On a recent episode of Podcast P with Paul George (YouTube link), Draymond Green said new point guard Chris Paul will help stabilize the Warriors‘ second unit and “unlock” one of the team’s former lottery picks.
“CP can anchor that unit…and I think that is a big thing to helping unlock our team again…I’ll tell you one more thing that I think it unlocks and I look forward to learning this from him; I think Chris Paul will completely unlock Jonathan Kuminga and his growth. CP is great with young guys,” Green said (hat tip to HoopsHype).
The Warriors are trading Jordan Poole, Ryan Rollins, Patrick Baldwin, a top-20 protected 2030 first-round pick, and a 2027 second round pick to the Wizards for Paul. The deal isn’t official yet but likely will be tomorrow once the free agency moratorium lifts.
Here’s more from the Pacific:
- Kings forward Keegan Murray is once again shining in Summer League action. As he prepares for his sophomore season, the first-team All-Rookie member is working with star guard De’Aaron Fox on a daily basis, writes Hunter Patterson of The Athletic. “I’ve been with him every single day so far this summer,” Murray said. “We play one-on-one three, four times a week so that’s helped me a lot in different areas on the court.” For those curious, Murray said he has yet to beat Fox one-on-one, though he’s come “very close.”
- Additional trades could still be in the works, but it appears as though the Clippers‘ free agency work is done, according to Law Murray of The Athletic, who examines the team’s moves this offseason. With 16 players on standard contracts and Jason Preston on a non-guaranteed deal (it will be guaranteed July 18), the young guard’s performance during Summer League will be critical for his future with the team, says Murray.
- Speaking of Preston, he said he underwent LASIK eye surgery and had another procedure to fix a deviated septum, tweets Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. The 23-year-old former second-round pick missed his entire rookie season after foot surgery and appeared in just 14 games with the Clippers in 2022/23.
I really don’t like the trade for GS
If Murray can improve his handles and his ability to make plays with the ball in his hands, he’s really going to help the Kings become a top team in the West.
Murray has an extremely bright future, and I cannot wait to see his development unfold before our eyes over the next couple seasons..
The Warriors 2nd unit was their Achilles heal last season. They kept giving up leads that the starters would hand to them.
Yep exactly the truth. I think the starting five had the best numbers and differentials of any starting five in the NBA last year and by a wide margin.
The bench was so horrible that it brought the Warriors down to a play in team. Very frustrating for the Warriors and fans alike. I for one think Chris Paul can change that.
For once, we all agree. Praise allah.
Statistically, the Looney-Dray-Wiggs-Klay-Steph lineup had the far and away best +/- out of any lineup in the NBA, and all the rest of the lineups never meshed, again, due to too many minutes to players who weren’t going to be there next year and not enough to Kuminga and Moody.
Does even Paul realize he won’t be starting and likely won’t be in any closing lineups? Is he ok with that?
I mean we know Kerr is going to want to use Dray-Wiggs-Klay-Steph-Paul so hard, but that lineup is getting eaten alive by the Lakers and any team with a dominant offensive big.
I’d love to see a Bol-Kuminga-Moody-Payton-Paul lineup too.
Bol would be a really good pick up…
He’ll probably go for more money elsewhere…
But that line up would be a darling regular season team akin to the year CP3 was at OKC… Slot Wiggins in there instead of Payton and there’s a whole other dynamic to that line up…
People forget for GSW to win it all, its gotta be “Steph healthy with everyone else either good or a high-IQ player” but last season had so many Lamb and Jerome minutes and being those guys are Euro leaguers, they do not play NBA-level defense and it showed, hence, no ring.
It’s still shocking to look up the team page and sort by MPG. Why are the 2-way scrubs 8th and 9th in MPG?
Lamb and Jerome getting more MPG than Payton II, Iguodala, Moody, J Green, Wiseman and Baldwin was straight up roster malpractice and it ended their season. Why did they do this? No team has ever done this and won.
