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LAS VEGAS — Chris Paul labored out with new teammate Stephen Curry in Atlanta on Sunday morning earlier than touring to Las Vegas. His evaluation of the session: They didn’t miss too many photographs.
Evidently, Paul’s time with the Golden State Warriors is off to a flying begin.
The veteran level guard revealed various issues in his first official interview session as a member of the Warriors: He isn’t able to concede that he’s not a starter, he doesn’t count on this to be his closing season as a participant and he gleans the identical pleasure from the sport now as he did when he was a child.
And as for the way it’ll all match, he doesn’t count on that to be an issue.
He’s excited
We’re excited #DubNation is happy pic.twitter.com/lHNgdjY4lh
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) July 10, 2023
“To not like sound loopy or whatnot, however on the finish of the day, it’s basketball,” Paul stated. “You understand, it’s not mind surgical procedure. I’m going right into a state of affairs with a bunch of fellows who’ve been taking part in collectively for a very long time.”
Paul obtained traded twice this summer time, first from Phoenix to Washington as a part of the transfer that despatched Bradley Beal to the Suns, after which once more to Golden State as a part of the transfer that despatched Jordan Poole to the Wizards.
It’s a transfer that the Warriors hope results in each short- and long-term good points. The 38-year-old Paul can nonetheless play; the 12-time All-Star averaged 13.9 factors and eight.9 assists this previous season for Phoenix, efficient nonetheless in his 18th season within the league.
He’s additionally not beneath contract after this coming season. Poole is getting into a four-year deal; the big-spending Warriors simply couldn’t preserve all their highest-paid gamers collectively given the constraints of the brand new Collective Bargaining Settlement.
“I’ve been lucky sufficient to play on three USA groups, ‘06, ’08 and 2012,” Paul stated. “It’s high-IQ basketball, guys that play off reads and whatnot, and what you be taught is you work it out. All people don’t have the solutions proper now. We’ll observe, I’m positive there’s going to be some issues that I’ve obtained to be taught, some issues that they’ve obtained to find out about me, however that’s the case with any group.”
He has appeared in 1,214 regular-season video games and one other 149 within the playoffs, and has began each single one among them. But it surely clearly appears unlikely that he would supplant guards Stephen Curry or Klay Thompson in Golden State’s beginning lineup.
So, at 38 years previous and about to enter his nineteenth NBA season, Paul may discover himself in a brand new place. However there may be an apparent tradeoff because the Warriors will nearly actually be thought of a title contender going into subsequent season after profitable 4 championships within the final decade — and Paul has by no means gotten his championship. He went to the NBA Finals with Phoenix in 2021, however the Suns blew a 2-0 sequence lead and misplaced to Milwaukee in six video games.
“It’ll be a dialog for us when camp begins. … I believe we’ll determine all that stuff out,” Paul stated.
The histories of Paul and the Warriors have lengthy been intertwined. Paul has scored extra factors towards Golden State than he has some other group – 1,172, which is 14 greater than he scored towards the Los Angeles Lakers. He’s performed 18 playoff video games towards them, tied for his most towards any opponent; he’s additionally performed towards San Antonio 18 occasions within the postseason.
Amongst energetic gamers, together with playoffs, no one has performed extra video games or has extra assists towards the Warriors than Paul does, and LeBron James and James Harden are the one energetic gamers with extra factors towards Golden State.
And there’s the historical past that Paul in all probability needs he may overlook, how two of his finest photographs at a championship had been thwarted by the Warriors. In 2018, Paul and the Houston Rockets had a 3-2 sequence lead within the Western Convention finals earlier than he obtained harm, missed the ultimate two video games and Golden State prevailed — on the best way to the NBA title. And in 2019, the Warriors beat Paul and the Rockets once more, that point within the West semifinals earlier than in the end falling to Toronto within the NBA Finals.
He stated even his household can’t consider he’s with the Warriors now.
“It’s what it’s,” Paul stated. “Sports activities.”
The Warriors will probably be in search of a fifth title in 10 years this coming season, and Paul has by no means gained a hoop. However when requested if that was his sole motivation for nonetheless taking part in, Paul insisted that he simply nonetheless loves the sport — and intends to maintain taking part in for a number of years.
“I get an opportunity to play basketball every single day and say, ‘that’s my lifestyle,’” Paul stated. “So that you’re saying, ‘why do I do it?’ For a similar purpose I did it once I was 4 or 5 years previous. You understand what I imply? I wouldn’t spend the time coaching and figuring out and hooping and being away from my household if I didn’t like it. That hasn’t modified.”
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