The Golden State Warriors are aiming to get back into NBA title contention, but the team may need to make a trade in order for this to happen. During a June 28, 2024 live stream, Bleacher Report’s Allen Stiles put together a list of potential moves the Warriors could make this season.
One trade proposal has the Warriors landing Portland Trail Blazers center Deandre Ayton. Golden State sends Portland Andrew Wiggins and Kevon Looney as part of the proposed deal.
Ayton’s price tag would be hefty for the Warriors to pick up as the former No. 1 pick has two seasons remaining on a four-year, $132 million contract. The center is slated to have a $34 million cap hit in 2024-25.
By comparison, Wiggins has three seasons remaining on a four-year, $109 million deal. Wiggins has a $26.2 million cap hit next season for Golden State.
After spending his first five NBA seasons with the Phoenix Suns, Ayton was traded to the Blazers last offseason. Ayton averaged 16.7 points, 11.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1 steal per game in 55 starts during his debut season in Portland.
Tension may be rising between Wiggins and the Warriors. Golden State is not allowing Wiggins to play for Canada in the 2024 Olympics.
“Mutual decision between the Warriors and Andrew Wiggins to prioritize his health and hold him out of Olympics, I’m told,” The Athletic’s Anthony Slater detailed in a June 28 message on X. “Doesn’t preclude GSW from possibly trading him, but it’s a medical decision. Wiggins dealt with an ankle issue late this past season.”
As for the proposed deal, the Warriors have a lot of young wings fighting for minutes on the current roster. Moving on from Wiggins and potentially Klay Thompson this offseason could open up more opportunities for rising players like Jonathan Kuminga.
Ayton would give the Warriors more of a traditional threat at center. The former No. 1 pick in the 2018 NBA draft has averaged a double-double in all six of his NBA seasons.
NBA insider Marc Stein reported that things are trending towards Thompson leaving in free agency. The Mavericks have emerged as an early contender for Thompson after clearing cap space by trading Tim Hardaway Jr. to the Detroit Pistons.
“The prospect of Klay Thompson leaving the only team he has ever known is suddenly looking more and more like an inevitability as NBA free agency draws near,” Stein detailed in a June 29 story titled, “More new twists in the looming free agent courtship of Klay Thompson.”
“The latest evidence of that: Amid a growing belief leaguewide that Thompson’s relationship with the Golden State Warriors is irretrievable, strong mutual interest between Thompson and the Dallas Mavericks is expected when free agency opens Sunday evening, league sources tell The Stein Line.”
Who will the Warriors replace Thompson with if the star leaves in NBA free agency? Golden State continues to be linked to Los Angeles Clippers star Paul George, but the team does not have cap space to sign the guard outright if he becomes a free agent. The Warriors would likely need to orchestrate a trade in order to land George.
