After their poor championship defense this past season, the Golden State Warriors made many scratch their heads when they traded Jordan Poole for Chris Paul earlier this summer.
Many wondered what they were doing — Poole was arguably their best young player, and their old guard of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green is getting up there in age.
Paul is 38 years of age, and his arrival has made Golden State even older.
In addition, Paul’s game has experienced a steep decline over the last year or two, especially in terms of his ability to score the basketball.
But Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. says that one reason he made the move was to improve the team’s finances.
.@Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. on the thinking behind the Jordan Poole for CP3 trade. pic.twitter.com/zRi7FvUwKa
— Jim Rome (@jimrome) July 28, 2023
Last fall, Poole, who was a key contributor when they won the NBA championship in 2022, received a lucrative contract extension.
That extension came shortly after he was involved in a well-publicized scuffle with Green, during which he was punched by the veteran forward.
It led many to surmise that the Warriors had favored Poole over Green and that Green, who became a free agent a few weeks ago, had one foot out the door.
Instead, Green got a big new contract of his own while Poole was sent to the Washington Wizards.
If Paul will help the Warriors, as Dunleavy said he will, it will be not as a scorer but as a floor general, something he still excels at.
However, there is the question of how Paul’s slowdown, pound-the-ball-for-24-seconds style will fit in with a Warriors team that has won four rings by playing fast-break basketball and embracing ball and player movement when they don’t have anything early.
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