The Golden State Warriors could renew interest in Karl-Anthony Towns after news of his stalled contract negotiations with the New York Knicks, but any mid-season trade for the All-Star big man would almost assuredly have to include his former teammate in Jimmy Butler.
That kind of move, assuming the Warriors could also appease the Knicks with draft capital or in a multi-team trade, has to be made all the more tempting by Yaxel Lendeborg's early impact and the fact the 11th overall pick has already won a starting role entering the season.
Yaxel Lendeborg could tempt Warriors into Jimmy Butler-Karl-Anthony Towns trade
Lendeborg is already creating a potentially good problem to have for Golden State when Butler returns. Who does Steve Kerr start and will he have to go to a three forward combination of Butler, Lendeborg and Draymond Green?
In an ideal world, the Warriors would still have a legitimate center and they don't come much better than Towns who averages nearly 23 points and over 11 rebounds for his career, along with helping New York to their long-awaited championship earlier this year.
The Warriors might prefer to move Green and have a dangerous and versatile frontcourt with Butler, Lendeborg and Towns. The issue is that a trade package featuring Green and Kristaps Porzingis still falls $10 million short of Towns' $57.1 million salary, and such a deal is nigh on impossible for two teams above the first tax apron. Then you have the factor of reuniting Butler and Towns on the same team which may not be ideal given their history.
But if Golden State get to the mid-season deadline and there's complete evidence Lendeborg is at the very least a starting calibre forward, and even potentially a future star, a Butler-for-Towns trade surely becomes interesting in order for the team to solve its center situation.
Warriors will need Yaxel Lendeborg to do a Jimmy Butler impression
The good news for the Warriors, in an otherwise disappointing situation with Butler's injury, is that they're going to get that evidence either way on whether Lendeborg can be a Butler replacement of sorts. No one's suggesting he'll have the impact Butler provided Golden State prior to his injury, but perhaps Lendeborg is good enough to warrant a genuine Butler-for-Towns discussion.
With Butler still sidelined by his torn ACL, there's a genuine chance that the rookie is the team's second leading scorer behind Stephen Curry. Kerr and the coaching staff have been imploring Lendeborg to be more aggressive, and he was just that in going for a team-high 17 points against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.
A Butler-for-Towns trade might intrigue the Warriors regardless, but even more so if Lendeborg delivers on the promise he's already shown through summer league and his first two preseason games.
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