(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Things have changed quite a bit for Chris Paul over the last couple of years.
He has been one of the NBA’s best point guards for over a decade, and a surefire Hall of Famer to boot.
But his production has declined over the past year or two, and he now finds himself as a backup point guard on the Golden State Warriors.
Plenty of people have questioned the decision Golden State has made to trade for him, but as of now, ESPN has Paul as its favorite to win the Sixth Man of the Year award, via Josh Buckhalter.
ESPN’s Top-10 candidates for Sixth Man of the Year
(Also T-10: Bennedict Mathurin and Kevin Love) pic.twitter.com/j4ysAGah9u
— Josh Buckhalter (@JoshGBuck) August 22, 2023
There is no questioning Paul’s place in history, as he owns career averages of 17.9 points and 9.5 assists a game, as well as five assist titles and six steals titles.
But he is now 38 years of age, and he isn’t quite what he was just a few years ago.
His decline began during the 2022 NBA playoffs when he turned in several subpar offensive performances in the second round versus the Dallas Mavericks, leading to his Phoenix Suns blowing a 3-2 series lead and losing Game 7 at home by a wide margin.
In Golden State, he will carry a lesser burden than he has ever had before, and the hope is that it will make him feel revitalized and help him improve his production.
In trading for Paul, the Warriors have elected to become older instead of surrounding Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green with younger complementary players.
It remains to be seen if that approach will work, especially given the fact that several other teams in the Western Conference have improved.
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