Dunleavy and Warriors willing to trade young players for the right player Originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO – Although the Warriors have long resisted the idea of offering Jonathan Kuminga in a trade, that stance lost some of its power Thursday afternoon.
Kuminga and other members of Golden State’s young core (Trayce Jackson-Davis, Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski) may not be on the market, but general manager Mike Dunleavy made it clear that none of them are untouchable.
That any or all of them could be moved by the right return.
“It would have to be something that we felt would unequivocally change the trajectory of our franchise,” Dunleavy said.
Like, say, adding a nine-time NBA All-Star. Or someone voted six times to the All-NBA team. Or, maybe, a four-time member of the All-Defensive team.
Paul George is all those things In one. And the Warriors, according to league sources, are closely monitoring George’s status with the Los Angeles Clippers. He can decline his $48.8 million player option for next season and become an unrestricted free agent.
And the Clippers, according to president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank, are preparing for that possibility.
“We’ve had ongoing conversations with Paul and Aaron Mintz, his agent,” Frank told reporters Thursday afternoon in Los Angeles. “We love Paul. We really want to keep Paul.”
“But we also very much understand and respect the fact that this is a business. And players have a limited amount of time to be able to not only win the most money but also to be able to do whatever they want.”
George, who turned 34 last month, would be the most attractive available UFA on the market. LeBron James isn’t leaving the Los Angeles Lakers, not with the addition of his son, Bronny. Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey is a restricted free agent. James Harden is simply less attractive than George.
“We hope Paul’s decision is to stay here,” Frank said. “It has been incredible. He has been an All-Star three of the last five years. He is one of the best two-way players in the league. He is a great person, he has a great family. We hope he is here.
“But we also respect the fact that if he chooses not to participate, that is his choice. He has earned it. And we will see how things play out.”
The same will happen with the Warriors. After finishing sixth in the Western Conference in 2023, they fell to 10th place last season. They are looking for great success.
That means adding an established star with the skills to complement and bolster veteran leaders Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, who are both in their 30s.
George, a 6-foot-8, 220-pound wing, is one of the few potentially available Players who fit the profile.
The Warriors don’t have the cap space to sign George as a free agent, so their only avenue to acquire him would be through a sign-and-trade. That can’t happen until the new salary year begins on July 1.
There are other obstacles to such a transaction, all of which can be overcome if all parties are willing.
And it’s conceivable that the Warriors would be willing to sacrifice some of their future to be in position to compete for a championship.
Losing any of the four young men would be painful. But Kuminga would be the toughest. separate, particularly after he He made a noticeable improvement last season.
“We like those guys,” Dunleavy said. “We think they’re going to be really good, so it would have to be something that makes us much better than that.”
Paul George brings enough skill to immediately make the Warriors much better than “good.” Of all the players who could be available, he might be the only one you can say that about.