Double K’s Take…
NBA Basketball
June 25th, 2023
Warriors trade Jordan Poole to the Wizards for CP3
The Initial Shock
While sitting at work one day doing my job, I got a notification on my phone telling me that Adrian Woj. was reporting that the Warriors and Wizards were working on a trade that would bring former Hornets/Clippers/Suns All Star PG Chris Paul to the Warriors in exchange for PG/SG Jordan Poole and draft compensation. I quickly jumped out of my seat, angry and wondering…. why? This made no sense Poole was a young up and coming player with a huge upside (although last year he did have a rough run, from the incident with Draymond to his poor performance in the postseason.) and the draft compensation made no sense. Don't we need draft picks to help eventually replace Steph, Klay and Draymond after they retire and ride off into the sunset? We had already jettisoned one of our top recent draft picks with (2020 R1 P2) James Weisman as they shipped him off mid-season to re-acquire Gary Payton II in hopes he would help stabilize the second unit. These would be the many questions I would have after the shock set in that they had made the trade and this was the Warriors new reality.
Then I began to hear rumors about how they were going to use him in the lineup. Most thought he was going to start and they would move Steph to the SG and put Paul at the PG position. This is not the case, it looks like the plan is to run CP3 with the second unit, as a stabilizing force when Steph is not on the floor. This is an idea that I can get behind with a starting lineup of Steph, Klay, Wiggins, Draymond and Looney, and a 2nd unit of Paul, GP2, Moody, Kuminga and Jackson-Davis as the second unit. The center on the second unit is just a placeholder. I believe that the Warriors will make at least 1 more move to secure someone to help Looney stay fresh throughout the regular season and playoffs. But I like that team and they should have better chemistry next without Poole and Green tension spilling onto the floor.
My Final Conclusion…
Most think that this will be a train wreck and Pau may be gone by the Trading Deadline. After thinking about this I came to the conclusion that this matchup can work. Paul proved with the Suns that he doesn't have it in him anymore at 38 years of age to run up and down the court with the starters in this league. But adding him to that second unit to help develop their young players like Kuminga, Moody and Podziemski as they find their way to NBA Stardom. He has averaged between 13-15 PPG the last few seasons in Phoenix, he also averaged between 8-10 assists a game during that time as well. But he has been playing fewer games every year for the past 3 years. Just like Andre Igodala did a few years back when he decided to come off the bench late in his career. Paul can do the same in the same system, he can play about 20 mins a game and not really take any playtime away from the younger players. Bring a veteran voice and calming presence to the second unit when Steoh is on the bench. I give this trade a thumbs up and hop that this may lead to championship #1 for Paul and #5 for Steph and company…
Wikipedia contributors. (2023, June 28). Chris Paul. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 22:40, June 29, 2023, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chris_Paul&oldid=1162347546
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