Chris Paul doesn’t know what his role with the Warriors will be, but he seems ready for anything the team asks him to do, writes Kendra Andrews of ESPN. The 38-year-old point guard said he hasn’t talked to coach Steve Kerr or any other Golden State officials about how he’ll be used in a backcourt that already features Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. There’s a chance he might come off the bench for the first time in his long career.
“At the end of the day, it’s basketball,” Paul said. “I’m going into a situation with a bunch of guys who’ve been playing together for a long time. I’m not as worried about it as everybody else is. … We’ll figure all of that stuff out at camp. You don’t have the answers right now. We’ll practice, and I’m sure there will be things I’ve got to learn about them, they’ve got to learn about me, but that’s the case with any team.”
Paul admitted being surprised by the offseason deals that sent him from the Suns to the Wizards and then the Warriors. He had a brief workout Sunday with Curry as the long-time rivals practiced together for the first time in 14 years.
“There are times when you get a chance to reflect,” Paul said. “Even working out today, we were laughing. … It’s a great opportunity and a blessing to be doing this at our age, because he ain’t young either.”
Paul only has one guaranteed year left on his contract, but when asked if he plans to continue playing beyond next season, he responded, “No question,” tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka has been encouraged by the progress of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, who both played through injuries in the postseason, per Jovan Buha of The Athletic. Pelinka told reporters he can’t address the specifics of an extension for Davis, who will become eligible for a new deal on August 4, but he spoke highly of what the big man has contributed to the team.
- The Lakers are hoping assistant coach Chris Jent will bring out the best in free agent addition Cam Reddish, Buha adds. Jent was an assistant with the Hawks when Reddish broke into the league. “I think all the tools are there for Cam,” Pelinka said. “… “This was someone who was a (top-10) pick in the draft just a few years ago. So it’s there, and I’m excited for him to show it.”
- Neemias Queta is willing to accept a two-way contract for the third straight season if it keeps him on the Kings‘ roster, according to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Queta is currently a restricted free agent after receiving a $2MM qualifying offer from the team last month. That QO only includes a small partial guarantee.
CP already knows he will probably not make the starting 5. He is the guy to run the second team. This is his best chance at getting a ring so he better just play hard and let the other players help him achieve his goal of getting a ring.
The question will probably be, do you want to wear out Draymond Green early in the season or preserve him a little bit for playoff time and post defense.
If Chris Paul starts Looney goes to the bench and green is your starting center. That’s a long season for a 6-6 guy to give 200% on the defensive end every game. He can do it in spurts and he’s very good but entire season I’m not sure.
I would say Chris Paul starts the year on the bench but there’s going to be many times when he’s going to be in the death lineup the last 2 minutes.
Yeah, he definitely going to be there to close out games.
Chris will get his 30 minutes a game. Kerr will also go against match ups on who will start. I doubt it will matter that much as long as they are winning games.
I would like to see ALL of them trio and CP3 to play less this yr and definitely load mgmt. Klay made a huge mistake trying to prove he can play back to back games last yr. He just didnt have any strength in his legs in the postseason. Would love to see Kerr gamble and play Kuminga and Moody a lot especially in the first half of the season, and let them play through mistakes. Warriors have no chance without their contrbution in the postseason.
Going from being a starter the past 20 years to coming off the bench is a huge change. Everyone struggles with change. Nobody accepts it overnight. But, maybe he can look at Iggy for solace. He went from a starter to a backup and won several Rings and became a Finals MVP.
Paul will get plenty of playing time, Steph misses his share of games. Curry only started three more games than CP3 including the playoffs.
@Giants74 but sure, keep arguing GSW arent going to flip him, just to argue with me.
Weird how you have different opinions depending on who’s saying them…
@88rings I am not sure what you are talking about. It is not an opinion to say that the Warriors were the worst ball handling team last season. League stats prove that. The 2nd unit constantly gave up leads that the starters had achieved. Poole had suspect defense to begin with, and added turnovers to his problems. When you turn the ball over a lot, you take points off the board and lose games. Paul has been one of the best ball handlers in hoops the past 15 years, and is a strong defender. They’ll win more games. It is not any secret that Poole was a selfish player.
