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Warriors Blockbuster Trade Proposal Lands 22-PPG Former All-Star

Getty Head Coach Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors speaks with Stephen Curry #30 against the Denver Nuggets.

Golden State Warriors stars Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and coach Steve Kerr made it abundantly clear that they are against a desperate trade that will mortgage the team’s future.

Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz wondered “What if a 27-year-old, former All-Star forward who’s averaging over 22 points per game this season could be had at a reasonable price?”

Swartz has suggested a blockbuster four-team trade that could see the Warriors taking a flier on New Orleans Pelicans’ disgruntled forward Brandon Ingram.

Golden State Warriors Receive: Brandon Ingram (from Pelicans)

San Antonio Spurs Receive: Zach LaVine (from Bulls)

New Orleans Pelicans Receive: Keldon Johnson (from Spurs), Zach Collins (from Spurs)

Chicago Bulls Receive: Dennis Schröder (from Warriors), Kyle Anderson (from Warriors), Kevon Looney (from Warriors), Gary Payton II (from Warriors), 2025 second-round pick (from Spurs), 2025 second-round pick (Chicago Bulls via Spurs)

It should be noted that this deal can only be done by February 5 when Schröder will be eligible to be traded, just one day before the February 6 trade deadline.

Swartz argued that breaking Ingram into two rotation players in Johnson and Collins “may be the best that New Orleans can get.”

For the Spurs, LaVine could ease the scoring burden on Victor Wembanyama’s shoulders and provide the necessary spacing with his career-high 45.1% 3-point shooting this season.

For the Bulls, this is their chance to offload LaVine’s enormous contract and pick up some assets.


Brandon Ingram as Secondary Star or Place Holder

For the Warriors, “this a chance for the Warriors to nab a potential star without having to give up Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski or any other prospect or draft pick,” according to Swartz.

Ingram could easily slot in as the Warriors’ second-best player behind Curry. The former No. 2 pick is currently sidelined with an ankle injury. But when he was healthy, he was producing All-Star numbers: 22.2 points on 37.4% 3-point shooting, 5.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists.

The Pelicans have been shopping him around as they are not keen on paying Ingram, who is seeking $50 million per season in a contract extension, per ESPN’s Shams Charania. That is the main reason why the Pelicans are struggling to find a trade partner.

While it’s debatable whether that’s a fair price to pay for a secondary star who doesn’t have a successful playoff resume, the Warriors should take a flier on him and if he doesn’t fit, they can flip him later as a salary ballast in trade for a superstar like Giannis Antetokoumpo if he becomes available next summer or next trade deadline.

While it can be argued that the Warriors should be better off trading for six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler than Ingram, it’s a riskier play since it will cost the Warriors more and it will be harder to pivot off Butler and and flip him because of his age.


Warriors Saving Draft Capital For Giannis Antetokounmpo

The Warriors are not interested in Butler because they are saving their draft capital for a franchise-altering superstar like Antetokoumpo, ESPN’s Warriors insider Ohm Youngmisuk suggested.

“I don’t think there’s interest in Butler,” Youngmisuk said on “The Hoop Collective” podcast. “But if they were to do that, you can’t take a swing then if things go bad in Milwaukee with Giannis this summer. And that is why you have to hold on to your assets to make a run at a guy like that if he becomes available.

“Because I think Golden State is uniquely positioned for someone like Giannis because of Steph’s friendship with Giannis and Giannis having kind of like hinted in the past that the Bay might be intriguing to him with the Warriors. You got to then hold on to your assets for that.”

Curry and Antetokounmpo are under the same agency, Octagon Sports, which could also play a part in a potential trade should the Greek Freak seek relocation.

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