Golden State Warriors: 5 Potential Low-Cost Trade Targets

2. Jusuf Nurkic

Nikola Jokic‘s emergence has plopped backup center Jusuf Nurkic on the trade block, and where there’s a potential for a coup, the defending champs should at least be putting out feelers.

The Denver Nuggets may be reluctant to trade the Bosnian Bear to a team they could wind up facing in the first round of the playoffs, but Nurkic is wasting away on the borders of Michael Malone’s rotation and the Dubs could offer a few decent pieces in return.

The centerpiece would obviously be a 2019 first round draft pick, and from there, they could include several different players to appease the Nuggets. Could a JaVale McGee reunion be in the works?

The Warriors would be getting better long-term by acquiring the 22-year-old Nurkic, who still has another year left on his rookie contract, but they’d miss McGee’s rim protection and threat as a rim-runner on the offensive end during this year’s title run.

Another alternative that might make sense would be James Michael McAdoo (addressing the team’s depth at the 4), Ian Clark (since Emmanuel Mudiay has been demoted to bench duty and Jameer Nelson is getting up there in age) and the 2019 pick.

If the Nuggets aren’t interested in JMM, maybe they’d be willing to take a chance on Damian Jones as their new backup for Jokic, along with Clark for point guard insurance and the future first-rounder.

Or, if the Nuggets really want some depth in the frontcourt to pave the way for a potential trade involving Wilson Chandler (or Kenneth Faried or Danilo Gallinari), another possible deal could be Jones, JMM and the first round pick.

Giving up Clark would hurt for Golden State’s guard depth in the former scenario, but they’d be getting back a talented and motivated force in the middle. Though his numbers have dipped to 8.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, he’s only playing 18.1 minutes a night.

Put him on a smart team like Golden State that would know how to use him and he could be a capable backup big on a championship-caliber team — though they’d be hard-pressed to find enough room to sign him once his rookie contract expires in 2018.

However, the Nuggets may get better offers for Nurkic on the open market, and again, the Warriors may prefer to just ride out the trade deadline and the rest of the season with what they’ve got, especially since Nurkic isn’t much of a rim protector.