Trade No. 2: Orlando Magic
The Golden State Warriors have tried to straddle the fence between going all-in to contend with Stephen Curry and maintaining young players and draft picks to keep the future in Golden State bright. That straddling may have worked if the Warriors hadn't whiffed on the James Wiseman draft pick, or if they had taken a clear-cut second star to pair with Curry.
The Orlando Magic offer a chance at joining a young team, but one with young on-ball stars instead of dependent players. Paolo Banchero made the All-Star team in just his second season, and Franz Wagner is a do-it-all forward who looked extremely good in the Olympics. Jalen Suggs is an elite defensive backcourt partner for Curry, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is an ideal wing to play alongside Curry and company on a good team.
If the Magic were to push in the chips for Curry, and still maintain the core they will need to contend with him, here is what a trade offer could look like:
This deal couldn't happen until midseason after Jonathan Isaac signed a new contract extension this summer, but his salary is almost a must in the deal if they are going to hold onto their core. This package is built around Anthony Black and Jett Howard, two lottery picks in the 2023 draft, as well as a pair of centers who would hold value for the Warriors or around the league.
Orlando could start Curry, Suggs, Wagner, Banchero and Goga Bitadze, with Cole Anthony, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Gary Harris, Tristan Da Silva and Mo Wagner coming off of the bench. That group has a lot of upside, and the insertion of Curry gives them a much-needed injection of shooting. Depending on how the young trio of Banchero, Wagner and Suggs develop, that's a group that could challenge in the Eastern Conference very soon.
Who Says No? The Orlando Magic would love this deal, and it may be enticing enough for the Warriors to entertain it. Anthony Black has a ton of upside as a big point guard, and there will be further value to be had moving Carter and Isaac if they don't want to keep them. Perhaps they try to angle for more draft capital, but this is at least a reasonable offer.
What about Curry? On the one hand, he likely would prefer to pair with a veteran star than young up-and-comers. On the other, the makeup of this team with ball-handling forwards and off-ball guards is creative and custom-built for Curry's game, and it's hard to find another landing spot where he would have a trio of co-stars as good as this one, with room to grow. He likely would say no in favor of more proven landing spots, but it's an intriguing idea.