Former Golden State Warriors guard Chris Paul is officially reuniting with the L.A. Clippers, having signed a one-year, $3.6 million contract according to ESPN's Shams Charania on Monday.
Paul had interest from a number of suitors in what could be his 21st and potentially final NBA season, but the Warriors weren't one of them after departing the franchise for the San Antonio Spurs last summer.
The Warriors are targeting Malcolm Brogdon as a backup point guard
Just because they weren't one of the many teams linked to Paul, doesn't mean that Golden State aren't in the market for another point guard. In fact, finding a reliable backup for a 37-year-old Stephen Curry is arguably one of the bigger needs the front office still needs to fill with only nine players currently contracted on the roster.
But instead of targeting a reunion with Paul after missing out on fellow multi-time All-Stars Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal, the Warriors have seemingly turned their attention to Malcolm Brogdon.
NBA insider Jake Fischer reported late last week that Golden State are one of multiple teams still interested in Brogdon, while Brett Siegel of Clutch Points has now speculated further that a move to the Bay could be on the cards for the 32-year-old.
"Another name worth mentioning that was connected to the Dubs in Las Vegas is Malcolm Brogdon. The former Sixth Man of the Year has held out in free agency to this point despite multiple suitors contacting him in recent weeks," Seigel wrote on Monday.
While Paul has clearly had the more accomplished career and has even been far healthier over recent seasons despite now being 40-years-old, taking the risk on Brogdon instead is a justified one from a Warrior perspective.
The franchise has already been through the Paul experience recently, and while the 12x All-Star was reasonable for the franchise in his solitary season, it ended with nothing but a loss in the first Play-In Tournament game against the Sacramento Kings.
Brogdon figures as a better fit within Steve Kerr's system if he can get healthy, providing more of a combo guard skillset that could thrive behind and even alongside Curry and Jimmy Butler.
Both Brogdon and Paul have shot incredibly efficiently on catch-and-shoot threes over the past few seasons, but the former is much more adept at playing off the ball. This past season was the first in the last five years that Brogdon has averaged less than 2.3 catch-and-shoot threes per game, while Paul has never averaged more than 1.9 in the same span while also twice averaging less than one.
At his best, Brogdon can provide far more shooting and scoring than Paul can at this point of his career. We're only two years removed from him winning Sixth Man of the Year, suggesting the Warriors will be taking a calculated and perhaps needed risk if they do end up signing Brogdon in free agency.