Warriors plan to give Chris Paul preseason minutes with the second unit

Chris Paul made his much-anticipated Golden State Warriors debut last weekend when the Dubs beat the Los Angeles Lakers in their preseason opener at Chase Center. Paul played very well, and his fit with the team started to ease questions and concerns as to how the partnership will work.

It was also notable that Paul played all 13 of his minutes alongside fellow starters Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, and Kevon Looney. It makes sense that the Warriors played Paul exclusively with the other starters. That figures to be the starting five until Draymond Green returns from injury, and it’s vital that Paul learns to play with his new All-Star teammates, since he’ll have to adjust his style more for them than he will when playing with the team’s bench players.

But we know that Paul will spend plenty of time during the season running the second unit, and Warriors coach Steve Kerr said on Friday that the future Hall of Famer is already working with the backups in scrimmages. Kerr mentioned that Paul will soon start getting preseason games with the second unit, while adding that such minutes may not occur tonight, when the Dubs and Lakers play again.

Ever since the Warriors acquired Paul in a blockbuster trade that sent Jordan Poole to the Washington Wizards, we’ve been hearing about how much his play will help elevate Jonathan Kuminga’s game. I, for one, can’t wait to see that in action.

The starting lineup has been a topic of much discussion for the Warriors ever since the June trade. But one thing we can be sure of is that Paul will spend plenty of time running the second unit, whether he’s in the starting five or coming off the bench. The Warriors have two of the greatest point guards in NBA history on their roster, and it’s safe to say that health and foul trouble are the only reasons we’ll see a single minute of meaningful Warriors basketball played without at least one of Curry or Paul on the court this year.

Golden State’s second preseason game against the Lakers is tonight at 7:00 PM in Los Angeles. They play the Sacramento Kings on Sunday and Wednesday before wrapping up the preseason with their fifth and final game next Friday against No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs. Then it’s on to the regular season, which kicks off on Tuesday, October 24, with the Dubs hosting former teammate Kevin Durant and Paul’s former team, the Phoenix Suns.