Fantasy Fallout: Chris Paul, Jordan Poole trade

In news that seemingly came out of nowhere, Chris Paul is headed to the Bay Area. While he was not expected to be with the Wizards for the long haul, the expectation of many was that he'd land with either the Clippers or Lakers. Instead, the future Hall of Fame point guard is headed to the Warriors, where he'll team up with Stephen Curry , Klay Thompson , Andrew Wiggins , and Draymond Green (provided Green is re-signed). Headed to the Wizards are Jordan Poole , 2022 first-round pick Patrick Baldwin , 2022 second-round pick Ryan Rollins , a protected 2030 first-round pick, and a 2027 second-round pick. Here's a look at how this will impact fantasy basketball.

Trade Details

Warriors receive: Chris Paul

Wizards receive: Jordan Poole , Patrick Baldwin , Ryan Rollins , 2030 first-round pick (top-20 protected), 2027 second-round pick

Poole managers rejoice!

The trade means that Poole will miss out on the opportunity to contend for a championship next season, as the Warriors are clearly in "rebuilding mode." And it comes three days after new Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. said that he planned on Poole being a Warriors for the duration of his new contract, "at least." Clearly, things changed over the course of three days.

Poole's fantasy value took a significant hit last year due to the return of Thompson, who missed two full seasons and a significant portion of the 2021-22 campaign due to ACL and Achilles tears. Boasting a Yahoo ADP of 65.5, Poole finished the 2022-23 season ranked just inside the top 150 in 9-cat, per-game value. He should have no such concerns in Washington, even if the Wizards decided to re-sign Kyle Kuzma . Given the Wizards' current lot in "NBA life," one could argue that giving Kuzma the payday his looking for would be wildly irresponsible, especially after clearing cap space via the Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis trades. At a minimum, it's fair to expect Poole to be a top 75 fantasy player, if not higher, next season.

As for Baldwin and Rollins, the move to Washington gives them a shot at earning rotation minutes, something that appeared unlikely to happen with the Warriors. That said, both were limited as rookies due to injuries, with the former appearing in 31 games and the latter 12. Rollins did say earlier in June that he expects to play in Summer League, which would be great news for him and the Wizards. Baldwin and Rollins could potentially be of value in deeper fantasy leagues if they manage to lock down consistent rotation minutes.

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How well will CP3 fit into the Warriors system?

Adding a point guard with the resume that Paul boasts is nothing to scoff at, but it presents Warriors coach Steve Kerr with an interesting dilemma. Should the Warriors re-sign Green, would he be asked to serve as the starting center in what would be a really small lineup? Or would the Warriors go the continuity route, bringing Paul off the bench in order to keep Kevon Looney in the starting five? Given who currently rules the West (and the NBA, for that matter), expecting Green to take on the task of defending Nikola Jokić would be unrealistic despite his status as one of the league's best defenders. The reported expectation is that they Warriors will stick with their current starting lineup , meaning Paul would be asked to come off the bench.

Going back to Paul, he finished last season as a 3rd-round player in 9-cat formats. That may not be possible with the Warriors, especially if he were to be used in a reserve role. How Poole's usage (29.2) gets distributed will be interesting to watch. He ranked second on the Warriors in that category, trailing only Curry, with Thompson coming in third. Would Paul immediately become that guy, or would the usage beyond the Warriors' two sharpshooters become more evenly distributed? Green's usage was just 13.2, a surprisingly low number given his importance to the Warriors as a facilitator. Paul's usage percentage hasn't reached 25 since the 2016-17 season, so it's possible that the trade will result in an increase for a Green or Wiggins.

While Curry's fantasy value should hold steady, with him being a top-10 player, defensive production may be of even greater importance to Wiggins and Thompson. Both finished last season as 6th-round players in 9-cat formats, which would be a fair expectation for them in 2023-24.

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