Golden State Warriors had a perfect NBA trade deadline

The Golden State Warriors had a perfect trade deadline, sending away half a dozen players and returning a myriad of draft picks.

Completing three trades this trade season, the Golden State Warriors made the most of their assets.

While many think they were robbed by the Wolves in a trade for D’Angelo Russell, the Warriors were able to get off a contract they clearly didn’t believe in while also being able to secure a top-3 protected 2021 draft pick. That pick, given the Wolves competence, could be rather high.

As for Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson III, they were both sent to Philadelphia for three second-round picks. Add the Warriors and Mavericks deal involving Willie Cauley-Stein, and those three veterans returned four second-round picks.

Players like Eric Paschall and three-time All-Star Draymond Green were second-round picks for the Golden State Warriors in the past decade, showing the team’s competence at selecting in the later rounds.

After dealing many of their future second-round picks to enhance their roster the last few seasons, it’s nice to see them get some return for their veterans. They’ll need to add the young talent as the team also sent Omari Spellman and Jacob Evans III to Minnesota.

The Warriors dealt Cauley-Stein, Spellman, Evans III, Burks, Robinson and D’Angelo Russell for five second-round picks, a 2021 first-round pick and Wolves’ star forward Andrew Wiggins.

That’s a pretty good return for three expiring contracts, two low-ceiling young guns, and one isolation-heavy superstar. That said, we won’t truly know the impact of these transactions for quite some time, but on the surface, the Warriors look to be making out with a pretty solid load.

With Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson returning next season, the Warriors, with likely a top-five pick this offseason as well, needed to find a better fit than Russell. They were able to secure Wiggins and a ton of draft capital, all one could ask for.