Warriors’ Mike Dunleavy Jr. shares thought behind Chris Paul, Poole trade; why Dario Saric was team’s first call

LAS VEGAS – The Chris Paul acquisition may still be perplexing for some.

Why would the Warriors trade a promising 24-year-old Jordan Poole for a 38-year-old point guard on his last leg?

It was a bold trade for Mike Dunleavy Jr., who had been named as Golden State’s new general manager four days earlier. But he had a simple explanation for the move.

“We’re looking to improve our team and felt like adding Chris is a chance to get better and addresses some things for us overall as a team,” Dunleavy said Monday afternoon following a Warriors Summer League practice. “It also gives us some financial flexibility moving forward.”

The Warriors are well above the collective bargaining agreement’s newly implemented second luxury tax apron. Punishments for staying above that threshold will grow more punitive in the next few years; they aren’t able to sign free agents above the veteran minimum this year and will have first-round picks frozen with strict trading limitations if they consistently put together a roster that goes above the threshold.

This season, Paul’s $30.8 million is partially-guaranteed and his $30 million next season is non-guaranteed before he becomes a free agent in 2025. His contract’s financial flexibility makes it more appealing to a potential trade partner and also absolves the Warriors of committing to pay.

The biggest question now is how the Warriors will deploy Paul, a future Hall of Famer who has not once come off the bench over his 18-year NBA career.

Paul scoffed at the suggestion that he would presumably not start.

“You coaching?” Paul shot back at a reporter Sunday at the suggestion he’d be a leader for the second unit.

Dunleavy deferred questions about Paul’s playing time and specific role to coach Steve Kerr.

“I don’t want to say we got into too much specific stuff, but you always want to feel comfortable that the player you’re acquiring feels like he can thrive. Chris has played over 30 minutes in every season he’s ever played,” Dunleavy said. “As far as playing time and role and all that, he’s gonna play a lot. All that other stuff in terms of play calling and how he’s used and all that, that’s for Steve. But we feel really good about that mutual liking for one another.”

What could determine the success of this trade is how Paul handles his role as a second Hall of Fame point guard next to Steph Curry. It’s to be determined if he starts or comes off the bench, but Paul has been the No. 1 point guard on every team he’s played for. Paul, and the rest of the Warriors, will have to adjust.

Though Paul is a perfect load management candidate – older, with a long injury history who could play fewer minutes per game to preserve his health come playoffs – Dunleavy doesn’t expect Paul to reduce his minute load.

“You’ll have to ask Chris that, I don’t think that’s what he’s going to want to do,” Dunleavy said. “I defer the playing time and all that somewhat to Steve and I’ll refer that load management stuff to (head athletic trainer) Rick (Celebrini).”

If Paul melds into the Warriors’ system, on and off the court, his leadership and experience could yield a legitimate title run.

“In terms of his fit, the one thing about the guy is the winning. Chris brings that,” Dunleavy said. “There’s a lot of things that Chris does well. That goes to winning, after that is winning. And there’s a few other things he does will. So in terms of how it’s gonna work out, how it’s going to fit, I just see a guy that every organization he’s gone to, he’s made better.”

The Paul-Poole trade was only one of several topics Dunleavy discussed throughout the course of the 15-minute press conference on Monday.

Dunleavy is content where the roster stands about two weeks into free agency, during which the Warriors re-signed Draymond Green, added veteran backup guard Cory Joseph and have an intent to sign forward Dario Saric. Saric was the Warriors’ first call when free agency opened, Dunleavy said, because he’s one of few bigs who fits the Warriors system as a playmaker and floor spacer.

“We feel like we’ve addressed some of the things we need to address through free agency through the draft and obviously one big trade,” Dunleavy said. “I like where we’re at today verses maybe a month ago.”

The Warriors have two remaining roster spots to fill, though Dunleavy previously said he plans to leave one of them open for financial reasons. They also will have to make decisions on how they plan to use their three two-way contracts.

“I don’t think there’s any glaring needs to address but there’s some things we can sprinkle in and improve on the margins,” he said.

Adding a traditional center, versatile wing and high IQ players are among their top priorities.

Several players have made strong cases to earn two-way deals in Summer League, including Lester Quinones and Gui Santos. Quinones has been a steady force for the Warriors over the last four games, and Santos, who put on 15 pounds of muscle over the last year, has made notable progress as a shooter and is finding his flow within the game.

“It was good to evaluate everybody and we’ll see where we land in a week or so after it’s all said and done.”