The transaction in which the Golden State Warriors exchanged Chris Paul for Jordan Poole was one of the more puzzling moves made this summer in the NBA.
Paul is 38 years old and plainly in decline, whereas Poole was one of their finest young players despite his productivity being down this past season.
People are divided on whether that decision will benefit the Warriors, who were inconsistent throughout the entire season and failed to effectively defend their NBA title.
According to SportsCenter, head coach Steve Kerr claimed he used to detest Paul because of the conflicts his team had with him, but that he has since come to adore him.
“We’ve all hated him because we were competing, and he was so good. And now that’s our guy, and we love him.”
Steve Kerr on “joking” with Chris Paul and their relationship. pic.twitter.com/SNTsJyaMWE
SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 2, 2023
Paul has been moving about the league lately, and while with the Houston Rockets, he faced Kerr’s Warriors in the 2018 and 2019 postseasons.
With 65 victories in 2018, the Rockets earned the best record in the NBA. They eventually led the defending champion Warriors 3-2 in the series.
But just as it seemed as though they could go to the NBA Finals, Paul suffered a hamstring injury in the closing moments of Game 5, necessitating his absence for the next two games. Without him, they were defeated by Stephen Curry and company.
The team’s nucleus of Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green is becoming older and requires younger players around it to relieve pressure, according to many who question why Golden State went out and acquired him.
In the past year or two, Paul’s scoring percentages have drastically decreased, and he fared especially poorly in the 2023 playoffs. Paul used to be able to score at least 30 points in any given game.