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The NBA offseason isn't even two weeks old, yet the stove is burning hot.
There reportedly was a blockbuster trade agreed upon Thursday that will send point guard Chris Paul to the Golden State Warriors.
Paul was sent to the Washington Wizards, which sent Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns earlier this week, but it never seemed like Paul would stay put — and now, he is headed back west.
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Chris Paul of the Phoenix Suns dribbles the ball against the Denver Nuggets during the NBA Playoffs at the Ball Arena in Denver on May 1, 2023. (Bart Young/NBAE via Getty Images)
In return, the 2022 NBA Champions will send point guard Jordan Poole and future draft picks to Washington.
Along with Poole, Golden State will be sending a 2030 first-round pick, a 2027 second-round pick, and shooting guard Ryan Rollins.
Poole infamously got into an altercation with fellow Warrior Draymond Green during training camp before the season started, which Green admitted played a role into their early exit from the playoffs this past season against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Draymond Green, left, and Jordan Poole of the Golden State Warriors walk to the bench during the game against the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center in Phoenix on Oct. 25, 2022. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
"I absolutely think [it played a role], because I still think the fact of the matter is it's going to be hard — I don't really think anyone could beat us," Green said in an interview with ESPN after they were eliminated. "I know we just lost. I'm not taking anything away from the Los Angeles Lakers. They're competing at a high level, they're a good team."
"We would still be playing," he said. "I'm aware that Jordan struggled a little bit at times this year, I get that, and had I not done that, the relationship we had, I could have been there for him. I could have carried him through that. [I] wasn't necessarily able to do that once everything happened."
"There was some of that that was lost this year, for sure. There's no hiding from it," Golden State head coach Steve Kerr said. "The incident with Draymond and Jordan at the beginning of the year played a role in that. It's hard for that not to impact a team."
Jordan Poole of the Golden State Warriors handles the ball against Chris Paul of the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center in Phoenix on Oct. 25, 2022. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
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Paul averaged 13.9 points and 8.9 assists per game in his 18th NBA season. He still awaits a coveted NBA championship, but even after leaving a perennial contender in the Suns with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, he lands with another in the Warriors with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
As for Poole, it seems like he now goes from a contender to a team in a rebuild — the Wizards lost their best player in the aforementioned Beal and also have reportedly traded Kristaps Porzingis to the Boston Celtics.