Warriors $37.5 Million Wing Dubbed Top Offseason Trade Candidate Over Kuminga

The Golden State Warriors went big-game hunting ahead of last year's mid-season trade deadline, bagging Jimmy Butler from the Miami Heat and placing the forward in Chase Center alongside two-time MVP Stephen Curry. 

Over the next several months, the Warriors are likely to head back into the wilds of the NBA trade market in search of another superstar catch. 

The Butler deal resulted in a run through the first round of the playoffs, which may have gone further had Curry not strained his hamstring in Game 1 of the second round. Golden State eventually fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games and that was that. 

 

Curry and the Warriors front office have both since acknowledged publicly that the team's remaining championship window is likely two years. That spans the exact length of the remaining contracts of Curry, Butler, Draymond Green and head coach Steve Kerr. But whether Golden State has the makeup of a true contender as the roster now stands is a matter of considerable debate. 

Insiders around the league expect the Warriors to be aggressive in the pursuit of a player on the level of Kevin Durant, for whom they tried to deal in February, or Milwaukee Bucks big man Giannis Antetokounmpo who could be on the market this summer or ahead of next year's mid-season deadline. 

Making that kind of deal could require Butler's salary, though it will be complicated regardless of the pieces Golden State might include. Dan Favale of Bleacher Report on Friday, June 21, suggested that wing Moses Moody is the most likely trade chip in the Bay Area this summer, as Jonathan Kuminga's situation makes him a more likely candidate for a sign-and-trade deal early next winter. 

"[Moody's] contract (three years, $37.5 million) is eminently digestible for a three-and-D wing, and if the playoffs are any indication, he still doesn't have the full trust of Warriors head coach Steve Kerr," Favale wrote. "It isn't clear how much standalone value Moody will have if the Dubs shop him. But he's young and cheap enough for teams to envision evolution in a more prominent role, and Golden State has other assets to attach if the right target comes along."