Golden State Warriors could make stunning lineup shift after huge trade

The Golden State Warriors made a franchise-altering trade last Thursday, acquiring 12-time All-Star Chris Paul for a package that included young guard Jordan Poole, rookies Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Ryan Rollins, along with future draft capital.

Much has been made of Paul’s potential fit with the Warriors, but most of that has been under the assumption that he’ll simply replace Poole as Golden State’s sixth-man and backup-point guard heading into next season.

The Golden State Warriors could begin the 2023-24 season extremely small should they insert Chris Paul into the starting lineup.

Speaking on KNBR on Tuesday, Andscape’s Marc J. Spears outlined the belief that instead of taking on a sixth-man role, Paul was likely to be part of the Warriors’ opening five in place of starting center Kevon Looney.

"“From what I’m being told, the expectation is that he’s going to start…Chris will get the easiest open threes of his career…life will be easy for Wiggins…Defensively, those two guys, CP and Draymond, see things that are just unfair, it’s a cheat code.”"

Paul hasn’t come off the bench in any game during his 18-year career, let alone play the role of backup point-guard where the ball isn’t in his hands the majority of the time. While the thought of him playing as a starter alongside Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins is on one hand exciting, it also opens up genuine question marks on their lack of size and subsequent defensive capability.

In that version of Golden State’s starting lineup, Wiggins would be the tallest player at 6’7″. Although Green has long been lauded for his defensive versatility and ability to play as a small-ball center, it would be unfair and unsustainable for him to take on that role permanently across an entire season.

Speaking of sustainability, the Warriors shouldn’t be planning on Paul playing anymore than 25 minutes per game, which all of a sudden becomes harder if he’s in the starting lineup. It’s about managing the 38-year-old to the postseason fully healthy, and that’s a more realistic goal with him coming off the bench.

Everything should point to Paul being Golden State’s sixth-man next season, aside from having the difficult initial conversation with the future hall-of-famer. If he can’t accept that role (which would be a surprise), then maybe he can kiss away his chances of a maiden NBA championship.