The Golden State Warriors aspirations of a major trade this offseason could hinge on the direction of the Atlanta Hawks after the franchise sensationally moved up to the number one overall pick in Sunday's draft lottery.
All eyes will be on the Hawks and specifically what they do with the back court duo of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray, with the Warriors on the search for more scoring and shot creation next to Stephen Curry.
One rival NBA executive has mentioned Dejounte Murray as the most realistic trade candidate for the Golden State Warriors this offseason
Golden State reportedly had interest in Murray ahead of February's trade deadline, though Atlanta chose to at least temporarily hold on to their 2022 All-Star which did little but conclude in a Play-In Tournament exit.
Speculation on Young and Murray's future will again intensify this offseason, with one Western Conference executive telling Heavy Sports' Sean Deveney that the latter may be the most realistic trade target for the Warriors this offseason.
"Of all the guys they might be able to trade for, he (Murray) is probably realistic because he does not make a ton of money and they could add him, put him in Chris Paul’s spot, give up two first-round picks and now you’ve gotten some defense in there, you’ve got another scorer in there, you have a guy who make some sense."Anonymous Western Conference Executive
One recent trade proposal sees Golden State give up Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, Gary Payton II and a 2025 first-round pick for Murray, but giving up an extra first-round pick instead of the fiercely talented Kuminga would be a far more sensible deal for the Warriors.
Murray is about to begin a four-year, $114.1 million contract which could cause some hesitation from the Warriors were they to retain Andrew Wiggins, while they've got Klay Thompson's free agency and Kuminga's extension eligibility to also work through.
Murray averaged a career-high 22.5 points this season, along with 5.3 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game. He shot 36.3% from three-point range on a career-high 7.1 attempts per game, while he's previously been the NBA steals leader two years ago and has also been named to an All-NBA Defensive Team in 2018.