Golden State Warriors continue to search for a win-now talent
The Golden State Warriors have been riddled by injuries over the last couple of seasons, but with Klay Thompson set to return and Stephen Curry proving that he can still be the league MVP, the Warriors are “all-in” on the idea of pursuing another championship. As a result, the Warriors are willing to listen to trade offers for not just the No. 14 pick in this year’s draft, but the No. 7 pick as well, a source has told NBA Analysis Network.
“Golden State wants to add a player that can help them win now and as a result, they are willing to talk about trades involving both first-round picks in the lottery, as well as Andrew Wiggins and James Wiseman. They do not have any intent of trading either of these two guys right away, but are willing to hear out offers and see what they can get.”
The biggest name that has come up in regards to the Golden State Warriors over the last week has been Bradley Beal and he continues to be a talking point for teams league-wide. While he has not formally asked the Washington Wizards for a trade and remains committed to them right now, Beal trade rumors have been going on for years now because of the lack of productivity within this Wizards organization.
Pascal Siakam, Ben Simmons and even Damian Lillard have also been discussed as possible targets for the Warriors, but realistically, the scenarios in which the Warriors could get these three guys individually seems pretty irrational. The Raptors really do not want to trade Siakam unless they can get an “irresitable” offer, one source tells NBA Analysis Network, and the same goes for Lillard in Portland.
Ben Simmons is still available in trade talks and the Philadelphia 76ers are both receiving and offering deals for the young All-Star, but according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Warriors are “no longer interested” in Ben Simmons.
READ MORE: NBA Draft Rumors: 3 trade scenarios for Warriors involving No. 7 and No. 14 picks
The likely scenario in which the Warriors could possibly add Bradley Beal would be to include both the No. 7 and No. 14 picks in this year’s draft, as well as Andrew Wiggins and James Wiseman in a bundle to go to Washington, but the Wizards may not view this deal as a ton of value compared to what players like Anthony Davis and James Harden have been traded for in the past.
With the draft being on Thursday night, Bradley Beal really does need to make a decision rather quickly because in any trade scenario for him, the Wizards will be getting a chunk of draft assets back that will most likely correlate to Thursday’s draft.
A source close to the Washington Wizards has told NBA Analysis Network that the organization does view both Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal as part of their core heading into the 2021-22 season and this mindset has not changed since the 2020-21 season ended for them.
READ MORE: NBA Draft Rumors: 3 trade scenarios for Warriors involving No. 7 and No. 14 picks
Washington is committed to trying to find more ways to add talent around their two superstars, but this whole situation is really up to Beal and if he truly does want out of Washington.
Other teams in the Celtics and Lakers have also shown interest in trading for Bradley Beal, but the Celtics are unlikely to offer up Jaylen Brown and the Lakers really do not have many assets to trade away unless they included Schroder in a sign-and-trade for Beal, which seems unrealistic on Washington’s end of things.
Beal is up for a super-max contract extension in Washington next season and has always looked for reasons to remain in Washington, so based on how things are trending right now and the draft being on Thursday, it seems likely that Bradley Beal hangs around in Washington for at least one more season to try and build something with the Wizards.
READ MORE: NBA Draft Rumors: 3 trade scenarios for Warriors involving No. 7 and No. 14 picks
As for the Warriors, Bradley Beal is really the only player worth trading both of their first-round picks for. Given the timetable they are looking at right now to possibly get a deal done, it seems like the Warriors are heading into the draft with the mindset of drafting players with both the No. 7 and No. 14 picks, but there is always the possibility that a team calls them up while the draft is going on to try and get a deal done.
Whether or not Golden State is able to pull off a Bradley Beal oriented trade before Thursday’s draft, this is an organization that will still look to be aggressive in free agency and the rest of the offseason to add experienced talent to their roster to try and contend for another championship. Wiggins remains a tradeable asset they have and they could very well look to leverage Kelly Oubre Jr. in sign-and-trade deals as well.
