Paul teamed up with Curry The picture is very beautiful, but the big core with the ball can play the pass cut?

In the early morning of June 23, Beijing time, ESPN broke the news that the Wizards transferred Chris Paul to the Warriors in exchange for Jordan Poole, Rawlings, a protected first-round pick in 2030, and a second-round pick in 2027. According to the rules, Poole's new contract has not yet taken effect, and at this time it cannot be used to equalize salaries, and the deal will not be formally approved until Poole's new contract takes effect on July 7.

Paul teamed up with Curry, two hall-of-fame-level point guards, and the picture was beautiful. Sending young Poole away in exchange for Paul with immediate combat power also reflects the determination of Warriors management to win in the moment and help Curry seize the championship window.

But, is Paul really for the Warriors? In a way, the deal makes more sense to clear up future salary space.

The big core with the ball plays the transfer cut?

So far, Paul has played most of the time with the ball as a big core, only playing the second ball point when the Rockets worked with James Harden, but in those two seasons Paul was also mainly blocking offense and facing the basket.

Last season, Paul averaged just 32 minutes per game, but still averaged 74.5 touches per game and was 11th in the league in 6.9 minutes of time on hand. Paul has to perform 11.3 blocks per 100 games, and most of his points and assists come from blocking offense.

Paul parachutes into the Warriors, and both he and the Warriors will face new challenges, and American journalist Concepcion calls this style conflict analogous to the Shaquille-O'Neill parachuting into the Suns.

Paul is a big core player with the ball and is not good at offense without the ball, and his number of open cuts and offenses without the ball covering the ball last season was negligible, and the hand-to-hand attack was only 0.8 per 100 turns.

The Warriors' system needs point guards, but what is needed is Iguodala and Livingston, who do not occupy a lot of the ball and execute passing tactics at a glance, and many of the two's organizations are back-to-back ball organizations, and Paul is used to crazy ball holding to block and dismantle. The Warriors' original starting playmaking ability has overflowed, regular time Draymond Grinze, Curry blocks and takes over in key moments, and the Warriors have two sets of play switching. If Green renews his contract to stay on the team, how will the responsibilities of Paul, Curry and Green be distributed?

Assuming Paul goes straight into the starting lineup, there are plenty of problems with the combination of Paul, Curry and Green. Paul holds the ball, and Curry, the god of the ball, is fine, but Green's organization is basically abandoned, and he can only be used as a cover man. With Paul's current offensive ability, opponents will have no scruples about changing defenses. If Curry or Green have the ball, Paul, who is not good at running without the ball, cannot use his maximum power, and his value in offense without the ball is limited to occasionally catching and throwing, but not frequently.

When Green was replaced by Looney, Paul and Looney's blocking also did not play much power, Looney because of his size and speed blocking and dismantling efficiency is average, he is not the kind of high-altitude work center Paul likes, and Looney is extremely low in frequency, he also likes to respond high. From this point of view, Paul holding the ball and Green and Looney on the floor at the same time to block, the Warriors' offensive efficiency will be very low.

At this time, you will suddenly find that the best place for the Warriors to partner with Paul is Gary Payton Jr.

The Athletic expert Hollinger said he is not optimistic about Paul's compatibility with the Warriors, because Paul's style of play does not fit into the Warriors' system, and don't expect Paul to transform at this stage of his career.

$30.8 million annual salary to play substitute?

After Paul was sent to the Warriors, his $30.8 million contract for the 2022-23 season became fully guaranteed, and the $30 million contract for the 2024-25 season remained unguaranteed. What role will Paul, who receives a salary of $30.8 million, play in the new season?

From the perspective of Warriors needs, the Warriors need Paul to play the role of Curry's backup and prop up the team's offense when Curry is resting. Because the Warriors' "Curry dependence" has been extremely serious for many years, when Curry was not on the floor last season, the Warriors scored only 110.5 points per 100 rounds, which is the bottom level in the league.

But so far in his career, Paul has played 1214 games and has never played as a substitute, will his transition to play as a substitute go smoothly?

Of course, the Warriors can appease Paul with "the focus is not on whether he can start, the focus is on whether he can be on the field in the final period", but can Paul really play at 1.83 meters in key moments? Last season's death of the Warriors' three guards or even four guards was enough to make people suffer a brain hemorrhage, and the lack of height was obvious, and now that Poole, who is taller, younger, and has better off-ball attributes, is replaced by a shorter, older, and weaker off-ball Paul, the three guards will definitely not work.

Also consider Paul's health curse, Paul is 38 years old, and repeated injuries in key stages of the playoffs make Paul himself feel helpless. The strength of the Warriors is that their team doctor Selebrini is experienced in helping players avoid injuries, and Green, Otto Porter, Payton Jr. and others are all beneficiaries.

Clearing salary space is even more significant

Replacing Paul with Poole, it's hard to say whether the Warriors' immediate combat power has improved. The deal is more about reshaping the team's culture and clearing space for the future in response to new collective bargaining agreements.

After Green's Boxing Poole incident, the team culture that the Warriors built over the years nearly collapsed. Coupled with Poole's dissatisfaction with the weakening of the role and the increasingly tense relationship with coach Kerr, it has become increasingly difficult for the Warriors and Poole to work together.

But did sending Poole away help the Warriors reshape the culture? That's another story. After all, Green was the one who punched, and it was Green who lost his prestige on the team. If the Warriors renew Green's contract and abandon Poole Green, what will young players such as Moody and Kuminga think?

For the Warriors, the deal makes even more sense to clear up salary space for the future. In the 2023-24 season, the Warriors' salary pressure is still huge, especially if he renews Green. But in the 2024-25 season, Poole's $30.9 million contract will be replaced by Paul's unguaranteed contract, so even if the Warriors continue to retain the core five-man group of Curry, Thompson (salary reduction extension), Green, Wiggins, and Looney, the Warriors' salary pressure will still be much reduced.

There is also a possibility that Paul still has trade value today, and the Warriors' goal at this stage is to let Paul and Curry join forces to win the championship, but in the middle of the season, if a team comes up with young players + draft picks to pursue Paul, the Warriors can still change hands.

Don't forget, in the DeAngelo-Russell trade that year, the Warriors played such a trick.