The Warriors didn't win the NBA championship and don't have the top pick in Thursday's NBA Draft.
But Golden State stole the conversation on Draft day by agreeing to acquire Chris Paul from the Washington Wizards in a trade that would send dynamic guard Jordan Poole back to the nation's capital.
Even with generational superstar Victor Wembanyama's likely selection by the San Antonio Spurs set to come on Thursday, ESPN's coverage building up to the draft gave significant time to the Warriors-Wizards trade.
JJ Redick said he was "fascinated" by the move, especially in the way that Paul will pair up with Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and coach Steve Kerr's preferred style of offense.
"The Warriors are a team that has thrived on body and ball movement — Steph has described their style of play as 'chaotic,'" Redick said. "Then you think about Chris Paul, how methodical, how controlled, how organized he is. The Warriors have the shortest average touch length in the half-court. Chris Paul has the seventh-longest touch length in the half court."
Redick also said the "interaction with the referees" will fascinate him too, especially with both Green and Paul now as teammates.
Earlier on ESPN's NBA Today, Analyst (and former Warriors, albeit briefly) Richard Jefferson said he felt that Paul fits "perfectly" with the Warriors — especially in what's expected to be a smaller role than the 38-year-old has previously been asked to handle.
"Chris Paul's been in the league for 200 years, and for 200 years, you have seen issues in the postseason," Jefferson said. "I think this is the first time he's been on a level where he is a pure contributor, a game manager. You're not going to ask him to defend the best one or two players on the other side. Chris Paul is in a very good situation.
"We know that Steve Kerr does a great job of stringing out his players, allowing them to get rest, allowing them to do all of the things they need to do to be the best version of themselves late in the season. I'm really about this Chris Paul journey."
Jefferson also advocated for the Warriors to consider trading Jonathan Kuminga for other veteran players to build around their older crew, saying a move like that would be "very, very valuable." The Warriors are reportedly
Does this improve Golden State's ability to win a championship? No, according to Kendrick Perkins — who has never shied away from his skepticism of the Warriors.
"I love the move for CP3, but you still still got the Nuggets and you still got the Suns [out West]," Perkins said. "The Warriors are not the favorite because they added CP3."
Jefferson, playing his usual role as a foil to Perkins, told his colleague that he "has a lot of hate in his heart," ostensibly towards the Warriors.
There could still be several moves that the Warriors make on Draft night, and they still have the No. 19 pick in the first round. But the team has already made its biggest move of the day in bringing in Paul.
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