, and the sides worked together to ensure he wouldn’t get picked until the Warriors could select him. Getting a guaranteed minimum-salary contract is rare for a player chosen late in the second round, Slater notes, but that’s the intention for the forward/center.
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