The Golden State Warriors made noise at the start of the offseason when they acquired longtime rival Chris Paul in a blockbuster trade headlined by a package that included Jordan Poole.
After battling against the Warriors for most of his career, Paul will join an already-loaded backcourt alongside Steph Curry, giving Golden State a potent one-two punch at the point guard position.
In a recent set of preseason rankings for point guards from Frank Urbina of Hoops Hype, Paul’s new teammate Curry landed at No. 2 on the list, only trailing Dallas’ Luka Doncic. Despite Curry nearing the top of the list, Golden State’s newest backcourt member didn’t crack the top 20.
On Hoops Hype’s rankings, Paul was listed as No. 22 out of 24 point guards, trailing Derrick White, Russ Westbrook and rookie Scoot Henderson. According to Hoops Hype, Paul could’ve been higher on the rankings list if there wasn’t uncertainty around his fit with his new team in the Bay Area.
Via Hoops Hype:
By far the most awkward move of the offseason saw Chris Paul end up on the Golden State Warriors after a bitter rivalry between the legendary point guard and dynastic Warriors, one that hasn’t been forgotten about – at least not by Draymond Green. Even from purely a basketball standpoint, this fit is far from perfect, as Paul is a pick-and-roll maestro while the current iteration of the Warriors has been hesitant to run all that much traditional pick-and-roll. (Golden State ranked third-to-last in the frequency of plays ended by a pick-and-roll ball-handler last season.) Paul proved in 2022-23 he’s still got something left in the tank, dishing out nearly nine assists nightly while swiping away one-and-one-half possessions per game, but how will that fit on the Warriors, playing behind a player who will rank near the top of this very ranking? If not for all this uncertainty surrounding his new team situation, Paul might have ranked higher on this list himself.
Read Hoops Hype’s full list here.
Prior to being traded to the Washington Wizards and then to the Golden State Warriors, Paul spent three seasons with the Suns in Phoenix. During the 2022-23 campaign, Paul played in 59 games, averaging 13.9 points on 44% shooting from the field and 37.5% from beyond the arc, with 8.9 assists and 4.3 rebounds per contest.
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