With Bob Meyers at the helm, the Golden State Warriors front office orchestrated a dynasty highlighted by the signing of Steve Kerr as their head coach and Kevin Durant as the biggest free-agency addition of the past decade. Nevertheless, in the last week of May, the 4-time NBA Champion stepped down from his position as the team's General Manager, thus paving the way for his assistant, Mike Dunleavy Jr., to assume the highly coveted role. On Thursday, Dunleavy Jr. traded away Jordan Poole (24), a combo-guard who was widely viewed as a significant building block for the team once Steph Curry retired, for Chris Paul (38), a 12-time NBA All-Star who has become notorious for getting injured during the midst of a deep post-season run.
For Mike Dunleavy Jr., this could be a career-defining transaction. The last time a point guard with superstar potential left the Golden State Warriors for the Washington Wizards was Gilbert Arenas in 2003. On the flip side, Chris Paul was a part of two championship-contending teams with the Houston Rockets (alongside James Harden) that were eliminated from the playoffs by the Golden State Warriors in back-to-back years. With a 9-9 postseason record against the Golden State Warriors, Chris Paul joins the roster as the 30 million dollar backup point guard to his long-time rival in the Western Conference, Steph Curry. If the Warriors re-sign Draymond Green, their team will feature four future Hall of Famers who are all over the age of 33.
In addition to receiving Jordan Poole (20.4 PPG, 4.5 AST, 2.7 Rebounds), the Washington Wizards will receive multiple draft picks. Last season, Jordan Poole played all 82 regular season games, while Chris Paul (13.9 PPG, 8.9 AST, 4.3 Rebounds) has not played more than 70 regular season games since he turned 30 years old back in 2015.
Source: Instagram
