Ranking 8 star trade targets proposed for the Golden State Warriors

3. Paul George

This is where we get the ball rolling with players who could foreseeably push the Warriors back into championship aspirations. With the Clippers on the brink of elimination in their first-round series against the Dallas Mavericks, questions on George’s future are only heating up given he’s a free agent.

Again, like DeRozan, Golden State would need to orchestrate a sign-and-trade that would require them to give up significant assets. This is the part of the rankings where we need to bring up Jonathan Kuminga and whether the franchise would be willing to part ways with the exciting young forward? Every candidate previously mentioned and it should be a firm no, but someone of the level of George and it’s worthy of discussion.

George may be 34-years-old but he’s still an elite two-way player, having averaged 22.6 points and 1.5 steals during the regular season while shooting a career-high 41.3% from three-point range.

Putting the nine-time All-Star in the Wiggins spot would be a major upgrade without drastically shifting the way the Warriors want or need to play. There’d be risk in paying a max contract that could age poorly as the years progress, but it’s something Golden State should seriously explore if at all possible.

2. Lauri Markkanen

While Lauri Markkanen may not quite have resume of George just yet, his offensive skillset could provide a similar impact after averaging 23.2 points and 8.2 rebounds on 39.9% three-point shooting this season.

There’s also the matter of his age and contract that probably puts him above George in regard to preferred trade candidates. Markkanen is 26 and could foreseeably take the franchise forward out of the prime Curry years, while his incredibly team-friendly $18 million deal for next season would also mean the Warriors don’t need to match as much salary in a trade as they would with others on this list.

It makes little sense as to why the Jazz would actually trade Markkanen, yet the speculation persists and likely will into the offseason. Danny Ainge would certainly ask for the world, and yes that would include Kuminga as much as the Warriors would like to keep their budding star.