The Golden State Warriors‘ pursuit of a stretch center got a major update on Monday, January 27.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Warriors have been unwilling to meet the Chicago Bulls‘ asking price for two-time All-Star center Nikola Vučević.
“The Bulls continue to seek a first-round pick in exchange for former All-Star center Nikola Vučević, league sources say,” Stein wrote in his “The Stein Line newsletter on Substack. “The Warriors have been at the front of the line in terms of potential Vučević suitors for weeks but, mired in a 10-20 funk that had them stuck at a lowly No. 11 in the West entering Monday’s play, have to date been unwilling to surrender more than second-round draft capital.”
The Warriors have three first-round picks available to trade.
Quentin Post or Nikola Vučević?
Over their last four games, the Warriors have deployed 7-foot rookie Quinten Post as their stretch center in their effort to carve more space for Stephen Curry to operate.
“Playing with a space big is a luxury,” Kerr told reporters after he played Post 15 minutes during their 123-117 loss to the Sacramento Kings on January 22. “It’s something that gives us a different look. Quinten is a really good player. You can see it. He’s tough. He knows how to play.”
However, the experiment with Post, the 52nd overall pick of the last NBA draft, has only yielded one win during that stretch when he posted a career-high 20 points on 5-of-10 3-point shooting. Interestingly, it came against Vučević and the Bulls.
Vučević had a disappointing outing against the Warriors, scoring just nine points on 4-of-9 shooting and six rebounds while also netting minus-15 on the plus-minus column in the Bulls’ 131-106 loss on January 23.
But it appeared it was just an aberration as Vučević bounced back with 22 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three blocks in the Bulls’ next game. He had 29 straight double-digit scoring games before his nine-point outing against the Warriors.
For the season, Vučević is averaging 20.1 points on 55.5% field goal shooting and 40.6% from the 3-point line, both career-best, on top of 10.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists and nearly a steal per game. He would easily become the Warriors’ second-best scorer, top rebounder and top-three 3-point shooter with those numbers.
The Cost of Potential Nikola Vučević Trade
Vučević is a far better and more consistent player than Post right now, but the Warriors are balking at the cost of acquiring the Bulls floor-spacing center.
Giving up a first-round draft capital for a player who wouldn’t move the needle for them this season is something they do not want to do.
On top of the draft capital the Bulls are seeking, the Warriors will also have to give up multiple players to match Vučević’s $20 million salary.
One iteration that could work will include the expiring salaries of Kevon Looney ($ million), Gary Payton II ($9.1 million and Lindy Waters III ($2.2 million) and they would be hard-capped at first apron after the trade. The Warriors will also have to sign two free-agent players to get up to the minimum roster of 14 standard contracts.
But if the Bulls lower their price as the trade deadline nears, the Warriors will likely take a flier on Vučević.
If he doesn’t pan out, he will have a big expiring salary ($21.5 million) next season which the Warriors can later flip or aggregate in a package for a ceiling-raising star like Giannis Antetokounmpo if one becomes available.
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Warriors’ Trade Pursuit of 2-Time All-Star Gets Major Update