I honestly see Paul in the last 4 minutes line up handling the ball and letting Draymond set screens and stay close for rebounds and interior D. As DeDe gets older I think he could benefit from not asking him to run the offense EVERY time he’s on the floor. He’s so smart his screen game and rolls could get us more consistent rebounds and keep him available to close from low block to mid range-3pt
Why would Kerr have a starting lineup of 2 PGs? That’s silly. You really believe that Steph, Draymond, and Kerr haven’t already been talking to Paul? I highly doubt any that is a surprise to him.
Why would Kerr use lineups of all sub-6’6″ guards? I was asking that same question all last season.
I highly doubt GSW acquiring all these guards is going to result in Kerr suddenly playing sensible lineups that work vs teams with dominant bigs. Did you not watch any of the games last year?
How would Draymond Green know how CP3 is with young guys?
Have they played together before?
What is CP3 going to teach Jonathan Kuminga that someone else hasn’t tried?
Green is a true loud mouth. This guy will say anything to the media to see if they will publish it.
Yeah, CP3 has a career reputation for unlocking slow to develop F/PF’s in the NBA.
Sounds fantastical. Name 1 other 2, or 3 year F/PF CP3 was given credit for developing?
CP3 will definitely help the 2nd unit of GSW though. Even in a rocking chair.
Draymond has a personal interest in this trade working out since hid punching Poole is widely regarded as having sunk the W’s season. Of course he is going to talk it up. The only real question is will the Warriors be affected when Paul pulls a hammy in the second round of the playoofs and has to miss the rest of the year.
@justkidding One punch and Poole forgot how to play basketball? That is pretty silly. That makes his contract look even worse.
Poole had a career year statistically last season, I hate how these fraud analysts lie all the time, the hyperbole goes from “underperforming” to “cannot play NBA basketball anymore” in like a day – yall are so pathetic, really. Grow up. Poole had a great year last season other than inconsistency that comes from a young player winning a ring the season before, its called “playoff hangover” and hundreds of players across all sports have been affected by it. Poole will avg 30+ next year and make this trade look really stupid (it still kinda is).
he’s not averaging 30 pts a game next year. dude couldn’t even find his shot against 2nd team defenses this past year. 32% from 3pt? that’s significantly below average.
he’s a volume scorer at best with a high TO rate. have fun winning 18 games next year Jordan. You wanted to be the man, be the man in DC.
The #1 reason why I’d be looking to trade Paul.
That’s an easy one. Kuminga has never had a PG on CP3’s level to work with on the court. Paul will give Kuminga better chances to score, and get him in the right places on defense. Poole hogged the ball over turned it. And he was terrible on defense. Playing the right way every night unlocks a player’s skills.
Sounds fantastical, and homerish, but I don’t have a problem with Paul helping, he will help, but it will come at a cost likely, and according to past history.
As long as Draymond and CP3’s messes, and baggage don’t interfere with the performance of the team, GSW can have a good season.
But its a crap-shoot on those 2 based on history, and I wouldn’t invest if it were a business opportunity.
Yeah and you sound anti-homerish, your posting is just pure Draymond Green hate, which we have enough on on this site, and literally none of it ever comes with shots at his game, you clowns always just live Draymond live rent free – you should stop watching hoop if you hate Draymond Green, he really is the best type of player to have and to win with.
“Green is a true loud mouth.”
You wrote all that but you could have just said “I’m a a crybaby loser racist and my fave team lost to GSW over and over while Draymond told us what was happening”.
I don’t like that the Warriors got older and slower and still don’t have no size, you not beating Denver with small guys and you are older too, not going to happen!
I don’t like that the Warriors got older and slower and still don’t have no size, you not beating Denver with small guys , not going to happen!
Correct, and this Kerr-influenced, all small guard team got cooked by the Nugs all year and went 0-3.
Kerr is the problem, Kerr is the one who wants no bigs and claims he cant play them. Wiseman was fine all along, Kerr just doesn’t know how to do his job unless Steph is in nuclear mode.
how many rings you got?
Nuggets only played three guys off the bench in the playoffs and they lost two of them to free agency. Sure they’ll be good again but that’s a huge hole of fill x 2.