Wizards Trade Chris Paul To NBA Finals Contender: Report

The Washington Wizards are reportedly finalizing a trade to send Chris Paul to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Jordan Poole and future draft assets," sources with knowledge of the deal confirmed to the Athletic's Shams Charania on Thursday (June 22).

"Warriors are sending Jordan Poole, a protected first-round pick in 2030 and a second-rounder in 2027 to the Wizards for Chris Paul, league sources said," Charania tweeted.

The move comes days after Paul was traded by the Phoenix Suns as part of a deal centered around Bradley Beal. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Washington acquired Paul, 38, with the consideration that he would be traded to an NBA Finals contender at the time of the deal on Sunday (June 18).

"Part of the reason for holding up full completion on the Wizards-Suns trade will be to allow Washington to field offers from third teams that would give Chris Paul a chance to land with a contender, sources tell ESPN," Wojnarowski tweeted.

Paul spent the past three seasons with the Suns after being acquired in a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The 12-time All-Star averaged 15.1 points, 9.5 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game during his tenure in Phoenix, which included winning a franchise-record 64 games during the 2021-22, as well as making his only career NBA Finals in 2021.

Paul was selected by the then-New Orleans Hornets at No. 4 overall in the 2005 NBA Draft and spent his first seven seasons with the franchise before being traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in 2011. The former Wake Forest standout also spent two seasons with the Houston Rockets (2017-19) and one season with the Thunder.

Paul currently ranks third in NBA history with 11,501 career assists trailing only Basketball Hall of Famers John Stockton (15,806) and Jason Kidd (12,091) and 37th in career points with 21,755.

Poole signed a four-year extension reported to be worth up to $140 million with the Warriors last offseason following an impressive performance during the franchise's 2022 NBA championship run. The former University of Michigan standout averaged 20.4 points, 4.5 assists and 2.7 rebounds.

Poole was involved in an incident in which he was punched by teammate Draymond Green during training camp. Green's agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Group, recently confirmed the forward's decision to decline his $27.5 million player option for the 2023-24 season.