Golden State Warriors: Chris Paul expects to ‘thrive’ next to Draymond Green

Ever since the blockbuster trade that brought him to the Golden State Warriors last month, there’s been heavy conversation around how Chris Paul will fit with the team from both an on and off-court sense.

One source of that discussion has centered around the veteran point-guard’s relationship with Draymond Green — two fiery, success-driven competitors who haven’t always seen eye-to-eye over the years.

Chris Paul believes the corresponding nature of he and Draymond Green is going to cause nightmares for Golden State Warriors’ opponents.

The pair have played in multiple playoff series, including a couple of classics when Paul’s Houston Rockets took on the Warriors in 2018 and 2019. Now joining forces towards the one goal, Paul believes he’ll thrive playing alongside the former Defensive Player of the Year.

"“Yeah, Draymond. I feel sorry for the other teams who got to play against both of us because he’s always been very vocal as I am. I’ve always thrived with guys like that”, Paul said."

There has been concerns that the pair’s fiery personalities could clash in the locker room, particularly given Green has publicly announced his dislike of Paul in the past. He even reiterated that point last week, though did state he looks forward to working with the 38-year-old ‘point-god’.

"“I’ve publicly said I didn’t like Chris [Paul] before. I’m just not going to be like ‘oh man that changed now he my teammate.’ No, I look forward to talking amongst men”, Green said on The Patrick Beverley Podcast with Rone."

On the floor there should be no issues, even if both players, particularly Paul, are a little past their prime. Offensively they should work as a highly effective pick-and-roll duo, while defensively they’ve combined for 17 All-NBA Defensive Teams.

Although Paul may have referenced the attitude, mindset and personality of he and Green, it’s the pair’s collective on-court experience and basketball IQ that should have Warrior fans most excited as they seek a return to the NBA mountaintop next season.