Steph Curry and Chris Paul, teammates on the Golden State Warriors, have already started working out together. Chris Paul gave his impressions of their first session together. Paul and Curry spoke with media while the Warriors and New Orleans Pelicans were playing in the Las Vegas Summer League.

“I believe that since 2009 or something, neither he nor I have likely worked out together. Because he isn’t young either, it is a great opportunity and blessing that we are still doing this at our age. Paul discussed his friendship with Curry, emphasizing how they had shared in each other’s journeys. In order to emphasize that their relationship goes beyond the basketball court, he also mentioned that his wife was present at Curry’s wedding.

Curry and Pelicans made their first public appearance as teammates at the Summer League matchup between the Warriors and Pelicans.

They have known each other since Curry’s high school days and have looked up to one other despite being rivals, so their transition to becoming teammates is a full-circle experience. Even though the league paid attention to Paul’s trade to the Warriors, there were concerns raised about how well he would fit into their brand of basketball.

His playing style is different from the Warriors’ fast-paced, ball screen-oriented approach since it slows the game down and makes use of pick-and-rolls.

Chris Paul worked out with new teammate Stephen Curry in Atlanta on Sunday morning before going to Las Vegas. He noted that not many shots were missed during the practice.

Paul’s tenure with the Golden State Warriors appears to be off to a great start.

The veteran point guard reveαled more than a few things in his first official interview session as a member of the Warriors: He doesn’t expect this to be his final season as a player, he isn’t ready to accept that he isn’t a starter, and he still enjoys the game as much as he did as a young player.

And as for how it’ll all fit, he doesn’t expect it to be an issue. “Not to like sound crαzy or whatnot, but at the end of the day, it’s basketball,” Paul said. It’s not brain surgery, you know. I’m about to interact with a group of guys who have been playing together for a while.

Paul got dealt twice this summer, first from Phoenix to Washington as part of the move that sent Bradley Beal to the Suns, and then again to Golden State as part of the move that sent Jordan Poole to the Wizards.

The Warriors are betting on it to produce both immediate and long-term benefits. The 38-year-old Paul can still play; the 12-time All-Star averaged 13.9 points and 8.9 assists this past season for Phoenix, effective still in his 18th season in the league.

Additionally, his contract expires after the upcoming season. Poole has signed a four-year contract because the high-spending Warriors were unable to keep all of their highest-paid players together due to the new Collective Bargaining Agreement’s restrictions.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to play on three USA teams, ‘06, ’08 and 2012,” Paul said. It’s high-IQ basketball, with players who use reads and other strategies, and you learn by figuring it out. Everybody don’t have the answers right now. We’ll practice, I’m sure there’s going to be some things that I’ve had to learn, some things that they’ve got to learn about me, but that’s the situation with any team.”

He has appeared in 1,214 regular-season games and another 149 in the playoffs, and has started every single one of them. However, it appears highly unlikely that he will start in place of guards Stephen Curry or Klay Thompson for Golden State.

So, at 38 years old and about to enter his 19th NBA season, Paul could find himself in a new position. However, there is a clear trade-off because Paul has never won a championship and the Warriors, who have won four titles in the last ten years, will almost certainly be viewed as title contenders heading into next season. He went to the NBA Finals with Phoenix in 2021, but the Suns wasted a 2-0 series lead and fell to Milwaukee in six games.

“It’ll be a conversation for us when camp starts. … I think we’ll figure all that stuff out,” Paul said.

Paul and the Warriors have shared a common history for a very long time. Paul has scored more points against Golden State than he has any other team – 1,172, which is 14 more than he scored against the Los Angeles Lakers. He has faced them in 18 playoff games, which is a postseason record against any opponent. He has also faced San Antonio 18 times.

Among active players, including playoffs, nobody has played more games or has more assists against the Warriors than Paul does, and LeBron James and James Harden are the only active players with more points against Golden State.

And there’s the history that Paul probably wishes he could forget, how two of his best shots at a championship were thwarted by the Warriors. In 2018, Paul and the Houston Rockets had a 3-2 series lead in the Western Conference finals before he got hurt, missed the final two games and Golden State prevailed — on the way to the NBA title. And in 2019, the Warriors beαt Paul and the Rockets again, that time in the West semifinals before ultimately falling to Toronto in the NBA Finals.

He said even his family can’t believe he’s with the Warriors now.

“It is what it is,” Paul remarked. “Sports.”

This upcoming season, the Warriors will go for their fifth championship in ten years, but Paul has never taken home a trophy. Paul insisted that he still loves the game and will continue to play for many years when asked if that was the only reason he continued to play.

“I get a chance to play basketball every day and say, ‘that’s my way of life,’” Paul said. You ask, ‘Why do I do it?’ For the same reason I did it when I was 4 or 5 years old. You get what I’m saying? I wouldn’t spend the time training and working out and hooping and being away from my family if I didn’t love it. That is still the case.