While four NBA All-Stars have now been moved over the past 36 hours, the list of available stars the Golden State Warriors could acquire is quickly dwindling as pessimism grows among the fanbase.
Zach LaVine is officially off the table after being dealt to the Sacramento Kings in a 3-team trade that sent De'Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs, while Jimmy Butler has told the Warriors he won't sign an extension with the franchise during the offseason, subsequently ending talks between Golden State and the Miami Heat according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst.
It continues to be a case of 'what if' for the Warriors, with NBA insider Marc Stein reporting on Sunday that they had serious discussions about trading for both LaVine and fellow 2x All-Star Nikola Vucevic before now pivoting to other potential moves.
The Warriors appear willing to move Andrew Wiggins
Despite having a strong bounce-back season to try and remove himself from trade discussions, Stein's report would suggest Golden State are willing to move on from 2022 All-Star Andrew Wiggins prior to this week's deadline.
LaVine and Vucevic combine to make over $60 million this season, meaning one significant salary would have to have been required to land both in a trade. If we assume that Draymond Green wasn't going to be that player, it then appears the Warriors were having conversations about trading Wiggins and up to five or six other players in order to match salaries.
Why talks of a LaVine AND Vucevic trade broke down remains to be seen, but there now remains the possibility that Wiggins is in the final few days of his time as a Warrior. The same can be said for almost everyone on the roster, with almost all of Dennis Schroder, Gary Payton II, Kevon Looney, Kyle Anderson and Buddy Hield likely to have been needed had Golden State traded for both Bulls players.
While it also remains to be seen where the relationship stands between the Warriors and Bulls after these failed trade talks, there remains the possibility of Golden State acquiring Vucevic alone before the deadline. The 34-year-old big man had a 20-point triple-double for Chicago on Sunday, but any trade for Vucevic is highly unlikely to include Wiggins.
Still, perhaps the Warriors could have something bigger in the works over the coming days that includes Wiggins moving on despite averaging 17.4 points on over 38% 3-point shooting so far this season.