Getty Bradley Beal reacts to a play in a game against the Houston Rockets.
The Golden State Warriors are likely looking to make some upgrades this offseason to jump back into title contention with Klay Thompson’s return, but one report speculates that the team could also be parting with one of its most promising young players as part of the retooling.
The question of what to do with center James Wiseman hung over the last season, with the team struggling at times to find a place for him in the rotation and rumors circulating that the team could trade him for a more immediate impact player. An insider is reviving that talk, questioning whether the Warriors might be willing to part with Wiseman in exchange for an All-Star guard.
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Warriors Make Run At Bradley Beal
One of the most persistent rumors over the course of the season had the Warriors making a run at Washington Wizards star Bradley Beal, a move that never came to fruition at the trade deadline but remains a potential option for a team looking to surround Thompson and Steph Curry with talent. Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley speculated that the Warriors may try for Beal this summer, but noted that it would likely be costly.
Buckley proposed that the Warriors land both Beal and the sharp-shooting Davis Bertans in exchange for a package that included Wiseman, wing Andrew Wiggins, Eric Paschall, the 2021 first-round pick that the Warriors have from the Minnesota Timberwolves and a 2026 first-round pick. While the trade would be costly, Buckley wrote that the Warriors can’t afford to waste another year of Curry’s career as they had this season, when an MVP-worthy performance still wasn’t enough to get Golden State into the playoffs. With Beal joining the Splash Brothers, the Bleacher Report writer imagined that Golden State would have a league-best offense.
“If Bradley Beal finally wants out of Washington—or the Wizards decide dealing him is the only path to a successful rebuild—Golden State should start the bidding,” he wrote. “It could end it, too, by putting several blue-chip assets on the table, and, in this exchange, also relieving the Wizards of the $49 million Davis Bertans will make over the next three seasons.”
Warriors May Have Other Plans
It is not clear just how willing the Warriors would be to part with last year’s No. 2 overall pick. Though Wiseman struggled at times to fit in with the team’s motion offense and had some difficulty overall in adjusting to life in the NBA, the Warriors remained committed to keeping him in the starting rotation up until his season-ending injury.
It’s no coincidence that the Warriors tended to play their best without James Wiseman.
The Warriors appear committed to Wiseman and his development, and the rookie got a strong endorsement from his coach after his season was cut short by injury.
“He is so promising and so gifted, and we’re devastated for him with this injury,” Kerr said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “It’s such a shame. He’s had such a rough go between missing training camp, and then the wrist injury and now this.”
“But he’s a really promising talent and a great young guy.”
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