Last Thursday, the Golden State Warriors made a startling trade, dealing their best backup player, Jordan Poole, for Chris Paul, an all-time great point guard who was nearing the end of his career.
Fans and the media had a shell shock at the time. Many people were shocked when the Warriors released Poole because he was so important to them during their championship run and helped them survive this season when Stephen Curry was injured.
After the shock of the transfer subsides, you can explain it and understand why the Golden State Warriors decided to move for Chris Paul.
Although the Warriors have acquired a 12-time All-Star, there are conflicting opinions on how Paul’s playstyle will work with Golden State’s motion system. But first, let’s consider the advantages and good things that ‘CP3’ will bring.
1. Paul is an experienced player with a historically high basketball IQ.
He is simply a basketball genius, to put it simply. He is one of the best playmakers of all time, and he almost always chooses wisely when he has the ball. Although his scoring has continued to decline, he is still among the league’s top passes. Despite Jordan Poole’s success with the Warriors, he has a history of making poor shots and being careless with the basketball. Paul, on the other hand, is a very precise shooter who consistently hits his target areas.
He has a remarkable 8.9 to 1.9 assist to turnover ratio, meaning that he essentially never turns the ball over. Basically, he’s going to make the wisest choices and drastically raise the floor for the Warriors offense in the minutes when Curry isn’t playing. He is a skilled foul grifter, so as the team is getting close to the bonus, he will probably draw some easy fouls that will put the Warriors at the line.
2. The Center
The Warriors enjoy playing in a fashion that analytics tend to favor. They shoot a lot of threes and use the spacing to create opportunities for simple rim shots. Although they frequently make baskets with a high percentage, this season they have a problem with an over reliance on the three-ball. They would struggle to produce offense elsewhere if the threes weren’t falling, and they frequently put too much responsibility on Curry to come up with plays.
Poole fits in with this perfectly because he could get to the rim and was a passable shooter. However, Chris Paul excels at one specific skill, the midrange shot. When it comes to creating, it’s basically his go-to, and he’s really effective. Poole never really has a go-to shot like that, so having one is a luxury for when the Warriors’ offense stalls.
3. His Playstyle
Steph and Draymond are two of the best passers in the NBA, but it’s safe to say that Paul is the best of the bunch. CP3 offers the Warriors another outstanding playmaker. In all but three of his career, he has routinely averaged over 8 assists, has a low turnover rate, and is one of the league’s most observant players.
Also: Stephen Curry finally reacts to Warriors trading Jordan Poole
Every time he joins a new team, he almost always elevates and improves players, whether it is Deandre Jordan becoming an All-NBA player, James Harden becoming an MVP, the young OKC Thunder in 2019–20, or most recently Deandre Ayton and Devin Booker. He probably raises Moses Moody and Jonathan Kuminga’s level of play or, at the absolute least, makes things simpler for Curry and Klay Thompson, the team’s headliners.
Given that Paul is primarily a fantastic pick-and-roll player, there are legitimate worries about how he will fit into a motion offense at first appearance. Time will tell how advantageous it is for the Warriors in the long run, but there are also a ton of reasons to enjoy his fit in the scheme.
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