Golden State Warriors Rumors: Team tried to get OG Anunoby before settling for Chris Paul
The Golden State Warriors made one of the first surprise moves of the offseason when they acquired Chris Paul from the Washington Wizards. However, the latest rumors suggest that the Warriors tried to get OG Anunoby from the Toronto Raptors first before settling for the veteran point guard.
According to Tim Kawakami of The Athletic, Golden State explored other options before targeting Paul via trade. Kawakami revealed that the Warriors offered the Raptors a package including Jordan Poole for OG Anunoby, but was quickly rejected.
"One of the Warriors' calls, I’m told, was to check with Toronto about a proposal centering on Poole for 25-year-old forward OG Anunoby. But the Raptors weren't interested," Kawakami wrote.
Tim Kawakami also noted that the Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs were interested in Jordan Poole. However, the Golden State Warriors had a hard time coming up with a good trade offer.
The Warriors had no other choice but to change course and trade Poole to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Chris Paul. Poole's contract might be one of the worst in the league in the coming years and teams probably wanted a lot in exchange for taking it.
If Golden State successfully acquired OG Anunoby from the Toronto Raptors, he would have taken Draymond Green's position in the starting lineup. That means the Warriors would have let Green walk for free this season.
Now, Green is likely to sign a new contract with the Warriors and continue working together with Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. The acquisition of Paul might not look good on paper, but it might be the best thing to happen for Golden State.
Nevertheless, it remains to be seen if Paul will start for the Warriors next season or if he'll come off the bench and make things easier for the young players.
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How can Chris Paul help the Golden State Warriors?
Some fans might not like the Golden State Warriors acquisition of Chris Paul, especially since they had to part ways with a young star like Jordan Poole. Basketball experts like the Warriors move, with head coach Steve Kerr explaining how Paul will help the team next season.
Kerr told Kawakami that Paul will ease the playmaking duties from Steph Curry and Draymond Green.
"When we had to have a bucket, we've leaned on the high pick-and-roll, Steph/Draymond," Kerr said. "It's our best play. That’s our 98-mph fastball. But if you throw that down the middle enough, somebody’s hitting it into McCovey Cove. And that’s what happened against the Lakers, we just didn’t have the variety. We didn’t have the changeup." (h/t Sports Illustrated)
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