Of all the potential targets for the Golden State Warriors this offseason–and the trade market is expected to be rife with candidates–the general presumption is that the team will seek to go big if they’re able to find the right player and situation to make a deal. Golden State has Stephen Curry on hand, of course, and has not had much trouble filling in its backcourt in recent years, whether it’s De’Anthony Melton or Brandin Podziemski or even Pat Spencer. But up front, with uncertainty about Kristaps Porzingis (his health and his free agency) and continuing decline of Draymond Green, there’s a constant need for help.
And so it’s potential new power forward hybrids like Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard who get the bulk of the attention on the trade market.
But maybe the way for the Warriors to get back into contention is to lean into their strength and, rather than scour for big guys, find a way to land another guard who can take pressure off Curry, and hope the team can scrounge enough size out of what they’ve got to contend. With that in mind, the Warriors could be a surprise suitor for a possible trade-market star: Nuggets guard Jamal Murray.
Nuggets Could Seek to Trade Jamal Murray
Now, there are plenty of hurdles before a Murray trade to the Warriors (or anyone) can come down. But in looking at the Nuggets’ situation, it is clear that Denver will need to weigh moving him this summer, if the team hopes to have any roster flexibility to retool around Nikola Jokic.
As one NBA exec told Heavy Sports this week, “The guy who has value right now is Murray, and if they move him, they can start making real changes with how that team operates. You can get better role players around Jokic. You can reset, get draft picks. It’s a difficult thing, but that is where your value is, so you have to explore what you can get back.
“The Nuggets are in a no-man’s land and they need a seismic kind of move to get them out.”
Warriors in Position for Attractive Jamal Murray Package
No one is in better position to help the Nuggets make that seismic move than the Warriors. They have the draft picks to put into a deal–they can trade three of them this offseason, including a lottery pick in the upcoming draft–and young talent to put into a package, most notably Podziemski.
They can match salaries, too, by including Jimmy Butler’s contract, as Butler rehabs from an ACL tear. The Warriors could, too, bump up their offer and absorb the contract of Cam Johnson, which the Nuggets would like to move.
The Warriors would be left with a power backcourt, as Murray is coming off his best season as a pro, in which he made an All-Star team, averaged a career-high 25.4 points and shot 48.1% from the field and 43.5% from the 3-point line.
Warriors Wary of Trading Jimmy Butler
Of course, there are drawbacks here. Murray is in the second year of a massive, $208 million contract extension that runs through 2029 and pays him more than $50 million in each of the next three seasons. That’s a lot for a guy who has struggled to stay healthy in recent years.
There’s also the Warriors proviso that should be attached to any potential big trade the team could make. Jimmy Butler and his $56.8 million he is owed next year would have to be part of the package, and that gives the Warriors pause.
Butler tore his ACL in January and is currently rehabbing, with a possible return around November at the earliest. The Warriors are sensitive to the ugly optics of trading a well-liked player such a Butler as he recovers from surgery.
Warriors Could Target Trade for $208 Million Star