Stephen Curry shares his thoughts on his fit next to Chris Paul

The Golden State Warriors made a bold move when they decided to trade for Chris Paul. Besides him being a bit of a sworn enemy of Draymond Green and Warriors fans, his fit next to Stephen Curry was rather questionable, to say the least.

Paul is obviously one of the greatest playmakers of in NBA history, but the Warriors already had an elite point guard in Curry. On top of that, Steve Kerr’s offense favored constant movement over halfcourt sets, so Paul’s methodical and somewhat slow-paced style of play seemed like an odd fit.

Most pundits and fans assumed that Paul would come off the bench to lead the second unit, which made the most sense. Then, they would stagger his minutes with Curry and make sure to have one or the other on the court at all times.

However, Draymond Green’s injury forced Kerr’s hand to try and make an adjustment. He started Paul alongside Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, and Kevon Looney, and he almost beat the Phoenix Sunsin the season opener.

Curry Talks About ‘Fluid’ Offense With Chris Paul

Despite the loss, Steph actually liked what he saw when he shared the floor with Paul. He believes it won’t take time before they get used to playing together and find their groove in this new ‘fluid’ offense.

“Just continue to get more comfortable, and who’s initiating where shots are going to fall or come from, sets that we can run depending on who has the ball. It’s very fluid right now,” Curry said. “It’s such a smooth transition because we both just know how to play, and there’s a lot of trust that whoever has the ball is going to try and make the right decisions.”

Kerr had Paul start and come off the bench in the preseason. It could take a while before they settle in, and nothing is set in stone right now. Even so, Curry has full confidence in their ability to coexist on the floor:

“We’re one game, a couple of preseason games under our belt, feeling like there’s been a lot of confidence that’s been building in terms of what we’re trying to do,” continued Curry. “We’re going to obviously continue to get better, 81 more, and when Draymond gets back, there’s going to be even more to try to figure out in terms of rotations and all that. We communicate really well. We talk basketball and try to figure it out. That’s going to get us in the right position.”

The Warriors Miss Draymond

Even so, everything could — and will — change once Draymond is back from his ankle injury. Paul will likely head to the bench, and he’ll give the Warriors more size, a versatile defender, and some sense of continuity to the offense they’ve been running for years now.

see also

Andre Iguodala predicts great season for Stephen Curry, Warriors

Paul could do wonders in the second unit, especially with a breakout candidate like Jonathan Kuminga by his side, so it’s only a matter of time before we see the best version of Steve Kerr’s team.