Chris Paul traded to Warriors, Jordan Poole sent to Wizards

ChrisPaul’s pursuit of an NBA championship is taking him to the GoldenState Warriors, after they agreed to the framework of a trade onThursday that will send Jordan Poole to the Washington Wizards,according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

The tradealso includes a package of draft capital, said the person, whospoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because thetrade has not been finalized and approved by the NBA.

ESPN firstreported the agreement was struck by the teams.

The Wizardsagreed to acquire Paul from Phoenix last week, in the deal thatsent Bradley Beal from Washington to the Suns.

Paul hadtwo of his title-hope seasons thwarted by the Warriors. In 2018,Paul and the Houston Rockets had a 3-2 series lead in the WesternConference finals before he got hurt, missed the final two gamesand Golden State prevailed — on the way to the NBA title.

And in2019, the Warriors beat Paul and the Rockets again, that time inthe West semifinals before ultimately falling to Toronto in the NBAFinals.

The movecould also provide the Warriors with financial flexibility infuture seasons. Poole is about to begin a four-year, $128 milliondeal. Paul is due about $31 million this coming season and hasnothing guaranteed after that.

It mayusher in something totally new and different for Paul — a benchrole.

He hasappeared in 1,214 regular-season games and another 149 in theplayoffs, and has started every single one of them. But itobviously seems unlikely that he would supplant guards StephenCurry or Klay Thompson in Golden State’s starting lineup.

So, at 38years old and about to enter his 19th NBA season, Paul could findhimself in a new position. But there is an obvious tradeoff, sincethe Warriors will almost certainly be considered a title-contendergoing into next season after winning four championships in the lastdecade — and Paul has never gotten his championship. He went to theNBA Finals with Phoenix in 2021, but the Suns blew a 2-0 serieslead and lost to Milwaukee in six games.

The 12-timeAll-Star averaged 13.9 points and 8.9 assists this past season forPhoenix.

Poole, whoturned 24 earlier this week, joins a Washington team now fully inthe midst of a complete rebuild. He averaged 20.4 points this pastseason, one that began with Golden State veteran Draymond Greenpunching Poole at practice during training camp before taking abrief leave of absence from the team.

Green isset to become a free agent, one that the Warriors want toretain.