“Curry suffered enough last year”: Warriors fans in shambles after reports emerge about Chris Paul potentially starting for team
Chris Paul is reportedly expected to be a member of the Golden State Warriors' starting 5 next season. The Warriors will likely utilize a small-ball lineup to retain Steph Curry and Klay Thompson in the starting lineup alongside the recently acquired veteran.
However, Warriors fans don't appear to be on board with the notion of having Paul in the starting lineup, with many of them taking to X to share their displeasure at the report.
The original report regarding Chris Paul potentially being in the starting 5 came courtesy of Andescape's Marc Spears during an appearance on Yahoo Sports' "Good Word With Goodwill" podcast.
“I think it’s in five-minute spurts," Spears said. "I don’t know that they really want his minutes to be high, but I think they’re gonna try it. I could be wrong, but that’s the gist I’m getting. This isn’t an opinion that he’s expected to start. It’s what I’m hearing. He’s never not started in his career.”
However, there has been no official word from the Warriors regarding Paul's role in the upcoming season.
Steve Kerr has avoided questions regarding Chris Paul's role
Since the Golden State Warriors acquired Chris Paul in a deal that sent Jordan Poole to the Washington Wizards, Steve Kerr has been coy in his responses to questions regarding Paul's potential role with the team.
During an interview with ESPN's Tim Bontemps before the FIBA World Cup, Kerr noted how he would make a decision regarding rotations once the Warriors training camp was underway.
“I think that’ll be a case where you get three weeks of training camp before that first game,” Kerr said “We’ll just look at all kinds of different combinations. … The main thing is we know all those guys are going to play a lot of minutes. …
"He is one of the great competitors in the game. He’s one of the great point guards of all time. I think he’s a great addition for us, because of his ability to control games, control tempo, take care of the ball.”
Golden State will surely explore the concept of having a small starting 5, with either Curry or Paul as the starting guard and the other one playing off-ball as the shooting guard. However, the Warriors will also need to implement some bigger rotations to ensure they aren't susceptible when facing some of the bigger teams in the NBA.
Nevertheless, Paul's addition has provided Golden State with an elite guard rotation. The questions regarding whether Paul is going to start or be a sixth man are good questions for Kerr to have, as we head toward a new NBA season.