NBA Trade Rumors: Latest Trade Buzz Surrounding the Warriors
By Ben Pickman
By this time tomorrow, we will know if Harrison Barnes or any other Warrior will be on another NBA franchise. Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports
The Golden State Warriors are saying that everybody is on the trade market. Well, everybody except for Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Bogut, and Andre Iguodala. They also say that it would take a lot to trade away David Lee.
That leaves one obvious asset that could be dealt in the next 24 hours: Harrison Barnes.
ESPN.com’s Chad Ford is reporting that the Warriors are not publically shopping Barnes and don’t have any incentive to move him, but telling the press that Barnes is untradeable is like telling the next head coach or general manager of the Browns that they will survive next season.
Barnes is being linked to many different teams. Multiple reports have been published about the Warriors reaching out to the Nuggets both for Kenneth Faried and Andre Miller. A deal for Faried seems very unlikely as it doesn’t really make sense and Faried is also being floated in trade talks surrounding Iman Shumpert and the New York Knicks. The Warriors have also reached out to the Bulls about Kirk Hinrich, though SI.com is reporting that the Bulls are hesitant to part with their veteran point guard.
Rumors circulated this morning about the Warriors interest in bringing back Jarrett Jack in exchange for Barnes as Kyrie Irving has endorsed Barnes’ play and the Warriors still need bench depth, but those rumors have quieted down throughout the day. The Cavs have also reached out to the about adding Luol Deng, but as Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski has reported, Deng’s unwillingness to sign an extension before free agency diminishes the chances of a possible trade.
The Memphis Grizzlies are looking to upgrade their power forward position and according to Sam Amick of USA Today, they have talked to the Warriors about the former North Carolina forward. The Warriors would want a backup bigman such as Kosta Koufas in return, but Koufas alone will not be a large enough haul in return. Barnes is stuck behind Andre Iguodala in the lineup and his cheap rookie contract makes him very enticing for countless teams looking to upgrade at the small forward position. Barnes has shown flashes of stardom, but has looked for more like a backup small forward that a core piece of a franchise this season.
On Friday before the Rising Stars game Barnes acknowledged his difficult situation.
“I’m not going to front, Barnes said. “It’s been a challenge.” After two sub-par performances in the Dunk Contest and Rising Stars game, Barnes’ predicament has not improved.
Other possible players being linked in rumors involved the Warriros are current Bucks and former Spurs shooting guard Gary Neal, Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry and power forward Amir Johnson, and of course Minnesota Timberwolves power forward Kevin Love, though the latter of those rumors has almost a zero percent chance of happening.
By this time tomorrow we will know if Harrison Barnes or any other Warrior will be on another NBA franchise.
This article was written as of 5:45 PM EST on Feb. 19.