Lakers' Austin Reaves on Warriors' Trade for Chris Paul: 'That Was Strange'

Add Austin Reaves to the list of people who were surprised to see the Golden State Warriors trade for Chris Paul.

Appearing on the Full Send Podcast (starts at 10:25 mark), the Los Angeles Lakers guard said "that was strange" when the topic of the Paul trade came up.

The Warriors acquired Paul from the Washington Wizards for a package that included Jordan Poole. It was a deal that caught many people off guard because Paul and the Warriors have a long history of antagonizing each other.

One big reason for Golden State to do the trade was to get out of Poole's four-year, $128 million contract, which begins with the 2023-24 season, and to reduce the team's future luxury tax payments.

But there's also a practical basketball reason for the Warriors to do it: Their offense without Stephen Curry on the court last season was dreadful. They had an offensive rating of 89.4 in 13 playoff games.

For perspective, the worst offensive rating in NBA history is a tie between the 2002-03 Denver Nuggets and 1976-77 New York Nets (92.2).

Paul may no longer be the All-Star player he was at his best, but the Warriors simply need a functional point guard who can run the offense when Curry is on the bench.

The 38-year-old is more than capable of doing that. He averaged 13.9 points on 44.0 percent shooting and 8.9 assists per game in 59 starts with the Phoenix Suns last season.

Reaves and the Lakers will be keeping a close eye on how the new-look Warriors fare. Los Angeles ended the Warriors' hopes of repeating by beating them in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs in six games.

It was the first time Golden State has lost a postseason series to a Western Conference team since the 2013-14 season when the Los Angeles Clippers, led by Chris Paul, sent the team home in the first round.