Rivals no more: Chris Paul excited to join Warriors after years of playoff battles

LAS VEGAS — Hours before the Warriors’ Summer League team played the New Orleans Pelicans Sunday evening, Chris Paul and Stephen Curry met in a gym a few miles off The Las Vegas Strip.

“Weren’t a lot of misses,” Paul said about his first workout with Curry since 2009.

Paul is officially a Golden State Warrior, something that he said not even his family and friends could believe because he’s long been a rival of Curry & Co.

“It’s going to take some getting used to,” Paul said. “I’m excited to get going.”

That reality apparantly was still sinking in even after he held up a No. 3 jersey, with his last name emblazoned on the back.

“Never thought you’d see the day, right?” Paul said.

Sunday was the first time Paul met with local reporters since the Warriors traded Jordan Poole, Patrick Baldwin Jr., Ryan Rollins and draft picks to the Washington Wizards for the future Hall of Fame point guard. He said he’s had several conversations with Steve Kerr, Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson in recent days since the deal became official Thursday and believes he’ll mesh well with the Warriors’ style.

“Not to sound crazy, but it’s basketball, it’s not brain surgery,” Paul said. “I’m going into a situation with a bunch of guys who have played together for a long time… I’m not as worried about it as everybody else. We’re going to figure it out.”

But as Paul joins his once fierce rivals to pursue what could be one of his last shots at getting a ring, there’s an obvious question on everyone’s minds.

Well, everyone’s, except for Paul’s it seems.

Over the course of an 18-year career, Paul has started 1,214 straight regular-season games and 149 playoff games. But with Curry and Thompson presumably locks for the starting guard spots, could that starting streak end this season?

As of now, Paul said there’s been no discussions about whether he’ll come off the bench.

“It’ll be a conversation when camp starts,” Paul said. “Me and Steve have talked, but that ain’t something where it’s, ‘What up, man? You starting or coming off the bench.”

At 38, Paul is one of the oldest players in the NBA. There’s some level of concern regarding his injury history, with him missing the Phoenix Suns’ last four games in this year’s playoffs.

If Paul stays healthy, though, he could be just the right player to stabilize the bench and get the Warriors back to the NBA Finals.

Curry has already expressed excitement with his fellow North Carlina native and long-time playoff foe with the Los Angeles Clippers and Houston Rockets joining the Warriors.

“CP, can’t wait to rock with you, brother,” Curry said in a video posted on his Instagram story. “It’s gonna be different with us on the same side. Let’s get it!”