NBA superstars often involve themselves in their organization’s offseason dealings, and the Golden State Warriors are no exception. Their star players famously recruited Kevin Durant to join the team in 2016, but that move was relatively easy for the Warriors to make. They only needed to clear the cap space to sign him, and the 2016 cap spike made that substantially easier. Five years later, the circumstances are substantially different.
Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson “have made it clear to management they want the franchise to focus on the pursuit of a championship, even to consider using their two lottery picks to get someone who can help immediately,” according to The Athletic’s Marcus Thompson. Thompson names Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal as a possible target, but to this point, the Wizards are not known to have made him available nor has Beal requested a deal out of Washington.
The Warriors have the No. 7 and No. 14 overall picks in the upcoming NBA Draft and used the No. 2 overall selection on James Wiseman last season. Those three assets combined could net the Warriors one extremely high-level player or perhaps multiple starting-caliber veterans. General manager Bob Myers has cited the need for more of a veteran presence on next year’s roster.
Golden State has thus far held onto its young assets, though, and aside from a seeming lack of opportunities to trade for the right star, it is also possible that Golden State views Wiseman and those picks as a bridge to their next great team after this current core ages out.
That the current core is seemingly urging them to cash those players in now is notable as Curry, who has been eligible for an extension since last offseason, can become a free agent next offseason. While it seems unlikely that he would leave Golden State, he can use the possibility that he might as leverage to force the front office to act more aggressively.
Ultimately, though, the Warriors have made it clear that they view Wiseman as a long-term building block, and they aren’t going to give away two high draft picks for nothing. If Beal is not available and no similarly gifted talent surprisingly hits the market, Golden State’s likeliest outcome would probably involve keeping all or most of those assets while perhaps dealing one of them for veteran help.
Courtesy: CBS Sports
