Getty Head coach Steve Kerr (L) and governor Joe Lacob of the Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors internally discussed trading for Chicago Bulls’ two-time NBA All-Star guard Zach LaVine last season, Jake Fischer reported on The Stein Line.
“Golden State also weighed a LaVine pursuit internally, sources said, but the Warriors do not presently have much interest,” Fischer wrote.
LaVine is having a bounce-back season, averaging 22.0 points on 50.9% field goal shooting and a career-high 42.9% from the 3-point line. The 29-year-old Bulls guard is also averaging 4.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists.
But with three years left on his five-year $215 million contract, teams like the Warriors are having a hard time convincing themselves it makes sense to trade for him.
The Bulls offered LaVine early in the offseason, but according to NBA insider Chris Haynes, the Warriors declined.
“I was told that the Chicago Bulls were trying to get something going with the Golden State Warriors trying to get a Zach Lavine package together,” Haynes reported at the start of the NBA free agency on June 30. “You know what I was told? It could have been Zach Lavine for Chris Paul and Andrew Wiggins.
The Warriors ultimately declined Paul’s $30 million team option and held on to Wiggins, who is also having a redemption season.
Wiggins has recaptured his All-Star form, averaging 17.4 points on 46.3% field goal shooting and 41% on his 3-pointers with 4.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists.
Warriors Offered Multiple Picks for Alex Caruso
Fischer also reported on The Stein Line that the Warriors thought they were getting LaVine’s former teammate Alex Caruso during last season’s trade deadline.
“Golden State believed it nearly had a deal for Caruso before the 2024 deadline buzzer sounded, sources said, which would have delivered multiple first-round picks to Chicago,” Fischer wrote.
Unfortunately for the Warriors, the Bulls stubbornly held on to Caruso.
The undrafted Caruso was ultimately traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the offseason for former first-round pick Josh Giddey.
Currently, the Thunder are on top of the Western Conference with a 15-4 win-loss record. They are allowing the lowest field-goal percentage by an opponent this season, with 42.2% allowed.
Caruso has a big hand on that. Before he was held out by a hip injury, Caruso was the best defender in the NBA in terms of opponent’s field goal shooting.
With Caruso as the primary defender, he’s holding his defensive assignment to only 31.2% from the field.
Caruso would have been the perfect complementary player next to Stephen Curry in the Warriors’ backcourt.
Moses Moody Sounds Off on Little Playing Time
A player whose future with the Warriors is in doubt is Moses Moody, who could be part of a package in their pursuit of a star.
Despite securing a contract extension last summer, Moody has yet to get a major role in the Warriors rotation in his fourth year.
After his seventh double-digit scoring game of the season in the Warriors’ 128-120 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on November 27, Moody was asked about how he sustains his rhythm despite his fluctuating minutes in Steve Kerr’s 12-man rotation.
“That’s not a luxury I’ve had through my career, so, I’ve kind of had to figure out how to play — whatever happens, whatever the opportunity is,” Moody told reporters following their 128-120 loss to the Nets on November 25 “I kind of just deal with whatever it is. I don’t necessarily look for outside things as in playing time, rotation, or whatever it is. When I get the opportunity, I take the shots that I get. I take the driving lanes that I get and just play.”
Moody, the 14th overall pick in 2021, signed a team-friendly three-year, $39 million extension even without a guaranteed major role in Kerr’s rotation.
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