Warriors Had Trade Talks for $72 Million Defensive Ace: Insider

Getty Jonathan Kuminga #00 of the Golden State Warriors drives to the net against OG Anunoby #3 and Chris Boucher #25 of the Toronto Raptors.

The Golden State Warriors tried to trade for Toronto Raptors’ All-Defensive wing OG Anunoby, ESPN’s Zach Lowe revealed on his podcast.

“I know the Warriors and the Raptors had talks last year about OG Anunoby,” Lowe said on the December 13 episode of “The Lowe Post” podcast. “Do the Warriors have enough to win what would be a pretty, frothy bidding for the services of OG Anunoby? I don’t know. But that’s that’s a name to look at and you can connect other dots to other places.”

The 26-year-old Anunoby has been constantly mentioned as one of the Raptors’ top trade candidates. He is expected to decline his $19.9 million player option next season to become one of the top unrestricted free agents next summer.

Anunoby is three years younger than his Raptors teammate, Pascal Siakam, who is also linked to the Warriors.

The 6-foot-7 Anunoby was named to the All-NBA Second Defensive Team last season when he led the league in steals with 1.9 per game. This season, he is averaging 15.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.1 steals while shooting 39.4% from deep.

In the wake of Draymond Green’s indefinite suspension, and with their season hanging in the balance, will the Warriors revisit those talks as the February 8 trade deadline approaches?

Warriors’ Competition for OG Anunoby

The Warriors do not have a deep draft capital compared to other potential trade destinations for Anunoby. But they have Jonathan Kuminga, a young prospect whom the Raptors can mold while on a cheap contract.

Their biggest competitor for Anunoby is projected to be the Philadelphia 76ers, who have replenished their draft chest after the James Harden trade. They also have the cap space to re-sign Anunoby if they trade for him or sign him outright in the offseason if the Raptors will stubbornly keep him past the trade deadline.

“Toronto is concerned about potential teams who could give Anunoby a shorter-term max contract due to the weak free agent market, league sources told HoopsHype. As outlined on The HoopsHype Podcast, the Philadelphia 76ers are one of the potential teams who could give Anunoby a max contract this summer. Philadelphia could also try to trade for Anunoby and re-sign him with Bird Rights while keeping Tobias Harris,” Hoopshype’s Michael Scotto wrote on November 29.

Klay Thompson Declined Short-Term Offer

Struggling Klay Thompson wanted the max extension last summer. But the Warriors only offered a short-term deal, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, which he did not take.

“I’m told that the Warriors offered a deal — two years in the range of $48 million in extension — to Klay Thompson before the season and now there’s no deal,” Charania said on the December 13 episode of “Run It Back” on FanDuel TV. “We’re into the season. He’s gonna play it out. They’re gonna play it out and we saw [Tuesday] night Jonathan Kuminga played a lot. Brandin Podziemski played a lot.”

“Could this be, as much as we all want to see the Warriors and their [veterans] get a chance to ride this out to the sunset, we’re seeing two young players start to play more. And I think it’s interesting.”

Now, Thompson’s future at Golden State is in limbo following his struggles to start the season. If his rapid decline continues, there might not be a deal on the table for him in the offseason that would be commensurate to what the Warriors offered him last summer.