7 players Golden State Warriors might replace Klay Thompson with by the trade deadline

2. Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves

From “battle-tested role player” to “star-powered unknown,” our final two players on this list offer the top-end of talent the Warriors could pursue in a Klay Thompson trade. They have made big swings before, and Thompson’s salary plus some draft capital could allow them to go after an offensively skilled All-Star to help Curry transition into the next phase of his career.

The most available version of that player archetype is Karl-Anthony Towns, one of the best shooting bigs in NBA history; he is a career 39.5 percent shooter from deep, 83.5 percent from the free-throw line and is a high-level rebounder to boot.

The pairing of Towns and Rudy Gobert on the Minnesota Timberwolves seemed ill-advised from the start, and by midseason, the Wolves may be ready to call it quits; it’s hard to imagine them spending over $100 million in 2024-25 on three centers. Towns is more easily traded than Gobert, and getting back an elite shooter could be just what the doctor ordered in Minnesota.

On the Warriors, Towns would provide floor-spacing near Thompson’s level while also pulling on defenses in unique ways. He can also pass from the elbow like the Warriors love, and a dribble-handoff with Curry is a terrifying action for defenses to try and defend. Defensively, Towns is clearly an issue, but the Warriors will hope that Draymond and Wiggins are the right partners to make up for it.

This is a wild swing, but it’s an intriguing one, perhaps only topped by the final player on this list.