Warriors, Wizards reportedly pull off blockbuster trade ahead of draft

The Warriors are sending Jordan Poole and future draft picks to the Wizards for Chris Paul, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Golden State has no plans to waive Paul, and the two sides are looking forward to working together, sources tell Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report (Twitter link).

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links), the Warriors will also send Ryan Rollins, a second-round pick last year, to Washington. Golden State will send Washington a protected 2030 first-rounder and a 2027 second-rounder, sources tell Charania.

Rollins’ $1.7M salary for ’23-24 was fully guaranteed, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic, and removing him from the books will open up a roster spot, likely for a veteran. The former Toledo guard’s ’24-25 salary is partially guaranteed at $600K.

Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports was first to report (via Twitter) that Golden State was actively discussing a Poole trade. Fischer heard the Wizards tried to land Golden State’s first-round pick in Thursday’s draft — No. 19 overall — as part of the trade, but the Warriors were able to keep it.

As John Hollinger of The Athletic notes (Twitter link), the trade will have to be finalized in July when Poole’s four-year, $130M extension kicks in, as Poole is currently on the last year of his rookie contract. Poole is currently subject to the poison pill provision due to the difference between his 2022-23 and ’23-24 salaries.

Paul’s $30.8M contract for ’23-24 is expected to be fully guaranteed as part of his initial trade from Phoenix to Washington, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. It had previously only been guaranteed for $15.8M. However, Paul’s $30M deal is fully non-guaranteed for ’24-25.

While the Warriors have been linked to Paul in the past, it’s still a shocking turn of events to shed Poole’s contract for the 38-year-old future Hall of Famer. Despite being known for his incredible basketball IQ, Paul’s teams typically play in a slow, methodical style, which doesn’t seem like an obvious fit with Golden State’s motion offense.

The deal is yet another indication that the Warriors are abandoning their “two timeline” plan to develop their young players alongside their veterans and instead are going all-in on the present. The club traded former No. 2 overall pick James Wiseman in February in order to reacquire Gary Payton II, who signed with Portland in free agency last summer.

According to Slater (Twitter link), the Warriors are placing a big bet on their medical staff, led by Rick Celebrini. Paul has a lengthy injury history, including sustaining a hamstring strain during the postseason, which sidelined him for four games in Phoenix’s second-round exit to the Nuggets.

Poole, the 28th pick of the 2019 draft, struggled mightily as a rookie for Golden State, but he turned a corner in the second half of year two, which led to a breakout third season. He averaged 18.5 PPG, 4.0 APG and 3.4 RPG on .448/.364/.925 shooting during the ’21-22 regular season, playing a key role off the bench in helping the Warriors win their fourth title in eight seasons.

However, his ’22-23 season was derailed before it even started after being punched by Draymond Green in training camp. There was an awkwardness between them for the remainder of the season, and while Poole showed flashes of scoring brilliance, he also frustrated with turnovers, decision-making and poor shot selection. Poole averaged 20.4 PPG, 4.5 APG and 2.7 RPG on .430/.336/.870 shooting during the regular season but was ice cold in the playoffs, averaging just 10.3 PPG and 3.5 APG on .341/.254/.765 shooting.

Poole is still only 24 years old, so the Wizards are gambling on him returning to his previous upward trajectory. They’ll also pick up some draft assets as part of the deal for taking on his long-term contract.

Paul, one of the most accomplished point guards in league history, holds career averages of 17.9 PPG, 9.5 APG, 4.5 RPG and 2.1 SPG on .472/.369/.870 shooting in 1,214 regular-season games across 18 NBA seasons. While he was still effective in ’22-23, he also averaged a career-low 13.9 PPG to go along with 8.9 APG, 4.3 RPG and 1.5 SPG on .440/.375/.831 shooting in 59 regular-season games.