Chris Paul, Warriors trade: 38-year-old barely changes title chances

Before the first round of the 2023 NBA Draft even began on Thursday, we started with an afternoon doozy of a trade. It saw the Washington Wizards send Chris Paul to Steph Curry’s Golden State Warriors in exchange for Jordan Poole and a collection of future draft picks.

At face value, Paul is probably the floor general/settler that the usually chaotic Warriors need. Within their current structure, there isn’t room for everyone to take wild shot attempts like Curry. It’s a great idea to have someone such as Paul to slow the offense down and create in the halfcourt — especially in crunch time.

But oddsmakers aren’t convinced that Paul actually changes all that much for the aging Warriors.

As great as Curry still is in his mid-30s, Paul, in his late 30s, realistically doesn’t move the needle for Golden State. If anything, the Warriors filled a major need but rightfully possess distant title prospects to other top contenders like the defending champion Denver Nuggets and the Boston Celtics. Right now, oddsmakers with BetMGM give the Warriors +1200 odds to win next year’s NBA championship. That is up from +1300 before they traded for Paul.

In other words, Paul’s addition projects as a small improvement but nothing to write home about when still chasing the Nuggets, Celtics, and other powerhouses.

Who knows?

Perhaps Paul is reinvigorated by playing for another bona fide contender like the Warriors. But Paul’s issue has never been motivation or not having the energy to play. It’s been his health, most notoriously in the playoffs. If the Warriors come to a point where they have one of the top seeds, and Paul misses time again in the postseason, I can see why oddsmakers aren’t very high on his addition amounting to much.

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