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The Golden State Warriors have given indications that there will be no blockbuster deals at the upcoming trade deadline, but one team insider believes they should take a long look at one of the most-hyped trade targets.
Golden State’s front office has made it clear that any moves ahead of Thursday’s deadline would be made with the long-term in mind, building toward next season when Klay Thompson is expected to return and the team hopes to jump back into title contention. There would be no mortgaging the future for a push this year, especially as the team is hovering around the edges of the playoff picture in the Western Conference.
Dieter Kurtenbach of the Mercury News believes there is a way that the Warriors can satisfy both the long-term and short-term needs with one big move — landing Lonzo Ball.
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Deal Would Take Creativity
Kurtenbach wrote that the New Orleans Pelicans guard could be a perfect target for the Warriors, helping the team’s playoff push while potentially serving as a fixture in coming years. The insider envisioned Ball as an asset off the bench who could also be part of the team’s game-closing lineup, taking pressure off Thompson by guarding the opposition’s top ball handler. Ball would also give the Warriors more ammunition for a run this year, he added.
Ball is set to become a restricted free agent and could be on the move given that the Pelicans are up against the luxury tax line, but Kurtenbach added that it would take some creativity for Golden State to land him. He noted that it would not be worth it for the Warriors to trade the top-three protected pick from the Minnesota Timberwolves that came through last year’s D’Angelo Russell trade, so they would need to dig a bit deeper.
“Perhaps a future first-round Warriors pick would interest the Pelicans, but there are so many restrictions and caveats attached to those it’s hard to really know what Golden State can sell,” he wrote. “By the time you get to a free-and-clear Warriors pick, it’s too distant to be a worthwhile asset.”
Lonzo on the Block
There has been much speculation about the future for the eldest Ball brother, some of it fueled by his own father. In an appearance on ESPNLA’s “Mazon & Ireland” show, LaVar Ball made it clear that he would like to see his son moved out of New Orleans, saying the team is misusing him.
“Lonzo’s always been a playmaker. Why are you trying to change him into a defensive specialist that stays in the corner and shoots 3s?” Ball said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “And you trying to change Zion [Williamson] and Brandon Ingram — who all through their careers have never been playmakers — now you want to put the ball in their hands.”
The timing of LaVar Ball’s statement also sparked some rumors of a move to Golden State. Mychal Thompson, father of the Warriors’ Klay, was a guest on the ESPNLA program shortly before Ball appeared and said he hoped to see Lonzo playing with his son next season.
There have been a number of other teams connected to Ball before the deadline, though it was not clear if the Pelicans had decided to move him.
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