This season's NBA regular season has come to an end, with the Eastern Conference Celtics dominating the family, and the rest of the playoff-level teams are on the same level. With the rise of the Thunder and the Timberwolves, the West has formed a three-way battle for hegemony with the Nuggets, which has led to super giants like the Suns, Lakers, and Warriors who have been hovering in the lower half of the region. In the words of Dream Green, the league seems to have gotten stronger over the past few years, and that trend is here to stay. If you want me to say, it's the warriors who have become weaker.
With the Warriors out, there will be a series of problems next, starting with the team's salary. Klay became a free agent this summer, Moody and Kuminga have reached the stage of early contract extension, according to Bay Area media analysis, the Warriors have spent a total of more than $400 million this season, and they can't even make the playoffs, which will cause the team to lose nearly $200 million a season, leaving behind the team's rising market value (which cannot be realized, unless the team is sold), which is almost equivalent to the Warriors' real profits in the past few years. Of course, there are many reasons why the Warriors have failed this season, such as Kerr's meritorious basketballism, such as Curry has been secretly supporting Klay + Green to move forward together, such as the team's young people not getting enough room to rise, but we seem to ignore one of the most lost people.
According to the statistics of the American media, Paul has been in the playoffs for 13 consecutive years, and this season came to an abrupt end! Kerr made it clear when talking about Paul: His leadership is very good, he has always been very professional, and I really hope to keep him on the team next year. Paul played in 58 games in the regular season this season, averaging 9.2 points and 6.8 assists per game, shooting 44.1% + 37.1% from the field, and in one playoff game, he played 18 minutes, made 1 of 3, and had 3 points and 2 assists. First of all, one thing is certain, the Warriors will never convert Paul's final year worth $30.8 million of his unguaranteed contract to a fully guaranteed one! Because the Warriors will not count Klay and Paul's contracts next season, they will already have a salary level of $145 million, and there is also the pressure of Kuminga and Moody to renew their contracts, and the Warriors will not be able to keep Paul. Second, where could Paul go?
It all started last summer. After the Suns were eliminated by the Nuggets last summer, before the free agency market opened, they made a deal with the Wizards to trade Paul for Beal. To tell the truth, Durant and Booker don't like to have people around them to control the rhythm, and Paul's slow control is not suitable for the Suns. After being sent to the Wizards, the Warriors threw an olive branch, and the Wizards willingly swallowed Poole's big contract and sent Paul to the Warriors. When Paul first joined the Warriors, he also offended a lot of Bay Area media because of the starting problem, and finally Paul chose to demote himself and bring young people off the bench! Although Paul's data is inconspicuous, this season with Poger, Moody, Looney and others, the efficiency value of the Warriors' bench is higher than that of the starter, which is Paul's value.
But to put it more ugly, he wasn't there when the Water Margin hero was divided, but when he was given poisoned wine, he let him catch up! Why did the Warriors get Paul? It just confirms the real reason for the Warriors' failure this season: the management still firmly believes in the core framework led by Curry + Klay + Dream Green, Kerr insists on meritorious basketball play, and Poole is the victim! Including Paul himself, when he is on the court at the same time as Klay + Green, the net efficiency value is not as good as taking Kuminga +Moody's efficiency is high, to put it bluntly, the Warriors' passing and cutting system has come to an end, Paul has witnessed the rise of the Warriors dynasty, but has become a witness to the fall of the Warriors dynasty. Paul even lost his voice in the Warriors because he was only a supporting character!
Looking back on Paul's 19-year career, he was indeed very far away from a championship during his time with the Hornets, but the league personally killed the possibility of him teaming up with Kobe. During the Clippers period, the city was created with an empty reception, but the coaching attributes of Rivers Sr. became the team's ceiling. The most regrettable thing is the next two: the Rockets period, in the 17-18 season, if Paul's thigh had not been injured in the key G5 battle, it must have been the Rockets who lifted the championship trophy that year. Including the summer of 21, the Suns went all the way, and when they faced the Bucks in the Finals, they also led the Bucks 2-0, in the first two games, Paul had 32 points and 9 assists in a game, and 23 points and 8 assists in a game.
Goodbye championship! Paul is often criticized by fans for asking for a high contract, but to tell the truth, Paul can indeed play his value before, and there is no shortage of opportunities to win the championship in his career, but he has missed it! Coming to the Warriors this season, for Curry + Klay + Green and even Wiggins, they have all won the championship, and they are not so uncomfortable, young people urgently need room to grow, but Paul, the bamboo basket is empty! Paul should have thought of this ending a long time ago, the Warriors are already at the end of the crossbow! As for the future, Paul has two paths: go to the championship giants with a base salary, or take a contract with an average salary of 10 million to set up a bad team to lead young people.