The Golden State Warriors surprised many by trading Jordan Poole for Chris Paul. Owner Joe Lacob was brutally honest about the nature of the move.
Ahead of last month's NBA Draft, the Golden State Warriors made a trade that sent shockwaves through the league. Chris Paul — former Public Enemy No. 1 in the Bay Area — was sent to Golden State in exchange for Jordan Poole, the recently extended sixth man who will now headline the Washington Wizards' rotation.
The Warriors' decision to trade Poole was not particularly surprising — his four-year, $128 million contract was a sizable financial burden under the new CBA — but swapping him out for 38-year-old Chris Paul in the final year of his current deal was not the expected outcome.
Speaking to Mercury News, Warriors owner Joe Lacob was brutally honest when describing the motivation behind the move.
Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob explains Chris Paul-Jordan Poole trade
"We had to change something. 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." — via Mercury News (h/t CBS Sports)
Notably, Lacob calls a spade a spade: the CP3 trade is a "short-term" move for the Warriors. While Paul will clearly help in the immediate future with his basketball I.Q. and playmaking talent, he is 38 years old with only a year left on his contract. Poole was 24 years old with four years left on his contract. The math is not hard.
With Poole off the books, Golden State achieves a measure of future financial flexibility that was not previously there. It will still be hard to maneuver around the expensive contracts of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Andrew Wiggins, but Poole's exodus does free up space for Klay Thompson's potential next contract — especially if Paul leaves in free agency or re-signs on a precipitous discount.
Poole showed great promise during the Warriors' title run in 2022, but he struggled last season for myriad reasons. The ship was sinking before it ever really took off after Draymond Green punched Poole in a preseason practice session. During the season, Poole's defense simply wasn't up to par and his erratic decision-making often conflicted with Steve Kerr's complex, precise offense.
Lacob notes how Paul will "help our second unit," which could hint at the newcomer's role with the team. Paul has never come off the bench in 18 NBA seasons, but there's reason to doubt the viability of a super-small starting five consisting of Paul, Curry, and Thompson in the backcourt. The more likely outcome is CP3 anchoring the second unit while last season's starting five of Curry, Thompson, Wiggins, Green, and Kevon Looney remains intact.
Golden State is angling for another championship, tossing the "two timelines" adage of yesteryear out the window with an unambiguous focus on squeezing as much competitive juice out of Stephen Curry's basketball prime as possible. Paul can aid Golden State's title pursuit. Even if he comes off the bench, he will regularly close games and he should receive 25-30 minutes every night, no questions asked. While no longer the perennial All-Star of old, Paul is an indelibly gifted creator with a preternatural talent for elevating those around him. Steve Kerr is going to love incorporating him into the Warriors' offensive machine.
