The Golden State Warriors need to maintain tempered expectations this offseason.
Especially if they're able to sort out a cheaper contract for Draymond Green, they'll have significantly more financial flexibility than they've had in recent offseasons. But the brutal reality is that, even if Green takes a pay-cut to $18 million annually, Golden State will still have roughly $138 million invested in their trio of Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green next season.
Butler will not play until at least mid-season after he suffered a season-ending ACL tear in January.
In a sense, their best move might be to use that cap space to fill the roster with adequate, complementary depth pieces. They can then try to survive until Butler returns. But if they want to push the envelope this offseason, there's always the option of trading for a star.
In Bleacher Report's list of three potential trade targets for every team this offseason, the Warriors are connected to a controversial target— Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers. As enticing as such a trade might be, however, Golden State's financial constrictions may have already blocked any path to pulling it off.
Donovan Mitchell may be an enticing (if controversial) fit, but the math simply won't work
Here's what Dan Favale, the author of Bleacher Report's list, had to say about a potential deal for Mitchell:
"'What about the defense?!' will be a common refrain when looking at a prospective Steph-Spida backcourt. That is fair. And also immaterial. The offense will be dynamite, and Golden State may have the juice to cover up a ton of deficiencies if it keeps Green, Kristaps Porziņģis (unrestricted) and De'Anthony Melton (unrestricted) and nails a marginal signing or two." Dan Favale, Bleacher Report
Favale's analysis here is, for the most part, correct. If the Cavaliers fall short in the Eastern Conference Finals (they're current down 0-2 to the New York Knicks), there will be major changes coming in Cleveland. Their trade for James Harden at the deadline necessitated a championship-or-bust mindset. Any number of players, including Mitchell, could be on their way out the Cavaliers don't pull it off this year.
The fit with Curry would also be enticing, even if it's not who most Warriors fans would like to see paired with their star from a roster-construction perspective.
The problem remains, though, that the Warriors moved their two most aggregatable salaries in their trade for Porzingis— Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield. Outside of Curry, Green, and Butler, they currently have no player on the roster for next season making more than $13 million. Even if they want to move Porzingis in a sign-and-trade, there's little chance he'll command any more than a $15 million 'prove-it' deal.
Mitchell's salary for 2026-27 will be $50 million. He'll then have a player option for 2027-28.
The Warriors' only true path to a trade for that caliber of a star, therefore, is Butler's expiring contract. That's something that could work for a team like the Los Angeles Clippers, who are in position to shed salary and enter a quasi-rebuilding phase. For a team like Cleveland, though, who would be undergoing just a partial roster teardown given their financial commitments, taking on the Butler contract doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
Any talks on a Mitchell trade, therefore, could be dead in the water before they've even truly begun.
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