Chris Paul Traded to Golden State Warriors in Exchange for Jordan Poole || NBA Trades

Chris Paul is allegedly on his way to the Golden State Warriors for Jordan Poole, less than a week after the Washington Wizards agreed to sell Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns in a deal that featured Chris Paul.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Wizards and Paul have agreed to a deal in which Paul will play for the Warriors and Poole will play for Washington. The Wizards will also receive a protected first-round selection in 2030 and a second-round pick in 2027 as part of the deal. The transaction has not been formally publicized, and the teams will likely approve it after the Beal deal is finished.

Poole posted a career-high 20.4 points and 4.5 assists in his fourth season in the league after being selected by the Warriors as the 28th overall choice in the 2019 NBA Draft. He recently signed a four-year, $128 million contract deal with the Warriors last October, and new general manager Mike Dunleavy stated last week that they anticipated "having him for four more years at the very least." That attitude definitely did not endure long.

Steve Kerr spoke with The Athletic's Tim Kawakami about how the Golden State Warriors needed to make a change following a dismal season this year. The team anticipated that Chris Paul would be a huge catalyst for that transition.

“We’re going to be a lot different,” Kerr said. “The last thing I’m going to do is say anything about a team that just won a championship a year ago and then fought through a difficult season. Made a helluva run at the end of this year. I’ve loved this group that we’ve had for the last couple of years.

But the biggest point is that we sensed we needed a shift. Didn’t mean we needed an overhaul, but we needed a shift of some sort. I think everybody in the organization sensed that. And it feels like we’ve made a pretty significant shift without giving up our identity and our sense of who we are as a team. I think, all in all, it’s a very positive shift.”

The Warriors' decision to trade Jordan Poole for Chris Paul was not taken lightly. It will completely alter their bench presence and cause the squad to play substantially older and slower at times. It's an x-factor choice, and the outcome won't be known until it's viewed in person. But one thing is certain: the Warriors will be an exciting club to watch this season.

At some time, the Warriors were going to have to choose between keeping Poole and maintaining key stars Draymond Green (an unrestricted free agent this summer after declining a $27.6 million player option for 2023-24) and Klay Thompson (in his last season).

Trade Details:

• Warriors get: Chris Paul
• Wizards get Jordan Poole, Patrick Baldwin Jr., Ryan Rollins, a 2030 protected first-round pick, 2027 second-round pick.