Chris Paul’s role at the Golden State Warriors continues to garner speculation, with fans unsure of the newly-acquired point-guard’s willingness to come off the bench with his new team next season.
Earlier this month Paul made headlines during his introductory press conference with the Warriors, quickly firing back at a reporter for who assumed he’d take on the sixth-man duties vacated by the departed Jordan Poole.
Chris Paul’s latest comments about his role should only lead to one outcome for he and the Golden State Warriors.
During the questioning, Paul clarified that his role with the franchise was yet to be discussed with head coach Steve Kerr, and that it would be a conversation “that’ll be for us to figure out once we get going”.
The topic of the veteran point-guard’s role with Golden State recently surfaced again in an interview with The Charlotte Observer’s Scott Fowler. When directly asked, ‘what do you think your role will be’, Paul responded by simply saying, ‘to help us win games’.
If Paul is truly focused on helping the Warriors in winning games and eventually a championship, which is what his whole career has been about, then there’s only one viable outcome that should take place.
While a starting lineup of Paul, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins and Draymond Green does hold some validity and certainly provides intrigue, it’s likely to be unsustainable over the course of a long regular season.
The 38-year-old’s best fit is coming off the bench in a sixth-man role. That will not only temper his playing time and responsibility to make sure he’s healthy and firing for a playoff run, but a Paul-led second unit should give Golden State the stability they struggled to find last season.
The quicker Paul can accept that role, the more effective he and the Warriors can be. A failure to embark on that journey for the first time in his career, and the 18-year veteran may be jeopardizing one of his final chances at an NBA title.