Golden State Warriors: 3 players most likely to be traded in 2018-19

The Golden State Warriors tend to avoid the flurry of midseason NBA trade rumors, but these players may not be impervious ahead of the 2019 trade deadline.

More often than not, the Golden State Warriors manage to avoid the onslaught of NBA trade rumors we read about leading up to the annual trade deadline. However, considering the current roster and cap situation, it’s not out of the question for that to change in 2018-19.

Now that’s not to say they’ll need to make trades. With the way the roster is build, the Warriors could probably afford to shed some talent without tarnishing their standing as favorites to win it all this upcoming season. However, there are things we must consider that could force the front office’s hand come Feb. 7.

Right now, the Warriors are in a very costly cap crisis. Set to fall victim to the NBA’s repeater tax, the club could be forking over upwards of $200 million in luxury taxes alone by the 2020-21 campaign. That’s on top of the copious amounts of money they would already be paying their horde of superstars. At some point, the rings simply aren’t worth it anymore.

On top of that, a couple of expiring contracts could force the Warriors to move pieces around. Why let talent walk via free agency when you can trade it for future assets, right?

By now, you should see the picture being painted here. Luckily for the Warriors, they’ve got more than enough star power to keep everything running like a well-oiled machine in the instance of a blockbuster trade. For now, though, let’s just focus on the guys most likely to be dealt between now and early February if a deal is made.