The Golden State Warriors franchise finds itself in a bit of a transitory phase. They recently said goodbye to longtime general manager Bob Myers, while the team's heart and soul, Draymond Green, will be hitting unrestricted free agency. However, with the Warriors already footing an expensive luxury tax bill to surround Stephen Curry with the best team possible, they may have to give up on one crucial member of the team so they could bring back Green without straining the team's finances even further.
Two of the most obvious candidates for a trade are Jordan Poole and Klay Thompson. Poole's rookie max contract extension will be kicking in, while Thompson will be making $43 million next season — and the two didn't necessarily end the Warriors' 2023 NBA playoff run on the highest of notes.
Nonetheless, as Anthony Slater of The Athletic wrote, the Warriors will not just be making a trade for the sake of cutting costs, especially with the new CBA's more punitive measures not kicking in until the 2024-25 season.
“Sources indicate that there is no plan for a salary dump trade this summer that’s purely about cutting the bill,” Slater wrote. “[The timing of the new CBA] gives the Warriors time and an extra layer of flexibility as they figure out how best to remain competitive without handcuffing their future. [Team owner Joe] Lacob’s appetite to win only seems like it has been ignited more by Myers’ departure.”
Article Continues BelowIt's certainly unbecoming of the Warriors to pull off a trade for the sake of it. Even the James Wiseman trade this past February, which was the easiest way for the Dubs to alleviate their luxury tax burden, brought back Gary Payton II, a player that fit their need for defense as well as someone who knew the system, instead of being a pure salary dump.
At the end of the day, Klay Thompson has done so much in a Warriors uniform for him to become a cap casualty. Meanwhile, Jordan Poole's contract isn't the most onerous. After all, he is a young scoring guard who averaged 20+ points who may very well just need a change of scenery after a tumultuous season at the Bay.
Thus, fans must stay tuned for whatever trade trickery the Dubs front office has up its sleeves as they try to flex their financial might once more.