On Saturday, Oct. 7, Chris Paul made his Golden State Warriors debut. The 37-year-old guard joined the franchise this summer as part of the deal that sent Jordan Poole to the Washington Wizards. Paul has been a hot topic of conversation since the trade.
However, with preseason underway and Paul donning a Warriors jersey, those hot topics faded away. His on-court performance was all that mattered. When speaking to the San Francisco Chronicle following Golden State’s preseason victory, Paul discussed his thoughts on playing in front of the Warriors fan base for the first time since becoming part of the team.
“Man, it was exciting,” Paul said. “I’ve been on the other side of a lot of crazy games (against the Warriors). It was wild to hear (the fans) cheering for me. Since Day 1, since I got here, since the trade happened, it was my first time being around the fans. But the staff, the guys on the team, they couldn’t have been more welcoming.”
Paul hopes his relationship with the fan base goes from strength to strength over the coming season. Neither side has any love lost following years of competitive rivalries. It will also be interesting to see whether Paul retains his starting role within the rotation once Draymond Green returns from injury and how he adapts to playing in Steve Kerr’s system.
Nevertheless, Paul’s debut was encouraging. The veteran guard controlled the pace, made multiple smart reads and appeared on the same wavelength as Steph Curry. Golden State has a big gap until its next preseason game on Friday, Oct. 13, when they will once against face the Lakers.
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