Breaking down the new-look Warriors: Will Chris Paul start?

Earlier this summer, the GoldenState Warriors turned heads when they acquired Chris Paul from the Washington Wizardsin exchange for JordanPoole, Patrick Baldwin Jr.,Ryan Rollins, a 2023 first-round pick, 2027 second-round pick andcash considerations.

After averaging 13.9 points, 8.9assists and 4.3 rebounds last season, the 38-year-old Paul islooking to add a championship to his resume and prove that he canstill produce at a high level.

This might be the most uniquerole of Paul's 19-year career. Not only do the Warriors alreadyhave a Hall-of-Fame-caliber backcourt with Steph Curry and KlayThompson, Draymond Green regularly handles floor-general duties.This means the Point God will have to adapt.

Given Golden State's personnel,many have considered the possibility of Paul coming off the bench,including Warriors coach Steve Kerr. Back in August, Kerr saidPaul's role is something that would be decided during trainingcamp.

“I think that’ll be a case whereyou get three weeks of training camp before that first game," Kerrsaid, according to ESPN's Tim Bontemps. "We’ll justlook at all kinds of differentcombinations.The mainthing is we know all those guys are going to play a lot ofminutes.

"But the luxury of having ChrisPaul to add to this group that we've been lucky enough to have fora decade [is] prettyremarkable. He is one of the great competitors in the game. He'sone of the great point guards of all-time. I think he's a greataddition for us, because of his ability to control games, controltempo, take care of the ball."

When Paul was asked aboutpotentially coming off the bench, he seemed irritated and asked thereporter his own question: “You coaching?”

Chris Paul responds to potentially comingoff the Warriors’ bench: pic.twitter.com/FbDd0SGqLm

The 12-time All-Star has neverbeen a reserve. Counting the regular season and playoffs, Paul hasplayed in 1,363 NBA games and he's started every single one. Paul’shesitation may be enough to prevent the Warriors from bringing himoff the bench to start the season. Regardless, inserting Paul intothe starting lineup could prove beneficial if donecorrectly.

Yes, Paul will have to adjustand learn how to play alongside Golden State's other starters.However, he has shown that he's willing to make sacrifices and givesomeone else the keys to the offense. During his stint with theHouston Rockets, Paul shared play-making duties with James Harden.While Paul and Harden were unsuccessful in their quest for a title(thanks in large part to the Warriors), Paul proved he could beeffective in that role – splitting creation duties and playingoff-ball at times.

However, Paul's best days areclearly behind him, and it's possible that the Warriors will askhim to accept a sixth-man role. Some legends have a difficult timetransitioning to a lesser role as they get older, while others arefine with coming off the bench. Last season, there was a lot ofdiscussion surrounding Russell Westbrook's role with the LosAngeles Lakers, and the future Hall-of-Famer ultimately came offthe bench in 49 of his 52 games with the Lakers before gettingtraded in February.

Paul has a history ofaccelerating the development of his young teammates, and GoldenState's second unit features a number of talented prospects whocould benefit from his tutelage (including Jonathan Kuminga, MosesMoody and Brandin Podziemski).

With all this in mind, it willbe interesting to see how Kerr and his staff decide to utilize Paulentering opening night and whether he remains in that role for theentirety of the season.