The Golden State Warriors were involved in one of the biggest trades in the NBA this offseason. They acquired veteran point guard Chris Paul from the Washington Wizards in exchange for Patrick Baldwin Jr., Jordan Poole, Ryan Rollins, a 2027 second-round pick and a 2030 first-round pick.
It was the second time this offseason that Paul was traded, as he landed with the Wizards as part of the Bradley Beal blockbuster weeks prior. It will certainly be interesting to see how he fits with the Golden State lineup.
Right now, nothing is set in stone about the kind of role Paul will have with the Warriors. With training camp just a few days away, it will be one of the storylines people in the basketball world will be keeping an eye on.
Based on what Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said in a recent press conference, Paul could be in for a major adjustment. If this is going to work, Kerr emphasized that everyone is going to need to buy into whatever decision is made.
“If this is going to work, then everybody is going to have to embrace it – regardless of who’s starting and who’s not,” Kerr said. “It only works if the whole team buys in.”
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Chris Paul, Steve Kerr & Golden State Warriors Updates
Coming off the bench would be a major change for Paul, who has played in 1,214 regular season games. In all 1,214 of those games, he has been in the starting lineup. He has played in 149 playoff games and the situation is the same; he has never come off the bench.
Adjusting to a new role is something that we have seen prominent NBA stars have to do in the past. Just last season Russell Westbrook had to get used to a bench role and in the years before that Carmelo Anthony showed hesitancy to do the same.
Once they bought into being a reserve and not a starter, their production improved. It will be interesting to see how long it takes Paul to adjust to such a role as it is hard to envision him being in the starting lineup for the Warriors.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Chris Paul, Steve Kerr & Golden State Warriors Updates
Stephen Curry is locked in as the starting point guard and playing them together would certainly be intriguing. Paul would enable Curry to play off the ball more, making him even more difficult to defend. But, to start him, Klay Thompson or Andrew Wiggins would have to shift to the bench, which would cripple the team’s defensive game plan.
Expect to see some different lineup combinations in the preseason as Kerr will figure out what works best. Even when the regular season gets under way it wouldn’t be surprising if he was still tinkering with things. A second ball-handler to take pressure off of Curry was a major need for the team, and Paul fills that void. But, it remains to be seen if he can be a good fit in Golden State.
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