Warriors search for a second star gets shockingly desperate in recent proposal

The Golden State Warriors have struck out in trying land a secondary offensive star this offseason, having failed to reach an agreement with the L.A. Clippers for Paul George prior to free agency, and more recently missing out on Lauri Markkanen who renegotiated and extended his contract with the Utah Jazz earlier in the week.

Stephen Curry's 36 points in Team USA's monumental win over Serbia in the Olympic Semi-Finals has only risen frustration of the Warriors inactivity, with the roster currently appearing to lack the star power required alongside the 2x MVP to be a contending team in the Western Conference next season.

Could the Golden State Warriors search for a second offensive star extend to a shock trade move for former MVP James Harden?

The pursuit of George and then Markkanen was obvious given their combination of All-Star level talent and perfect fit among the current roster. Yet if perfect options aren't available, do Golden State consider just adding as much firepower as possible?

If that's the case, perhaps the Warriors would explore a move for James Harden mid-season, at least according to Michael Saenz of Sir Charles in Charge in a recent article looking at five outside-the-box targets Golden State should monitor.

"There could be a point this season when the Warriors are looking for any type of upgrade in an attempt to salvage the Curry window," Saenz wrote. "It may not be ideal, but the Warriors shouldn't completely shut down the idea of trading for Harden."

As Saenz also outlined, pairing Harden with Curry would be intriguing to some degree. The more important question is whether it would be effective? Offensively it certainly could, particularly after Chris Paul was arguably better than expected for the Warriors last season.

Defensively it would be a huge question mark, but perhaps that's just what you have to sacrifice to have another on-ball shot-creator that Golden State are currently bereft of. Harden averaged 16.6 points (38.1% three-point shooting) and 8.5 assists last season, proving he's still a productive offensive player albeit no where near his former MVP best.

The 34-year-old has just re-signed with the Clippers on a two-year, $70 million deal, but perhaps Harden could become available if things go south for the franchise after losing George in free agency. The Warriors would likely have to give up Andrew Wiggins in a trade for salary-matching purposes, further harming their defensive capability.

Pairing Harden with Curry would be truly shocking, yet maybe not totally out of the realm of possibility after Golden State traded for Paul last offseason. Still, the situation of both teams would have to align very specifically for this to ever become a legitimate chance of happening.