Many fans wanted the Warriors to trade their two draft picks as many of the top talents went within the first four picks. After all, it did seem like the right thing to do by the Big 3 in terms of doing the best the team could to capitalize on their clearly shortening title window.
The Golden State Warriors weren’t able to get a trade they liked as the only one that really surfaced was the megadeal the team didn’t end up doing involving James Wiseman, four first-round picks and Andrew Wiggins or Ben Simmons.
The Golden State Warriors ended up using both their lottery picks as the trade market dried up to the point where they didn’t have any actual offers.
Other than that, per The Athletic’s Anthony Slater, they really didn’t have any legit offers that involved actual contributors.
Bob Myers: "The only things that were coming our way were trade backs for future picks." Said there weren't any substantial offers for legit rotation pieces.
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) July 30, 2021
It’s okay that the Warriors didn’t end up trading their picks.
With their two lottery picks, Golden State drafted G-League Ignite forward Jonathan Kuminga and then Arkansas guard Moses Moody. Kuminga is expected to be more of a project while Moody has the potential to contribute immediately.
Obviously, neither will have Bradley Beal like potential from the start, but the Warriors did what they felt they needed to do.
There was no good reason to couple the picks and James Wiseman for a player like Myles Turner. It just wouldn’t have been worth it, and that’s likely what general manager Bob Myers quickly found out.
It seemed as though there were much more rumblings made throughout the week leading up to the draft than trades that actually happened. While that per usual, the Warriors will need to fill many of the gaps that were left empty in free agency.
With little money to spend, Golden State will need to get a few veterans that can immediately impact the roster. Players like Andre Iguodala could be available. Sadly, it just won’t produce the same caliber of player that trading James Wiseman and the picks would.
That said, the Warriors clearly value Wiseman, and after Wiggins had an extremely solid season both offensively and even more so defensively, the team clearly didn’t want to trade either.
The question that should now be at the forefront of conversation is if this Warriors team without any major additions can truly contend. If the answer from the front office is yes, we shouldn’t expect any trades that would mortgage the future.
As the season and ensuing trade deadline start to near, we’ll see their answer which may ultimately rest on what percent of Klay Thompson will be returning to action.