Post#1568 » by Bensational » Wed Sep 30, 2020 11:52 pm
Let's look at it from Golden State's perspective.
Curry, 32. Klay 30. Draymond, 30. Wiggins, 25. Looney, 24. Paschall, 24.
Those are the main names that will likely carry over if not traded. Their contending window is now, so they'll likely add some more veterans to that mix through trade and free agency.
Draft wise - they don't have a great need for many of the players 'ranked' near the top 2. Edwards doesn't seem a good fit play wise or attitude wise. Wiseman would be a #2 pick used on a role player, and they'd likely prefer a veteran in the middle when they do use one. Ball *could* be interesting, if he were serious about playing and learning to win from two of the greatest. But he doesn't project to help them in the short term.
Haliburton has the skills to probably slip straight in and find a role with the Warriors. They could groom him to be a future Iggy/Livingston kind of player for them. But is that the best use of a #2 pick?
They could trade down and get someone like Nesmith, Vassel, even Terry, all of which could likely step into their system day 1 and project to be nice future depth pieces of comparable impact to any of the players in the top 4. By trading down they can save money on the contract size ($8M vs $2M), net a comparable contribute-now player with a potentially lower ceiling, and recoup assets for the trade gap.
What do they want to do with Wiggins? Despite what others say, he's not the net negative he's painted to be, though he is certainly paid a premium for what he does and will do for the Warriors. They likely want to recoup some money on that deal and alleviate some of their tax burdens. Gordon for Wiggins improves a positional need for them, and potentially saves them $30M over the next two seasons.
So let's say we do a deal of Gordon + Birch #15 for Wiggins + #2. (We'd have to include Birch to make it work financially).
That move saves the Warriors $8M in salary difference between Wiggins and Gordon/Birch, plus roughly $6M in salary difference between #2 and #15. $14M saved all up, they get a better fitting piece in Gordon, they still add youth. It really feels like a no brainer for them.
Now the question becomes - why would we do it?
I'm not prepared to bank the team's future on Edwards, Ball, Wiseman, Hayes or Haliburton. I don't trust Edwards or Ball becoming mature enough. I don't trust Hayes only having one working hand. Haliburton looks very solid, but not star worthy, and not worth the extra cost.
Vuc/Bamba
Aminu/Okeke/(Isaac)
Wiggins/Ross
Fournier/(Edwards/Ball/Hayes/Haliburton)
Fultz/DJ
Isaac+15 for 2? 
