Steve Kerr envisions different Warriors’ offense following acquisition of Chris Paul

The Golden State Warriors shook things up on draft day with a last ditch ‘win-now’ trade, sending a package centered around Jordan Poole to the Washington Wizards in exchange for 12-time All-Star Chris Paul.

Many fans are skeptical about Paul’s fit with Golden State — his label as ‘The Point God’ has derived largely from 18 years of manipulating defenses through perfectly executed pick-and-roll offense.

Golden State Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr feels their newest addition brings a different element that gives their offense more ‘variety.’

Paul’s preferred cadence doesn’t necessarily align with the Warriors’ frantic, improvisational style of play, but in a recent article by Tim Kawakami for The Athletic, Kerr underlined how adding CP3 gives the Warriors another dynamic offensively.

"“One of the things Steph said … I thought his most revealing quote after the Lakers series was that we didn’t have enough variety in the ways that we could score,” Kerr said. “And everything was high pick-and-roll with Steph. That whole series. We just couldn’t create enough.”"

A second-round battle with the Lakers exposed Golden State’s flaws as Los Angeles, equipped with versatile defenders throughout their roster, did well to consistently blow up the Warriors’ off-ball actions and disrupt their normal free-flowing offense.

Golden State did find some success when they went to their pick-and-roll sets with Stephen Curry as the ball handler and Anthony Davis’ man (usually Andrew Wiggins or Draymond Green) as the screener — an action that  accomplished it’s intended goal of luring Davis away from the paint. But their approach proved far too one-dimensional, and Golden State couldn’t sustain the efficiency they needed to overcome a lack of creativity on the offensive end.

"“We have to maintain that type of variety in our game somehow,” Kerr continued. “When we had to have a bucket, we’ve leaned on the high pick-and-roll, Steph/Draymond. It’s our best play. That’s our 98-mph fastball. But if you throw that down the middle enough, somebody’s hitting it into McCovey Cove. And that’s what happened against the Lakers, we just didn’t have the variety. We didn’t have the changeup, as Steph said.”"

Now, with a veteran point guard like Chris Paul in the fold, Kerr and the Warriors can explore a few different looks to keep defenses honest. Golden State can always bank on their motion offense, utilizing back screens, low-post splits, and off-ball wizardry to generate quality shots. But they can also shift to a pick-and-roll heavy offense that caters to CP3’s methodical tempo. To put it plainly, the Warriors have options.

While Chris Paul, the Golden State Warrior, will certainly take some getting used to, his skillset adds another dimension that could elevate the Dubs’ already potent offense as they seek a return to championship contention.