The Golden State Warriors are in an interesting spot as the July draft continues to near. No one is quite sure what the team is going to do with their two lottery picks and plethora of high-profile players.
From James Wiseman to Jordan Poole to any number of draft picks, the Warriors will have the options to pull off a blockbuster trade. But, it feels unlikely that they take that route despite being one star away from contending for a title.
With two lottery picks and the potential to make a trade, the Golden State Warriors were dubbed the “most intriguing” team by CBS Sports.
As the last piece of the puzzle unraveled with the Dubs claiming the No. 7 from the Andrew Wiggins-D’Angelo Russell trade, Golden State now has the No. 7 and No. 14 picks in the late-July draft.
Along those lines, they have former No. 2 overall pick Wiseman who didn’t show enough as a rookie to ensure he’s not traded.
While Wiseman’s ceiling is still light years above his current level, the Warriors may look to make moves to contend, and Wiseman could be seen as a player not ready to aid a contending team. Potentially placing him on the trading block would open up options for Golden State.
Center Myles Turner and forward Pascal Siakam could both be trade targets. That type of talk is what’s made the Warriors the “most intriguing” team in the NBA Draft. They were dubbed that by CBS Sports.
"“With the expectation of being championship contenders once again next season, the Warriors front office will certainly explore deals involving this year’s lottery picks at No. 7 and No. 14. That’s not exactly a surprise, since they were keenly listening to offers for the No. 2 pick last year, which ended up being James Wiseman. Now, according to The Athletic, Golden State is dangling the No. 7 pick and Wiseman in search of win-now help, with Raptors forward Pascal Siakam a potential target. Whether it ends up being Siakam or not, adding a player of that caliber to a core of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and a healthy Klay Thompson could have massive ramifications for next year’s title race…..Given the number of directions in which the team can go, and the ceiling of the team if they pull off something big, the Warriors are the most intriguing team heading into the NBA Draft,” Colin Ward-Henninger wrote."
All that Ward-Henninger wrote is spot on.
The Warriors have options and 100 different directions to go in. Can they trade Andrew Wiggins and the picks for something? Is Wiggins even going to be on the market after his career-best season with Golden State?
On top of that, what’s Wiseman’s value? The Warriors have to answer how they value Wiseman in trade discussions because if their desire to keep him is too high then they won’t have any offers for the young center.
There shouldn’t be any trade talks surrounding their stars, but after those three, anyone should be available.
Gauging the value of their assets is going to be important. Also, it’s interesting to note how much they could like a prospect they have a chance to snag at No. 7. Moses Moody and Keon Johnson are projected to still be available.
All of that combines to be why the Warriors are the most intriguing team in the NBA ahead of the draft later this month.