The Golden State Warriors dealt Jordan Poole and a slew of assets to the Washington Wizards for Chris Paul, sending shockwaves throughout the league just hours before the 2023 NBA Draft.This deal shows that the Warriors are all-in on winning a title next season, as they traded away a guy who many anticipated would be a key part of their post-Stephen Curry future.
However, one has to ask if this is the best Poole deal the Warriors could have done. (The move also cost them Patrick Baldwin Jr., their first-round pick in 2022.) After all, despite being one of the best point guards in NBA history, Paul is already 38 years old. In the end, it appears that the Warriors had alternatives for where they could have traded the 24-year-old combo guard.
According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports, the Warriors held preliminary discussions with the San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics about a potential Jordan Poole deal, but those talks did not go very far. The Spurs, according to Fischer, “never made a significant offer,” whereas the Celtics simply assessed their alternatives before trading Marcus Smart for Kristaps Porzingis.
The Spurs may not have had the assets to pull off a trade that would have sparked the Warriors’ attention in the first place. Will a package of Zach Collins and Doug McDermott (or Devonte’ Graham) suffice for Jordan Poole? Most likely not. (The Spurs would have never offered Keldon Johnson or Devin Vassell.)
Trading for another guard prior to the Marcus Smart deal may not have been the best use of resources for the Celtics, given they still have Derrick White and Malcolm Brogdon (injury issues notwithstanding) holding down the fort at the position.
Whatever the situation may be, losing Jordan Poole in this manner will be a tough pill for Warriors fans to swallow. It may result in some cap relief in the end, but at what cost to all they gave up to the Wizards? That is not an ideal situation.
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