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The Golden State Warriors could be looking to swing a big deadline deal to help this year and beyond, but it may mean parting ways with two starters, an insider says.
A number of reports have pegged the Warriors as one of the teams most interested in Houston Rockets swingman Victor Oladipo, and Brad Botkin of CBS Sports broke down the way Golden State could pull off the deal without giving up their most highly coveted assets.
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Oladipo a Potential Long-Term Target
Botkin suggested that a trade for Oladipo may make the most sense for the Warriors at the upcoming deadline.
He and other insiders have suggested that Golden State does not want to part with rookie center James Wiseman or the first-round draft pick coming from the Minnesota Timberwolves as part of last year’s D’Angelo Russell trade — both assets that trade partners would likely want. There could be a way to trade for Oladipo while still holding onto both Wiseman and the pick, Botkin suggested, though it would mean giving up two current starters.
He speculated that Kelly Oubre and Andrew Wiggins could be the ones to go. With Oubre likely gone in the upcoming offseason anyway, it would give the Warriors the remainder of the year to evaluate Oladipo and determine if it’s worth using Bird rights to re-sign him.
It may be a gamble, he suggested, but one that could vault the Warriors back into title contention if it works out.
“If Oladipo returns to his All-Star form, which would seem a reasonable possibility playing in that Golden State system next to Stephen Curry, then the Warriors have a legit Big 4 in Curry, Thompson, Oladipo and Draymond Green, with the latter three bringing the type of defensive prowess that served as the backbone of Golden State’s championships,” he wrote.
Warriors May Hold at Deadline
Other insiders believe the Warriors could pass on Oladipo at the deadline. Drew Shiller of NBC Sports Bay Area noted that the Rockets swingman would likely be too costly to be part of their long-term plans. He is likely to snag a four-year contract worth more than $100 million, Shiller wrote, which would be too rich for Golden State’s blood.
“Do you really see the Warriors adding that sort of financial commitment to their books?” he wrote. “And on that note, Oladipo’s $21 million salary would increase this year’s luxury tax bill, which understandably seems like something that won’t be happening.”
He added that Bob Myers, the Warriors president of basketball operations, said last week that the team is not going to give up too much just for a playoff push this year.
“I think we would hope that anything that we would decide to do had legs beyond this year or had advantages beyond the rest of this season,” Myers said.
The Warriors went into the All-Star break in ninth place in the Western Conference and start the second half with a challenging stretch that includes three of the conference’s top four teams — Los Angeles Clippers, Utah Jazz, and Los Angeles Lakers.
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