Many Golden State Warriors fans still look back at the Chris Paul trade with disappointment, even though it allowed the franchise to get off what's resulted as an awful Jordan Poole contract.
Now over three years removed and a fresh sting has been delivered, with Ty Jerome's stunning rise opening an obvious 'what if' scenario after the current Memphis Grizzlies guard played one year for the Warriors on a two-way contract.
Ty Jerome's rise adds fresh sting to Chris Paul trade
Less than a week through the season and Jerome is an early Most Improved Player candidate, while even garnering All-Star buzz as the Grizzlies backed up Friday's comeback win over the Warriors with a victory over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday.
Jerome once again played the lead role, going for 31 points, four rebounds and six assists on a perfect 14-of-14 shooting from the free-throw line. The 29-year-old is now averaging an extraordinary 34.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists through his first three games, taking advantage of a starting opportunity and leading the young Grizzlies to a 3-0 record.
Those numbers clearly won't sustain through the course of the season, but it's very possible Jerome averages over 20 points per game in a late breakout for the eighth-year guard who's largely been a reserve across his career to this point.
Jerome may have been largely a reserve with Golden State during the 2022-23 season, but the franchise and head coach Steve Kerr clearly liked him. He appeared in 45 games and averaged 18.1 minutes -- reasonable playing time for a two-way player. Jerome averaged 6.9 points, 1.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists, shooting an efficient 48.8% from the floor and 38.9% from three-point range.
Warriors should have tried harder to keep Ty Jerome
Golden State extended a qualifying offer to Jerome to make him a restricted free agent, but couldn't match a two-year, $5 million offer from the Cleveland Cavaliers due to their financial situation at the time.
Looking back with the benefit of hindsight, the Warriors would have been better dealing Poole for a player in a different position, forgetting about Paul, and trying harder to re-sign Jerome as their backup point guard behind Stephen Curry.
Could you imagine if he was suddenly in that role now and Golden State could unleash Jerome on nights the 38-year-old Curry is resting? He wouldn't be the same player he currently is in Memphis necessarily, but finishing third in Sixth Man of the Year in 2025 is proof of his excellence as a sixth man.
The Warriors had a talented crop of guards in that 2022-23 season, with the likes of Jerome and Ryan Rollins (who was part of the Poole-Paul trade) going on to be very productive players in the league.
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