The Golden State Warriors are interested in nine-time NBA All-Star swingman Paul George amid the Klay Thompson drama. But pulling it off will be complicated, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.
“I’m pretty sure that the Warriors are as interested in George as the Knicks — maybe more. Can Golden State assemble the likely multi-team trade that would be needed to win the PG-13 Sweepstakes? Stay tuned. The Warriors, as usual, are aggressively exploring trade options … with the Chris Paul contract situation we’ve been writing about for a month at the center of those efforts,” Stein wrote in his Substack newsletter on June 24.
George and the Clippers are at a standstill with only less than a week before free agency. The sticking point in the negotiation is the Clippers’ reluctance to offer George more than Kawhi Leonard’s three-year, $152.4 million extension he signed in January.
“There is a growing feeling leaguewide that the 34-year-old picking up his $48.8 million player option for next season to force the Clippers to trade him is an increasingly realistic scenario after months of fruitless contract extension negotiations between the parties,” Stein wrote.
While Paul is being linked to the two Los Angeles teams, it is unlikely the Clippers would take Paul for $30 million in a potential George trade if they can have him at a discounted rate if the Warriors waive him.
Aside from Paul, Andrew Wiggins’ $26 million salary is their other ballast in a potential George trade. They also have two available first-round picks to include in a major trade such as this.
Warriors GM Says Trade Is Not a ‘Must’
Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. said “a lot of conversations are going on” heading into the NBA Draft and Free agency but tempered fans’ expectations.
“I don’t want to get ahead of it and just say there’s gonna be some big move we are gonna do,” Dunleavy said during his pre-NBA Draft presser, per The Athletic’s Anthony Slater. “Could be. If it’s there, great. But it’s not something that must happen.”
Dunleavy does not believe that a star trade is the best way to improve their play-in finish.
“I’m of the belief internal development is [the best way to improve]. I think our younger players have a really big chance to grow and get better. [Brandin Podziemski, Jonathan Kuminga, Trayce Jackson-Davis and Moses Moody]. Even the guys we’ve had here for a while, they can get better. That’s got to be the main thing,” Dunleavy said.
Mike Dunleavy on the Warriors in the trade market
“I don’t want to get ahead of it and just say there’s gonna be some big move we are gonna do. Could be. If it’s there, great. But it’s not something that must happen.”
Klay Thompson Ready to Move On?
Five-time NBA All-Star Klay Thompson appears ready to move on.
Slater reported on June 22 that the Warriors that Thompson has no offer on the table from the Warriors as they are betting on him receiving only short-term deals in the open market which will lead him back to them.
However, Slater, warned that Thompson would leave regardless of the Warriors’ offer.
“Even if the Warriors eventually approach Thompson with a competitive offer, matching or exceeding the money and years, it has become increasingly conceivable, according to league sources, that Thompson will decide to leave regardless, searching for a fresh start in a different environment, detached from some of the built-up friction of the previous couple seasons,” Slater wrote on June 22.
