Kerr says Warriors needed Chris Paul because they ‘needed another way to attack’

Last season, the Warriors had a -1.1 net rating when Stephen Curry was off the court. In their championship 2021-22 season, the Warriors had a -4.2 net rating when Curry sat.

The Warriors had an issue whenever Curry was off the court, and it’s a key reason why Chris Paul was brought into Golden State. However, Steve Kerr said it was more than that, it was about the diversity of attack. Here is Kerr in an interview with Robin Lundberg of Sports Illustrated.

“Our team last year needed another way to attack and we became a little too one dimensional with Steph in high ball screens. We needed another playmaker to give us a different look and Chris is, as we know, one of the all-time great pick-and-roll players and he’ll know how to control the tempo. It’s hugely important—especially in playoff games—to have guys like that.”

Kerr is not wrong, although he also glosses over the challenges of integrating CP3 into the Warriors system. Paul likes to walk the ball up and play a slow, meticulous, and controlled game, while the Warriors thrive in a more up-tempo and chaotic style. Then there is the question of whether Paul should come off the bench or start.

The Warriors have a training camp — and, honestly, an 82-game regular season — to figure it all out before things get serious. Paul should help them and high IQ players like Paul and the Warriors stars tend to figure things out. Just don’t expect the road to getting there to be smooth.