Warriors play surprise role in jumpstarting trade season without a single move

Trae Young's move to the Washington Wizards has jumpstarted the NBA's trade season, with the Golden State Warriors playing a surprise role in the 4x All-Star eventually landing in the nation's capital.

ESPN's Bobby Marks has pointed out the sequence of events that's led to the Wizards acquiring Young, including the 2023 draft day trade with the Warriors that sent Chris Paul to the Bay Area.

Warriors' Jordan Poole trade played a role in Trae Young move

It's been a crazy chain of events that started with Washington moving on from long-time guard Bradley Beal in a trade with the Phoenix Suns. Paul was the return in that deal, but he never played a game for the franchise as Golden State swiftly traded Jordan Poole for the veteran, future Hall of Fame point guard.

After winning a championship with the Warriors in 2022, Poole spent two years with the Wizards that included averaging a career-high 20.5 points and 4.5 assists last season. Despite those numbers and reasonable 3-point shooting efficiency, Washington dumped Poole to the New Orleans Pelicans in a trade that brought back CJ McCollum.

Now, McCollum is on his way to the Atlanta Hawks, along with Corey Kispert, in exchange for Young. At 27-years-old, Washington will be hoping that this is the last of the transaction sequence for a while, and that they've found their point guard to go forward with for the next five years or more.

Young might not have even found himself at the Wizards on Wednesday if not for the Warriors accepting the Poole-Paul trade 2.5 years ago. Golden State drew plenty of criticism for the deal at the time, and even more so when they simply opted out of Paul's contract the following offseason instead of using it in another trade.

Given Poole has struggled to recapture the value and impact he delivered during that championship season, Golden State have been vindicated for their decision to move on from the dynamic guard. However, the fact Washington have been able to parlay that into Young, while also acquiring draft capital and saving money, shows it's also proven a shrewd piece of business by them.

All eyes will now be on what happens next after Young's trade to the Wizards, particularly with the Warriors who are set to be one of the biggest players before the deadline. With Jonathan Kuminga expected to be dealt once eligible on January 15, it won't be long until Golden State are part of the trade action themselves.