On Thursday afternoon, hours before the 2023 NBA Draught, league sources confirmed to this news organization that the Golden State Warriors had moved point guard Chris Paul to the Washington Wizards in return for Jordan Poole and future assets. The Golden State Warriors made the deal.
The acquisition of Chris Paul
Adding Paul to the Brilliant State roster gives the defending champions more financial flexibility during the summer. It demonstrates that they are ready to lead a group of seasoned players in pursuing the championship in the following year. During the offseason, the Fighters may add a free specialist to their squad. However, they can only give an experienced player the minimum salary. Paul was included in the package that the Phoenix Suns opted to send to the Washington Wizards and that All-Star head coach Bradley Beal received a few days before. The package included several players, including Beal. If things don’t work out between the two of them, the Champions can terminate Paul’s contract in the summer of 2019 since there are still two years left on it, and the $30 million settlement for 2024–25 is not guaranteed either. It is reasonable for him to be paid 30.8 million dollars for the next season.
Paul, who turned 38 this past year in May, is fretting quite a bit about his health. The future Hall of Famer could only play in 59 regular season games for Phoenix last year due to issues with his hamstring, and he had missed each of the previous four season finals for the Suns. In Paul’s last season with the Suns, he struggled with several injuries during the season. The Warriors, led by Rick Celebrini, have effectively preserved the health of players prone to injuries, such as Otto Porter Jr. and Gary Payton II, thanks to Celebrini’s instruction.
Golden State will have the greater financial leeway to sign premier free agents.
After what seemed to be a breakout championship season in 2022, the Warriors decided to make a move with Poole, the 28th overall pick in 2019, early in his four-year, $128 million pact that he signed with the organization last summer. The move came early in Poole’s contract with the Warriors. Poole struggled mightily in his role as a backup player the previous year, especially in the postseason.
During the season, he averaged 40.3 points per game, 4.5 assists per game, 2.7 rebounds per game, and shot 33.6% from outside the arc. After things started to heat up between Poole and Draymond Green in October, it seemed inevitable that he would leave the club during the summer. The film of Green punching Poole in the face while they were practicing went viral over the offseason. After a few weeks, he finally put his signature on the extension. After the Lakers knocked the team out of the playoffs in the second round, head coach Steve Kerr claimed that the event left a negative impression on the players.
Green said that due to the incident, he was unable to be the fiery and outspoken leader of the squad for the first half of the season. He also stated that this prevented him from being able to focus. Due to the fact that Golden State will no longer be responsible for paying Poole’s salary and that Klay Thompson’s deal will expire in the offseason unless he signs an extension, the Warriors will have more salary cap room the following summer, allowing them to chase other high-caliber free players when they go out to sign contracts.
