Chris Paul, who was traded to Golden State in the offseason, will continue to look for his 1st championship ring.
NBA basketball returns on October 24. We’re counting down the days like seconds on a shot clock — I mean, that’s what we do. Starting Oct. 1, our writers will list 24 storylines for the 2023-24 NBA season.
A new storyline drops every day. Here the no. 23:
Even with Chris Paul, it’s hard for the Warriors to make another championship run.
Can you sympathize with Chris Paul, a guy with a $300 million-plus career salary, considered a generational point guard, and selling insurance on the side?
Well, maybe. You can’t have everything in life no matter how blissful it may seem. As for Paul, he’s still trying to win a championship. At 38, time is running out as his production begins to wane.
He needs warriors more than he needs them. That last part is key — Paul doesn’t look like a championship difference-maker for a team already blessed with guards. Stephen Curry is still elite, Klay Thompson is coming back from injuries, and so are Gary Payton II and Moses Moody.
Paul will obviously carve out a role and minutes, as his pick-and-roll and mid-range game remains pure, but he may see time off the bench, similar to Jordan Poole.
Besides, the Warriors aren’t a clear heavyweight in the West or the NBA. They are not rich in talent and the competition is stiff. Are the defending-champion Denver Nuggets in LeBron James’ last stand, the Kevin Durant-infused Phoenix Suns, a healthy (fingers crossed) LA Clippers, or the Los Angeles Lakers beyond?
One might ask about the surge in Sacramento, where the Warriors needed a seventh game and 50 pieces from Curry to deny the thirsty Kings last spring.
Paul was a proud, celebrated, all-time great who always made every team he joined better than the one before him. But then again, he needs more than just the Warriors.
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Shawn Powell has covered the NBA for over 25 years. You can email him here, find his archive here and follow him Twitter.
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