Chris Paul never got his wish to play alongside Kevin Garnett, but lining up alongside Draymond Green in an unlikely partnership with the Golden State Warriors will rank pretty close for the 12-time All-Star.
In one of the most surprising moves of the off-season, the Warriors acquired 38-year-old Paul from the Washington Wizards soon after the point guard was shipped out by the Phoenix Suns in the Bradley Beal deal.
Paul has spent the majority of his career in the Western Conference, with his peak years coinciding with the Warriors' dynasty and the former Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers star has had many fierce battles with Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Green and company over the years.
But their rivalry has been put aside with Paul arriving in the Bay Area in a deal that sent Jordan Poole to D.C. And Paul is excited to get down to work with his new teammates, particularly power forward Green who may not have the same ball-handling skill set, but he certainly shares the same tough-talking, tough-playing style.
"There's always a respect there when you compete like that against guys and fans obviously want the insight, 'Do y'all talk? Did this happen? Klay, for all those years, I would be running around chasing Steph and Klay would be guarding me, so there is a respect there and me and Klay talk when we play," Paul told Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
"I think me and Draymond is sort of like I always say when people ask me 'Who is the one player that I didn't get to play with who I wish I would have?', I always say Kevin Garnett. It's because the first three times I played against KG, we both got double techs (technical fouls), we were about to fight every time, but it was because he was like-minded like me.
"I think that's the way with Draymond. I know he competes just like I do, so it's definitely going to be dope to see us now as teammates."
Garnett, a 15-time All-Star who won the NBA title in 2008 with the Boston Celtics, was one of the league's most intense and vocal players with a game to match his talk. Green is not the same level of talent, but he has a comparable character to Garnett and he has been the ideal foil for Curry and Thompson en route to four championship triumphs.
Paul, a methodical pace-setting point guard, does not seem a natural stylistic fit with the Warriors' more chaotic framework that puts great faith in their long-range shooters Curry and Thompson to make big plays. But the 38-year-old has no concerns about fitting into Steve Kerr's team by the time the season begins in October.
"At the end of the day, it's basketball, it's not brain surgery," he added. "I'm going into a situation with a bunch of guys who have played together for a long time and I'm not as worried about it as everybody else is. We're going to figure it out.
