1 dream, 1 nightmare, and 1 realistic trade target for the Warriors
Nightmare trade target: Zach LaVine
The Bulls rebuild has officially commenced. After sign-and-trading DeMar DeRozan to the Sacramento Kings and trading Alex Caruso for Josh Giddey, Chicago appears to have finally reset its franchise for the future. However, the team has more work to do to embrace a rebuild in 2024 and beyond fully. The team drafted G League Ignite's Matas Buzelis in the lottery but failed to trade Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic after an entire offseason of shopping them.
Factoring in LaVine's lack of durability (25 games) and contract (3 years, $138 million including a player option) have made him a negative trade asset for most organizations. LaVine's biggest trade suitor, the Sacramento Kings, chose to pursue DeMar DeRozan on a more team-friendly contract.
Other win-now teams (Lakers, Warriors, and Heat among others) have expressed interest in LaVine, however, a trade is difficult with LaVine's salary. For the Warriors, similar concerns arise with LaVine.
While Golden State could certainly match salary to get LaVine, they would be forced to trade one of Andrew Wiggins or Draymond to feasibly get a deal done.
Even then, the Warriors would have to trade three players for one, significantly diminishing their depth, which made them so dominant for so long. A Lakers or Clippers style 'Big 3' has proven to be unsuccessful for those franchises, and there's no reason to believe it would work for Golden State as currently constructed.
Moving Wiggins or Green for a defensive liability and constantly injured player could harm Golden State's future success. With that in mind, a trade for LaVine makes little sense for the Warriors, and acquiring the former All-Star would be a sign of 'damage control' from losing Thompson in free agency. Although LaVine is a 'last hope' for the Warriors to acquire a high-level player, he's not their only option. Another option could be trading for a player with a higher upside on an expiring contract.