There have been some blockbuster trades in a matter of days. The Golden State Warriors were rumored to be part of trade talks, with Jordan Poole as the main asset being considered. However, the compensation they received in the Poole trade was the shocking detail.
In a trade with the Washington Wizards, they landed Chris Paul, previously traded by the Phoenix Suns. The veteran is obviously a presence that could still help a contending team, albeit in a smaller role for his injury issues.
Paul joining them shouldn’t come as a surprise from that perspective., but his personal history with the Warriors made the trade a bit odd. He is now going to share time on the court with Stephen Curry, someone who haunted him in his previous stints in the league.
Chris Paul gets real on facing the Warriors, Stephen Curry
Warriors fans were taken by surprise by the acquisition of the 38-year-old player. There has been a rivalry between the team and Paul especially during his time with the Los Angeles Clippers. However, he shared a great insight of what it was for him to play Golden State in the two years he spent with the Houston Rockets.
Paul played two seasons for the Rockets starting in the 2017-2018. They had the best record in the league that year and advanced to the WCF, before losing in seven games to the Warriors. Their loss was against one of the best teams ever considering that Kevin Durant was still with them. He now told an interesting story about how they prepared to face the Warriors in that period.
“The first year in Houston might have been Top 2, Top 3, or the best team I ever played on. Seriously, we were so connected defensively, offensively. Those years I was in Houston, we played the entire season to get ready for one team: for Golden State. We played the entire season — our defensive game plan, our offensive gameplan — every single game was to get ready for Golden State. There’s a certain way you have to play in order to beat those teams”, Paul said in interview with The Hoop Collective Podcast.