As Draymond, and others, have said, Paul will probably get Kuminga, and Moody, if they listen, more involved in the offense, and in the right places on defense. They’ll be more consistent and earn more playing time. The NBA is not a charity. Just because you signed a contract doesn’t mean you get out on the floor. Teams aren’t really interested in losing.
CP3 must be pissed Warriors traded for him. He had a cakewalk to his pick of the LA teams
Both teams are way over the cap limit. So how was it a cake walk since Wizards wanted something back that they can use. Lakers had nobody to trade and Clippers would need to give up important bench pieces.
LOL only on a buyout I’m surprised a team traded for him
Don’t worry, Paul will not likely be on the Warriors by March 2024. If he is, then they are in first place and its “dont touch anything”. But if there’s problems, the 1-year guy has the most move-able contract, plus GSW has picks, etc.
Unit 1 – the GOAT unit, the one Kerr only has to play 25 MPG together with to destroy all teams:
Looney Green Wiggins Thompson Curry
Unit 2 – “lets see if this works”
Saric Kuminga Moody Payton II Paul
Others
Podziemski Joseph Jackson-Davis + 1 more big + 3 two-way spots, two of which likely going to Santos and Quinones.
Every GSW team who has won a title has had an eastern European big man. Dario Saric might have just guaranteed them next year.
It’s a stretch to include Jonas Jerebko.
Sweden isn’t considered Eastern Europe by anybody.
“Starting” is the most overrated thing in Basketball. It’s about minutes played.
Exactly….and the minutes played when they count the most. The start of the game was very important to the dubs this past season–because they frequently dug themselves a 15 point hole to get out of–but it often sets the faster pace that they like to play with. On-ball pressure defenses seem to stop the dub offense, especially in the second half. And that’s when CP3 will do his work…hopefully. But I have my doubts as to whether their offence can put up 110 points on a regular basis, which is what they’ll need to win 40 games.
Well said, BloodFarts. I agree unironically.
That said, KuminGOAT should get top 5 minutes instead of Looney, along with Steph, Klay, Dray and Wiggs.
I think every basketball scout has been saying the same thing about Cam since he played AAU.
Lakers gambled, and hopefully it pays off. Can’t be any worse than Troy Brown.
Only ring Warriors will see is “ring around the collar” ……. It’s Over ….. DONE
You wish ^ check my user name ^ Steph is getting his 8 before you will ever see the Knicks chip ….. you never had it…. never will!!
They got rid of Poole and let DiVincenzo go, which to me is a real positive. But I keep reflecting on the Lakers series and really, that last game. They looked tired or lethargic, especially Klay. Shot selection was from the lunatic fringe.
I get it. One series. One game. But their road record last year was troubling. I don’t know what you chalk that up to, other than aging superstars going through the grind
The west is just loaded. Any team that comes out of the playoffs and into the championship will have to be deep and their guys will have to be kept fresh. I like the Warriors and appreciate what they’ve done, but it’s difficult to see them coming out on top of all of this
Cam has already made it in his eyes. He’s not a baller ….. just wants to live like one.
Only 3 years ago, CP3 led Suns to NBA Finals and had 2 – 0 lead against Bucks. Then, Suns had the best record in NBA with 61 wins only to choke in the postseason 2 yrs ago. Finally, total failure this yr with KD and Booker. What happened?????? Why did Suns get rid of him?? Do they not need hall of famer veteran leadership? It’s very possible CP3 will have revival in SF, but he has been mentally checked out the last 18 months. The young players were no longer listening to him and he had to go. Hopefully, change of scenery will revitalize CP3 but chance is he will not finish the season in Warriors uniform. No way Lacob will pay $400m in luxury tax.
That’s a leap. I doubt you know what happened in the Suns locker room. How do you know the problem wasn’t KD? Coming off going to the Finals with Golden State, KD’s time in Brooklyn wasn’t a rousing success. Last season, the Suns had a +2 point differential during the regular season. In the playoffs, they had -2 point differential. Not playing defense in the post season is a real problem. Since CP3 was out most of the playoffs, it is a stretch to say he was the problem.
CP3 wasnt a factor for the last 18 months, that’s what I’m saying. Why? He’s suppose to be a top hall of famer who desperately wants to get a ring, but he just seemed out of it last season and a half. Total failure in consecutive postseasons, and thus he and Monty are out.
You know CP3 personally? You know what his mental state has been?