Chris Paul started taking half-court shots after he learned he was joining Steph Curry and the Warriors - "Oh you a Splash Bro now"
Chris Paul has had a busy yet unpredictable offseason. The potential Hall of Fame guard got traded twice: first to the Washington Wizards and later to the Golden State Warriors.
Interestingly, Paul had no idea about these trades as they went down. When the Wizards trade that sent Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns came to fruition, "CP3" was on a flight to New York.
When the trade to the Warriors happened, he was playing a pick-up game and learned about the move from his son, who saw the news online. Former Dallas Mavericks guard Theo Pinson was at the pick-up game with Paul.
He shared a hilarious anecdote of what went down next during an appearance on the 'Run Your Race' podcast:
"We hoopin' or whatever... I'm just sitting on the sideline, and I was on my phone just scrolling. I see Chris get traded on Instagram and I’m looking at Chris and he’s hooping and I’m like this dude going to the Warriors and he has no idea...
"Little Chris came and told his dad he going to the Warriors... Chris' a** start pulling from half court and hitting shots and s**t. I said, 'Oh you a splash bro now huh!'”
Chris Paul didn’t realize he got traded to the Warriors!
“I’m looking at Chris and he’s hooping and I’m like this dude going to the Warriors and he has no idea…then Chris start pulling from half court and hitting shots. Oh you a splash bro now!”
Via: Run Your Race @tpinsonn… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… https://t.co/ckCIZko9lV
Chris Paul now gets to be a part of one of the most historic three-guard lineups with Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. Paul comes in this season with the Warriors having shot 37.5% from deep on 4.4 attempts, so he shouldn't have much of an issue pulling up from behind the arc more often than he did previously.
Chris Paul gets another shot at title success with Steph Curry and the Warriors
Chris Paul has had a legendary career so far. However, championship success still eludes him after 18 seasons in the league. He's been on some highly touted teams like the LA Clippers from their 'Lob City' era, the 65-win Houston Rockets in 2017-2018 and most recently, the Phoenix Suns team that made the NBA Finals in 2021 and added Kevin Durant in 2022-23.
Paul has been to the conference finals twice in 2018 and 2021, prevailing once to the next round. The Warriors are possibly the first team loaded with a championship pedigree that Paul will be part of.
Coach Steve Kerr, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green were at the center of their four championship wins and six Finals appearances since 2015.
The on-court fit seems questionable as Chris Paul brings a different skillset and pace to the Warriors. However, he's won games consistently on every team he has been on. Paul led a young LA Clippers, OKC and Suns teams to the playoffs. LA and Phoenix became perennial contenders under his leadership.
The Golden State Warriors need some of that experience on their roster. They don't have much of it, especially in their second unit, which led to their struggles last year.
The Warriors exited the playoffs in a 4-2 conference semis loss against the LA Lakers, their first conference defeat in Kerr's tenure.
Steph Curry speaks on his new teammate Chris Paul 👀 https://t.co/R3lZVQDaji
Chris Paul could help stabilize the Warriors' regular season form, while the Dubs could get the best out of him in the postseason.
In terms of that balance, the Warriors could have a different edge next season, which may result in his first championship win and the fifth for their core.