The Golden State Warriors offseason started off with a bang. Flipping Jordan Poole for Chris Paul was a move that made General Managers across the league scratch their heads. In his first move as GM, Mike Dunleavy moved on from a 24-year-old fresh off a new deal for the 39-year-old Paul. After that trade, it was radio silence out of San Fransisco for most of free agency. With just one roster spot remaining, what will the final lineup look like?
Warriors Lineup Projection Heading into Next Season
Chris Paul has NEVER come off the bench in his entire NBA career (1,363 games) 😳
That will likely change this season with the Warriors. pic.twitter.com/XqPYv1yPiV
— Basketball Forever (@bballforever_) July 25, 2023
The assumed notion since the Paul trade has been that he will step into Poole’s role off the bench, with obvious playstyle modifications. Don’t tell Paul this, though. When asked about his new alleged role off the bench, Paul asked the reporter, “You coaching?”
Some see it as Paul refusing to come off the bench, à la 2017 Carmelo Anthony, but that’s most likely not what he meant. He seemed to have more of a “we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it” attitude. With that being said, here’s what the rotation will conceivably look like:
Starting Lineup
PG – Stephen Curry
SG – Klay Thompson
SF – Andrew Wiggins
PF – Draymond Green
C – Kevon Looney
This lineup is the obvious answer. In the regular season, this group played just 330 minutes together (for reference, Fox-Huerter-Barnes-Murray-Sabonis was the most played lineup in the league at 900 minutes). In that limited time, they posted an offensive rating of 128.0, a net rating of 21.9 and an effective FG percentage of 65. Many regard it as the best lineup in the league, winning a title in 2022, but being able to get their feet under them due to Wiggins absence from February until Game 1 of the first round.
Curry feels like he’s in the prime of his career, Green is back under contract, Wiggins will be back in full, Thompson led the league in threes made this year (301), and Looney can get you 20 rebounds in the postseason when it matters.
Furthermore, Steve Kerr knows what he’s got with this five. Therefore, I’d expect the Warriors to run it back, at least with the starters.
Bench
Steph Curry says “Guys are going to be asked to do things that may not all the way vibe with how they see themselves.”
“The biggest thing is, look at teams that have won. You realize that there is a certain way about how you show up on a nightly basis. Everybody is important.… pic.twitter.com/Iaq7xwtIfS
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 2, 2023
PG – Chris Paul
SG – Gary Payton II
SF – Moses Moody
PF – Jonathan Kuminga
C – Dario Šarić
For those wondering why Golden State didn’t go hard after most free agents in their budget like Torrey Craig, Yuta Watanabe or others, look no further. I think it’s time they let Kuminga and Moody work. Kuminga was vocal in his displeasure of being delegated to the bench last year and Moody was trusted with playoff minutes. They didn’t want to bring in any forwards because they have two lottery picks on the roster.
On top of this, these young guys can flourish when paired with Paul. The Point God ran the Lob City empire with Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, so imagine him throwing lobs to the freakishly athletic Kuminga and Payton II. Aside from just lobs, Paul is adept at putting guys in great positions to score. Šarić is a skilled 6-foot-10, while Kuminga’s game is ever-expanding, Payton is a legitimate two-way threat and Moody has proven reliable, making the relationship between Paul and his floormates mutually easy and beneficial.
“One of the things I told Chris was, ‘We have to be more controlled this year,” Kerr told ESPN, “We were 2nd worst in the league in turnovers, but we had the fastest pace. That’s not a great combination.”
Steve Kerr on how he plans to integrate Chris Paul next season: pic.twitter.com/jFXy6TYCy3
— dre (@OnBallSteph) August 2, 2023
Obviously, Kerr is not referring to Curry’s lack of control of the offense, so he’s looking for help off the bench. Paul can most definitely help with that. If he can accept his role, special things could be done. If not, expect similar results to last season.
Extra Warriors’ “Luxuries”
Roster spots past the starters and backups are what I refer to as luxuries. Guys that you don’t necessarily depend on night in and night out but can be helpful when called on. For Golden State, that list includes:
G – Lester Quinones
G – Cory Joseph
The trend of playing small extends to this group too. The Golden State Warriors were lucky to retain Quinones on a two-way deal after his Summer League performance in which he averaged 21.2 points per game. Furthermore, the similarities between Quinones and Poole are surprisingly overwhelming, he just needs more development. Podziemski and Jackson-Davis are both rookies who showed promise in the summer league. Unfortunately, they didn’t always capitalize on their opportunities like they could’ve. Joseph is a great third point guard to have off the bench. A guy who knows his role and doesn’t try to do too much, similar to Paul.
One More Piece
The Golden State Warriors look to fill one last roster spot but has not made much noise yet. We’ll see as we get closer to training camp which direction they go in. For now, this is likely what the rotation will look like. Evidently, a roster looking to hang another banner this season.
