Grade the Trade: Warriors succumb to win-now pressure in disastrous proposed deal

Would the Atlanta Hawks make this trade?

Murray is certainly an intriguing option for the Warriors, having been linked to the 27-year-old prior to February's deadline. He's also coming off arguably his best offensive season where he averaged 22.5 points and 6.4 assists on 45.9% shooting from the floor and 36.3% from three-point range.

Murray is also at an age where Golden State could be trading for a player entering his prime with five or more years of good production left, rather than moving for an aging star that would severely limit their window of contention.

The major question becomes whether the Warriors could actually enter any meaningful contention with Murray as their second star? He would help no doubt, but to a level where it's worth giving up Kuminga in the deal?

The answer to that should be a resounding no. Murray's a good player and yet he's not the bona fide All-Star Golden State need if they've giving up Kuminga. Bogdanovic would be very helpful as another scorer, especially if Thompson leaves, but Wiggins' value as the team's primary perimeter defender would see that as a downgrade.

To top things off the Warriors give up a top five protected first-round pick, which may give a fair indication of where Wiggins and his contract lies in league-wide value. Losing Looney would hurt from a cultural perspective more than anything else, though the franchise could be on the precipice of moving on from the three-time champion anyway.

Summary:

This would be the kind of mediocre trade that would be a disaster for Golden State -- if you're not going to take a big swing for a legitimate multi-time All-Star, then you're better off retaining Kuminga and taking a gamble on where his upside may lie after being one of the most improved players in the league over the second half of the season. It's a deal that would likely leave them around the fringes of the playoffs, otherwise known as no-man's land where you're neither contending nor rebuilding.

If the Warriors could exchange Kuminga out of the deal for Moses Moody, then sure it's a deal worth making. That's a fair shift in value though and one the Hawks wouldn't necessarily go for, leaving a trade hard to envisage given the other teams that will likely be interested in adding Murray this offseason.

Grade: D