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There was a time when the Golden State Warriors trading for Chris Paul would've been a traffic-stopping move on the NBA streets. That time has passed. 

Now, in 2023, the deal that Golden State struck with the Washington Wizards to acquire Paul on Thursday, which was confirmed by CBS Sports insider Bill Reiter, was more about getting rid of Jordan Poole's four-year, $140 million contract that is set to begin this season. 

ESPN'S Adrian Wojnarowski reports that in addition to Poole, Washington will receive Golden State's top-20 protected 2030 first-rounder as well as its 2027 second-round pick. 

Let's grade the trade. 

Golden State Warriors: B

There's a reasonable argument to be made that Golden State knocked this deal out of the park. Financially, they basically replaced Poole's $28 million salary with Paul's $30.8M for next season, but while Poole was set to cost the Warriors a fortune -- in this incoming period of even harsher tax penalties no less -- through 2027, Paul's money comes off the books next summer. 

Add to that the fact that Paul might actually still be a better player than Poole, or at least a less harmful one in the playoffs, and Golden State also, it could be argued, did well from a basketball standpoint. But I'm not ready to go quite that far. 

Let's see what else the Warriors do this summer, but as it stands right now, they have exactly one player in Stephen Curry who can credibly create consistent offense. Poole was important, at times downright vital, in that regard. It's become easy to pile on Poole as another addition to the postseason's unplayable players list along with the likes of D'Angelo Russell, but let's not forget that Poole, as a 23-year-old, was a core part of the Warriors winning a championship. 

I think Paul can still play, and yes, if I'm Steve Kerr, I'm more comfortable with him running my second unit than I am Poole. But Poole is a loss. Especially as a regular-season innings eater. It's not crazy to think he could still turn into an All-Star. Giving up that kind of talent plus a future first-round pick -- albeit a highly protected one -- is a lot for a 38-year-old Paul who, even if he can still play, will have a hard time staying healthy. 

Truth is, Paul's greatest value to the Warriors could be as part of another trade down the road, perhaps at the February deadline. If I'm the Warriors, I'm already on the phone trying to package Paul, who is a more attractive trade chip than Poole being that he's on an expiring contract at a time when the whole league is trying to cut salary, and Jonathan Kuminga for a real upgrade. 

Is that the Warriors' plan? To eventually flip Paul, much like they traded for the aforementioned D'Angelo Russell in 2019 only to repackage him in a deal for Andrew Wiggins? Chris Haynes reports to the contrary, tweeting about 90 minutes after the deal that Golden State "will not waive Chris Paul and is looking forward to partnering with the star to make a championship run." 

Don't listen to a word of that. The Warriors may indeed end up keeping Paul, but at this moment, of course they're going to say that. Former Warriors GM Bob Myers offered the same "we see him as part of our long-term plans" sound bite when they traded for Russell. Recently elevated Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy said he expected Poole to remain with the organization for "four more years, at least." That didn't last four days. 

So Paul could be shipped out, or he could stay and be a stabilizing piece of Golden State's second unit and a candidate to close games alongside Curry. Both are potentially positive options, and getting Poole off the books erases what had become a negative. 

This is a good deal for the Warriors. I'm just not ready to call it a home run, if only because I think they'll miss Poole's creation more than a lot of people think, and because they could very well find that potential trade partners value that first-round pick, with less strict protections, they sent to Washington more than they do Paul. That will vary from team to team. 

Who knows what was out there for a Poole-plus-Kuminga-and-a-pick package? Is it crazy to think that return could've been more than Chris Paul? Could they have packaged Poole and the No. 19 pick on Thursday for a bigger swing and then just got Paul at the minimum is he was waived? 

There is room here for much Monday-morning quarterbacking. This is all fluid right now, and Golden State clearly values Paul as either a trade chip or contributor or both, and didn't want to lose that opportunity to wait on Paul maybe becoming available for less. 

Golden State could still be active. It has the 19th pick on Thursday. That could go with Kuminga for a nice return. It could go with Paul, and keep Kuminga. Golden State got more flexible on Thursday, and flexibility is gold in the NBA's new financial climate. 

Washington Wizards: B

The Wizards finally got a first-round pick back in a trade! This is good! After trading Bradley Beal about three years too late and flipping Kristaps Porzingis for a second-round pick and Tyus Jones (plus Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala), the Wizards did well to finally turn Beal, via Paul, into a future first-rounder, even if it's just a paper pick until 2030 and a highly protected one at that. It's a start. 

I said in the Warriors' section that giving up Jordan Poole and a first-round pick is a lot for a precipitously declining Paul, and if that's true, then it must also be true that the Wizards did well to acquire Poole and a pick for Paul. I'll co-sign this:

The Wizards are finally, mercifully, tearing this thing down to the screws, and in such a context of complete player development sans any concern whatsoever about results, what better environment could there be to turn Poole loose and see if he's a future All-Star? 

The talent is there. I'll say again, we've all forgotten how big a role Poole played for a championship team. Fewer players than you realize can say that. He's got his flaws. He might be a worse Jordan Clarkson. He might also be something of a Trae Young impressionist, which is real praise, backhanded or not. 

Hell, even if Poole turns out to be dead weight, who cares? The Wizards are in total rebuild mode. Yes, all the extra cap space you can conjure is invariably good for absorbing bad contracts (which, in effect, is just what the Wizards just did to get Poole), but one bad salary isn't terribly crippling to an irrelevant free-agent organization, at least in the short term. 

The facts are this: In the final 20 games of the 2021-22 season, Poole averaged 25.4 points, 5.5 assists and 4.3 rebounds on 48/43/92 shooting splits, then he put up 17 points and 3.8 assists on 51/39/92 shooting in 28 minutes per game in his first-ever postseason. And the Wizards just got him, plus a first-round pick, for a 38-year-old point guard that never even wore their uniform. Pretty good stuff in my book.