Proposed Trade Nets Warriors $82 Million All-Star for Chris Paul, Protected First

The Golden State Warriors may not pull anything off before this week’s NBA trade deadline, but there is reason to swing for the fences if they see the right pitch.

Taking on a lot of future money for any player who isn’t a proven entity is a risk the Dubs can’t really afford to take, with Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins both early in $100 million contracts (Green $100 million, Wiggins $109 million), and Steph Curry playing on a deal worth approximately twice that much.

As such, players who can offer Golden State a half-year rental as well as a roster upgrade on a salary compatible with Chris Paul’s deal probably make the most sense as trade targets. There are better fits with the Warriors’ style and needs out there, but Chicago Bulls All-Star DeMar DeRozan makes the correct amount of money and is available, per a February 5 report from Shams Charania of The Athletic.

On Monday, Stephen Noh of The Sporting News authored a trade pitch in which Golden State acquires DeRozan, offering context and justification for the move.

DeRozan has taken a step [back] from his All-Star form of the past two seasons, but he’s still one of the best mid-range shooters in the league and great at drawing free throws. That has helped him average [22.3] points per game this year.

DeRozan’s fit would be a bit awkward. He plays best with the ball in his hands and his isolation scoring would be less useful on a team with such heavy ball movement. But he’s a better passer than he’s given credit for. He also wouldn’t do a ton to solve the team’s defensive issues, but he is averaging career-highs with 1.2 steals and 0.7 blocks per game.

Along with Paul, the Warriors would likely need to send their 2028 first-round pick to Chicago in order to acquire DeRozan, though not before applying either a top-10 or lottery protection.

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DeMar DeRozan Trade Offers Warriors Incomplete Answers, Potential Spark

As noted above, the money in this hypothetical trade works. DeRozan is earning $28.6 million in the final season of a three-year, $81.9 million deal. Paul, meanwhile, is making $30.8 million in 2023-24.

The Warriors need to make some sort of change to light a fire, and DeRozan would walk in as the second best offensive player on the roster given the play of Klay Thompson this season. The fit is still far from perfect, even on offense, as Noe mentioned. However, DeRozan can create his own shot and hit contested mid-range jumpers.

That is one precise element of the evolution that Marcus Thompson of The Athletic noted on Wednesday must happen for Klay Thompson, should the latter hope to rediscover his maximum potential as he transitions into the final stage of his career. Thus, if Klay Thompson must develop that skill set in order to make sense with the Warriors moving forward, then it’s worth it to the team to acquire that skill set in the form of DeRozan on a half-year rental.

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Bulls Should Jump at Chance to Trade DeMar DeRozan to Warriors for Future Pick

On the other side of the equation, the Bulls are going nowhere fast and currently sit at No. 9 in the Eastern Conference with a record of 24-27. Zach LaVine is out for the season, and DeRozan will walk in free agency if the team fails to trade him within the next 24 hours.

Making a deal with the Dubs allows the Bulls to acquire a quality first-round pick while still clearing roughly $30 million in cap space off the books for 2024-25. The feeling around the league is that Chicago is going to try and hold its team together to make a run at a berth in the NBA’s Play-In Tournament, per ESPN’s Tim Bontemps via the February 5 edition of the “Brian Windhorst & the Hoop Collective” podcast.

That course of action appears to make little sense, as Bontemps laid out, and the Bulls have approximately one day  to figure that out/come to grips with the reality of their team. If that happens, or if the feeling around the NBA is incorrect where Chicago and the trade deadline are concerned, then perhaps a DeRozan deal will emerge for the Warriors.

It is also fair to ask whether it makes sense on Golden State’s part to send out a future first-round pick, albeit one that is heavily protected, in order to obtain just a few months of DeRozan. However, if the Dubs don’t get any deal done, they may find themselves dead in the water come playoff time. And that outcome is a disservice not only to the Warriors fanbase, but also to Curry’s legacy of greatness in the Bay Area.

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