Warriors reserve point guard Chris Paul fractured his left hand in a game against the Pistons on Friday, per Shams Charania of The Athletic. Charania notes that Paul will require surgery for the injury, while Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area reports that a recovery timeline for the 38-year-old has yet to be established.
The 12-time All-Star departed during the third quarter of an eventual 113-109 home win, after battling with Detroit shooting guard Jaden Ivey for a rebound. He concluded his night with eight points, six boards, and four dimes.
This is a huge blow for Golden State, and not just on the court.
Paul’s $30.8M 2023-24 contract could have been a massive trade chip, but with just a month remaining until this season’s deadline, it appears unlikely he’ll be healthy in time to appeal to rival teams as anything more than an expiring contract.
He is technically owed $30M next season, though that money is non-guaranteed and almost certainly will not be picked up by any club. The Warriors could still package Paul’s money along with future draft equity and some combination of young players on rookie-scale salaries.
The six-footer is now definitively in a different phase of his Hall of Fame NBA run. Through his 31 healthy contests this season, Paul’s averages of 9.0 PPG, 7.3 APG, 3.7 RPG, 1.2 SPG and 27.7 MPG all represent career lows. He achieved that scoring output fairly efficiently, however, with a shooting line of .421/.357/.854.
Paul’s hand injury is the second long-term ailment to afflict Golden State’s backcourt this week. Defense-first guard Gary Payton II incurred a grade 2 left hamstring strain and will miss at least the next three weeks as he recovers.
Without Paul or Payton available, the Warriors seem likely to lean even more on standout rookie combo guard Brandin Podziemski, with veteran point guard Cory Joseph another candidate to get some extra rotation run.
