3 proposed trades to land Warriors a stretch big after missing on Lauri Markkanen

2. Warriors take chance on injury-prone big man

Golden State adding San Antonio Spurs big man Zach Collins wouldn't be as valuable as Carter, but the 26-year-old has at least appeared to get over the injuries that ruined much of the early portion of his career.

Collins is a talented offensive player who's averaged in excess of 18 points per 36 minutes with the Spurs in each of the past two seasons. His three-point shooting did go off the boil a little last season at just 32%, but he did shoot 37.4% from beyond the arc in 2022-23.

The 6'11" big man is set to make $34.8 million over the next two years -- that may be overs for a bench player, but it also means that Collins could be acquired relatively cheaply from a trade standpoint.

The Spurs are full on roster spots but could easily manipulate things to make this deal work, potentially by waiving one of the incoming Kevon Looney or Gary Payton II. Perhaps the Warriors would need to throw in a second-round pick to make it happen, but even then San Antonio may simply be happy giving up Collins for two expiring contracts.

A former 10th overall pick in 2017, Collins could prove valuable in a 15-20 minute role of the bench with the potential for more playing time against certain opponents where front court spacing becomes crucial.