Warriors Could Land Raptors All-Star in Deadline Deal: Insider

Pascal Siakam

Getty Pascal Siakam celebrates a basket in a game against the Brooklyn Nets.

The Golden State Warriors are reportedly resistant to dealing what could be a high draft pick, but one insider has come up with a scenario in which the team would part with the top asset in exchange for an All-Star big man.

With the NBA’s trade deadline now less than a week away, the speculation surrounding the Warriors continues to grow. The team has given indications that there will not be any moves to help a short-term playoff push and that two of the most coveted assets are off-limits, but there could be one deal too good to turn down.

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Warriors Land Raptors Big Man

In a recent podcast, Bill Simmons proposed a deal where the Warriors would trade Andrew Wiggins and the 2021 top-three protected draft pick that came from the Minnesota Timberwolves as part of last year’s D’Angelo Russell trade to the Raptors in exchange for Pascal Siakam. While Simmons didn’t believe either team would actually endorse the deal, he said that the Minnesota pick could end up being a valuable piece of trade bait.

“I actually think both teams say no. But there would definitely be three-hour meetings on both sides,” Simmons said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “That Minnesota pick — it’s such a fascinating trade asset because it could end up being awesome. Seems like it’s gonna be awesome.”

Siakam, who lost a stretch of games to the league’s health and safety protocols, is averaging 19.8 points per game.

 

As Drew Shiller of NBC Sports Bay Area noted on Twitter, there could be an added incentive to trade the pick this year. The Timberwolves currently have the NBA’s worst record, and if they were to end the season in last place then the Warriors would have a 60 percent chance of getting either the No. 4 or No. 5 pick. If Golden State held onto the pick, there is a chance it doesn’t convey this year and next year’s pick could end up lower and a less valuable asset if Minnesota were to improve.


Warriors Likely To Hold Onto Pick

With the trade deadline growing ever closer, there appears to be a decreasing likelihood that the Warriors would part with the Minnesota pick. The San Francisco Chronicle’s Connor Letourneau wrote that Golden State is keeping the long-term in mind, looking to jump back into title contention with the expected return of Klay Thompson next season.

That likely means hanging onto both the top draft pick and rookie big man James Wiseman — another expected target for trade partners — unless they received a generational talent in return.

“Golden State knows that any discussion for an All-Star-caliber player will begin with the other team asking for one or both of the franchise’s two biggest assets outside of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green: the top-three-protected 2021 pick from Minnesota and rookie center James Wiseman. But according to a team source, the Warriors ‘almost definitely’ wouldn’t surrender that selection or Wiseman unless they got back someone such as the Sixers’ Joel Embiid or the Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo.”

Warriors general manager Bob Myers has made it clear that the team would not want to give up too much in any trade, telling Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area that any move would need to have an impact beyond this season.

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