Grade the Trade: Warriors reconvene with rival in proposed all-time blockbuster deal

Los Angeles Lakers v Golden State Warriors
Los Angeles Lakers v Golden State Warriors / Ezra Shaw/GettyImages
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Would the Warriors make the trade?

The sticking point would certainly be Kuminga who the franchise finally let loose over the second-half of the season. The former seventh overall pick averaged 18.6 points on over 54% shooting from January onwards, developing as the Warriors' second-best scorer behind Curry.

While Kuminga was impressive and perhaps the biggest positive to emanate from Golden State's season, the reality is that he's also young with no promises that he'll ever become an All-Star let alone during Curry's window.

James may be entering rare territory in terms of age and years played, but he remains one of the league's most dominant players after averaging 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.3 assists while shooting a career-high 41% from three-point range this season

Further from it just being cool to see the two faces of the league play together, James' downhill force and playmaking combined with Curry's shooting should make for a perfect fit on the floor. The combination with Klay Thompson should also be seamless supposing the veteran sharpshooter re-signs, and although the offensive fit of James and Draymond Green may be more challenging, the latter will nonetheless remain incredibly important to the Warrior defense.

Even if Golden State give up a large stake of their future in this deal, they would at least retain the trio of Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis, each of whom would play significant roles in the revamped roster unless they were flipped for further veteran help.

Summary

Assuming the Warriors can re-sign Thompson and attract quality veteran free agents to fill out the roster, then this is a deal they should consider making given James is still a top 15 player in the league.

It is a big price to pay for one or two years of contention, and the franchise should certainly explore James signing as a free agent instead if possible, but perhaps Golden State would pull the trigger in the hope of maximizing the remainder of Curry's prime.

Grade: B-

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