The Warriors Come From The Clouds To Save Chris Paul From Being A Wizard And Trade Jordan Poole + Picks For The Point Gawd

Christian Petersen. Getty Images.

Annnnd we're off!

Holy moly, if this is what we can expect tonight, the Draft is going to be absolutely insane. You almost have to take a second and re-read that tweet to digest it. I thought the whole point of the Warriors moves this summer was to clear their books and not commit to any sort of long term money? Instead, they're attaching themselves to this?

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I mean, I guess that 2030 1st round pick could be pretty damn valuable because who knows what the Warriors look like after 6 seasons but man, for a Wizards front office that just took some tough Ls getting off Bradley Beal's contract, their first move of their rebuild is to bring on Poole's bad contract? I wonder if there's more to this trade and Poole might be re-routed or something.

Then again, if they want to tank maybe the idea is playing Poole will actually help them lose. I suppose we can't rule out that angle and at least they also get some valuable assets for their trouble.

From the Warriors side, this tells me a few things. First, it wouldn't shock me if Draymond went to Mike Dunleavy Jr and said I'm only coming back if Poole is gone. It was clear the players seemed to have had enough with Poole and how he played

not to mention the fact that everything with Draymond to start the year clearly fucked up their season. He even admitted as much after the season. 

Of all the rumored CP3 destinations, I can't say I ever really considered GS before this news. They'll probably lose DiVencenzo in free agency because he played his way out of his current MLE deal, and their only other guards were Gary Payton II and Ty Jerome, so getting out of the Poole business did create a need for a backup guard. Paul can obviously manage his minutes/workload playing on this team compared to what he had to do in PHX, and my guess is the Wizards went to him with this deal and made sure they at least sent him to a contender. 

I'm fascinated to see how this all is going to work given the history between these two sides

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but if the Warriors are also now able to bring back Draymond, it's hard to argue they aren't poised for another deep run. Even if you think Paul has lost a step, at least he gives you better defense and basketball IQ than what they were getting with Poole, even if Poole was a microwave scorer that at times could carry you during a game.

Not only that, but it also keeps him away from any other potential contender in the West. There will be no CP3/LeBron pairing or a return to Lob City, which obviously impacts the Warriors chances in the West.

Something tells me now that the floodgates are open and we have our first big trade of the day it's only a matter of time before we get the next one. Tonight is going to be wild, so make sure you're ready.