When the Golden State Warriors traded Jordan Poole for Chris Paul, many felt it signified the team finally accepting that Poole and Draymond Green could no longer be teammates. While that was not Golden State’s primary reason for making the deal, new GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. recently admitted that’s a good point to consider.
Speaking with Tim Kawakami of The Athletic, Dunleavy said, “I can’t say that’s not an argument. Can make a good point about that. I think the biggest thing really is just financially we’re in a position where we had to make some decisions. I think we were able to make a decision where we could free some of that while also still being highly competitive and having a chance to win a championship. It just ended up having to be a decision we had to make and so be it.”
On needing to keep Green amidst everything else the team was juggling, Dunleavy added, “At the same time, we needed to get Draymond back, what he brings to this team and what he has meant for the last 10 years. That’s going to keep going. That matters. So we prioritized that. And from there, we knew… another contract probably needed to be moved. And Jordan ended up being that one. But we feel like getting a player back of Chris Paul’s caliber can negate that in some ways or pick up that slack, It’s kind of the business that we do. And we’re in a good spot.”