Will former Suns All-Star Chris Paul start for Warriors? Steve Kerr addresses question

Warriors coach Steve Kerr didn’t point out a specific game, but he recalls giving Chris Paul props after the Phoenix Suns topped Golden State at Footprint Center.

“I told him how much I admired him and his competitiveness and just his basketball intelligence,” Kerr said during Golden State’s media day Monday with Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr.. at Chase Center in San Francisco.

Paul was part of four Phoenix home wins over Golden State with two coming his first season with the Suns in 2020-21 when they reached the finals.

After three successful seasons in Phoenix, Paul is now with Golden State set to play for Kerr after initially being traded to Washington in theblockbuster Bradley Beal offseason deal.

“Obviously, we have had a lot of battles over the years,” Kerr continued. “We did have one game together, the 2015 All-Star Game, and I remember him taking over the game in the last five minutes, and our team won. Like, yeah, that guy would be fun to coach.”

The Wizards dealt Paul to Golden State in acquiring Jordan Poole. Paul is in the third year of the four-year, $120-million contract he signed with the Suns after the 2020-21 season.

The final year of the deal is non-guaranteed.

“I'm thrilled to coach him,” Kerr added. “He's one of the great competitors I've ever seen; his command of the game, the way he controls the action. His teams tend to get a great shot possession after possession. He understands what wins.”

The 38-year-old Paul is entering his 19^th NBA season with his sixth NBA team. He’s coming off averaging a career-low 13.9 points a game, 8.9 assists and a career-low 1.9 turnovers for the Suns.

Paul finished last season with a groin injury that sidelined him the final four games of the Western Conference semifinals, which Phoenix lost to eventual NBA champion Denver in six games.

The 12-time All-Star is now with a new team looking to win his first NBA championship.

“I'm really excited to coach Chris and I know he's really excited to be here,” Kerr concluded.

Kerr said he and Paul have had “four to five great conversations this summer” while Dunleavy Jr. said Paul took a Southwest flight to workout in San Francisco with his new teammates starting with Stephen Curry.

“There are times in August where we had young guys in and Steph was in, Chris Paul took a Southwest flight at 6 a.m. to be up here for a workout one day,” Dunleavy Jr. said. “So, these guys are all in on making it work and us having a great season.”

There still is a question of whether Paul will start for the Warriors or come off the bench. The veteran point guard has started all 1,214 regular-season games and 149 playoff games in his NBA career.

Kerr addressed that question by saying the Warriors “basically have six starters” on the roster.

“I haven't decided yet what we're going to do,” Kerr said. “I want to see training camp. We are going to try different combinations and take a look. Obviously all six guys are going to play a lot of minutes for us. But you know, if this is going to work then everybody has to embrace it regardless of who is starting and who is not. It only works if the whole team buys in.”

The Warriors opened last season starting Kevon Looney, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins, Klay Thompson and Curry.

“I know these guys well,” Kerr continued. “I know five of them really well and I'm getting to know Chris. The one thing I know about all of them is they want to win more than anything. They are an incredibly competitive group and I'm very confident that we'll figure it out and the guys will buy in and find a way.”

The Warriors open the 2023-24 regular season Oct. 24 against the Suns at Chase Center.

“You get into camp and you get lineups together, and you start thinking through the season; that's a coaching thing,” Dunleavy said, when asked what will determine whether Paul starts or comes off the bench. “Totally defer to (Kerr) on that. I just know we've got a pretty good roster, and you talk about Chris and the five starters that we had last year when they played were great. I think we have good optionality.”

Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Golden State Warriors have 'basically six starters,' says Steve Kerr in addressing Chris Paul's status