In the point of view of team owner Joe Lacob, the Golden State Warriors’ execution of the Jordan Poole trade shows the franchise ultimately deleting speculations of a two-timeline approach.
Poole, alongside Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Ryan Rollins, was shipped to the Washington Wizards for Chris Paul — a move that many didn’t expect coming from Golden State.
As such, Lacob believes that the franchise demands a major transaction which resulted in the addition of Paul who has a team-friendly deal and a non-guaranteed 2024-25 season salary which benefits the Warriors’ massive payroll moving forward.
“We had to change something,” Lacob said, per Madeline Kenney of the Mercury News. “While it’s a short-term move, Chris Paul is a fabulous Hall of Famer who will I think certainly help our second unit, help our first unit if he plays there, wherever he plays, he’s a tremendous guy.”
Now that the deal is officially complete, questions are now swirling around if Paul will indeed still find himself starting for the Dubs.
This has been a major subject of discussion upon the future hall of famer’s arrival, and it even became enticing upon Sam Amick of The Athletic’s report that Paul is lobbying for himself to still enter the starting unit of Golden State amid Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson already filling the backcourt.
This intents of Paul can’t be discarded given the fact that he wants to maximize his chances to get guaranteed for his $30MM salary of the final year of his contract. But for Lacob, it will only be up to Steve Kerr and the rest of his team’s coaching staff on how they will opt to operate the All-Star.
“That’s up to the coaches,” Lacob said. “I’m sure they’re talking about it, but who knows? He might start, he might not. … The point is to get a lot of talent out there and to see [what happens]. Who starts doesn’t really matter anyway, it’s who finishes the game.”
For now, the Warriors can only look forward to the added brilliance that Paul can contribute to them.
After years of bitter rivalry, 38-year-old hall of famer will now work with them at the same side of the team’s peculiar timeline of their dynastic era. Regardless of the chatter about the starting gigs and the interesting blending of their play style, both sides are bound for an exciting basketball play next season.
