Warriors fill Melton void in 3-team trade pitch involving pair of former guards

The loss of De'Anthony Melton is proving even more problematic for the Golden State Warriors than initially thought, with the franchise having gone 3-4 since the 26-year-old guard suffered a season-ending ACL injury against the Dallas Mavericks earlier in the month.

Lindy Waters III has started every game since Melton's devastating injury, but there's a genuine question on who the Warriors starting two-guard will be come playoff time should they make it.

Warriors reunite with Donte DiVincenzo in 3-team trade pitch

If the Warriors do end up scouring the trade market for a new back court teammate for Stephen Curry, they could certainly do worse than exploring a reunioun with former guard Donte DiVincenzo.

Despite only being traded from the New York Knicks to the Minnesota Timberwolves just prior to the season, Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints reported last week that "DiVincenzo is being viewed as a possible trade candidate."

That speculation has since cooled following another report from Marc Stein, but there's plenty of time between now and the trade deadline, not to mention DiVincenzo was benched from midway through the third-quarter in Tuesday's loss to the Houston Rockets.

DiVincenzo makes sense for Golden State not just because he's accustomed with the organization, but because he's on a very similar salary to Melton. The Timberwolves aren't going to have interest in taking on an injured Melton, so let's explore a 3-team trade that could benefit all involved.

Golden State Warriors Receive: Donte DiVincenzo

Minnesota Timberwolves Receive: Chris Paul, 2026 Second-Round Pick (ATL)

San Antonio Spurs Receive: De'Anthony Melton, Top 10 Protected 2025 First-Round Pick (GSW)

In a normal scenario giving up Melton and two picks for DiVincenzo wouldn't be worth it -- in fact you could argue that Golden State currently have the better player. However, Melton's injured and therefore this isn't a normal scenario, meaning the Warriors will have to give up assets to get anything of value in return.

DiVincenzo may be having a poor start to his tenure in Minnesota, but he did make the third most threes in the league last season after drilling near 40% of his triples with the Warriors the year before. The 27-year-old would be better than any of Golden State's current options and is on an incredibly team friendly contract -- both under the assumption that he returns to somewhere near his best.

Mike Conley's recent injury has allowed for the emergence of Rob Dillingham, yet it remains to be seen whether the rookie guard will develop enough to be considered a viable rotation piece come playoff time.

Given that and the fact there's no certainty of a 37-year-old Conley being fit and firing by the playoffs, the Timberwolves may want to solidify their questionable point guard depth. Paul is still defying age to a degree, with the 39-year-old putting up 10.6 points and 8.2 assists on 37.1% 3-point shooting with the San Antonio Spurs. Minnesota also shaves some money off their luxury tax bill as a second apron team, but it's unlikely they agree to this deal unless DiVincenzo's really discontent and wants out of his new home.

Speaking of the Spurs, they're probably not going to have interest in trading Paul unless they're out of the playoff picture by the deadline. His leadership and experience has been incredibly valuable to the franchise and may be worth more than obtaining a top 10 protected first-round pick, yet that seems like good value if they do entertain trading the 12x All-Star.