Getty Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors handles the ball against Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns during the second half of NBA game at Footprint Center on December 25, 2021 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Warriors defeated the Suns 116-107. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
The Phoenix Suns shocked the world when they traded Chris Paul and Landry Shamet to the Washington Wizards in exchange for All-Star shooting guard Bradley Beal. However, Paul’s stint in the Nation’s Capital only lasted a few days as he got traded to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Jordan Poole.
With a new veteran point guard on their roster, Draymond thinks Paul will help elevate the Warriors’ budding star, Jonathan Kuminga. Part of the reason for that is because he believes that starting center Deandre Ayton was a ‘bust’ before Paul joined the Suns.
“I will tell you one more thing that I think it unlocks, and I look forward to learning this from him — I think Chris Paul will completely unlock Jonathan Kuminga and his growth. CP is great with young guys. Deandre Ayton looked like a bust before Chris came to Phoenix,” Green said during an appearance on “Podcast P” with Paul George.
“No disrespect but more of a compliment to CP but people did not know what Deandre Ayton was gonna turn out to be and suddenly he became an All-Star level player. So, I think what he will do for Jonathan Kuminga and unlocking him is huge. Absolutely huge. And I look forward to learning that from him.”
Draymond Green Sounds off on Chris Paul
Now Paul joins a core of Green, Steph Curry, and Klay Thompson, who he spent the majority of his career being bitter rivals with, and his eyes set on securing his first-ever NBA title. Paul also brings a dynamic to the Warriors that they have not had in recent years, a true point guard. No shade on Steph Curry, who is an amazing ball distributor, but he is also a point guard who looks to score first.
Paul is a pass-first point guard who prefers to get his teammates involved. But the fact that he can also create his own offense is another advantage for the veteran guard. With the addition of Paul, Green believes that the Warriors now have ‘variety’ on their roster.
“I think he brings a couple of things. Number one, I thought last year — and Steph said this in his press conference, we ran out of variety and what I mean about variety is in a team you need to have a variety. Our team last year did not have a variety of ways to score, and I think CP adds another thing to the menu to address the topic of a variety of ways to score,” Green said.
“CP plays totally different than Steph, totally different than Klay, totally different than me and Jordan Poole. I also think last year, Steph and I got split up a lot and me and Steph together we’re dangerous. Our minutes got split up a bunch because our second unit couldn’t figure it out and in turn, I got put into the second unit to help stabilize things. That’s like 15 less minutes a game we’re together. Well now, CP can anchor that unit, and I think that is a big thing to helping unlock our team again.”
Suns Lack True Point Guard After Chris Paul Trade
Unfortunately, the Warriors’ gain is a loss for the Suns. The Suns made the right choice in swinging for the fences to acquire a star of Beal’s caliber, but after losing Paul, the Warriors lack a true playmaker, which was one of the things that had made them successful the last three seasons.
They have three of the all-time great one-on-one scorers in Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Beal, but isolation scoring does not always equal success. That proved to be true in Phoenix’s second-round playoff elimination at the hands of the Denver Nuggets.
The Suns’ front office has done an excellent job thus far in building out their roster during the free agency period. It will be interesting to see if they can also land a playmaker.