Warriors fans are reacting to the shift in rumors from Lauri Markkanen to Killian Tillie. In the past two seasons, Markkanen has emerged as one of the league’s top finishers and motion scorers. If a trade for Markkanen were to happen, it would be a significant addition for Golden State. However, reports indicate that a deal between the Warriors and the Utah Jazz involving Markkanen was never close. According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, the Warriors have been protective of second-year guard Brandin Podziemski and have shown reluctance to meet the Jazz’s high demands for draft compensation.

The Warriors’ pursuit of George highlights their urgent need to bolster their roster and find a reliable second option to complement Stephen Curry. The failure to secure George leaves Golden State in a challenging position, especially given the struggles of key players like Klay Thompson in recent seasons.

Thompson, once a cornerstone of the Warriors’ dynasty, has had a difficult past two years, culminating in a legendary last game performance where he scored 0 points, shooting 0-10 from the field and 0-6 from beyond the arc. This decline has increased pressure on the Warriors’ front office to make significant roster adjustments.

With Paul George out of reach, the Warriors must explore alternative strategies. Moving Chris Paul and Andrew Wiggins off the roster and finding a true No. 2 option remains a priority. The team’s ability to navigate these challenges will be crucial as they aim to remain competitive in the Western Conference and continue their championship aspirations.

These moves suggest that the Warriors are preparing for significant activity in the trade market. According to Keith Smith of NBA Front Office on YouTube, there will be a window when the salary cap year transitions from 2023-24 to 2024-25. During this period, both the Clippers and the Warriors will be under the second apron, making an opt-in and trade for Clippers star Paul George feasible.

The Warriors are reportedly exploring trade options for Paul George, potentially involving Chris Paul and Klay Thompson. Paul has yet to decide on his option, and Thompson has not received a new contract offer. All signs indicate that a substantial trade could be in the works, with Paul George being a prime target.

The Clippers have a financial incentive to move out of the tier 2 luxury tax bracket, while the Warriors are keen to bolster their roster to remain competitive. This scenario points to a possible deal centered around Paul George and Chris Paul.

Additionally, the Warriors have the technical ability to execute a sign-and-trade involving Klay Thompson to the Orlando Magic. The Magic might consider this move to manage their upcoming contract obligations effectively.

As the offseason progresses, the Warriors’ strategic decisions regarding player options and potential trades will be closely watched, with the possibility of a blockbuster move reshaping their roster for the 2024-25 season.

Here are the details of the suggested Damian Lillard to Golden State trade:

“Would the Warriors get involved? Yes,” wrote Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “They’d make a call and have already internally discussed the idea, as I’m sure most contenders have, considering the rising smoke out of Portland.

“Their theoretical offer would be competitive. If the Blazers decided to trade Lillard, a complete rebuild seems like the wisest path and there aren’t many better rebuilding trade packages dangling out there right now than James Wiseman, the seventh and 14th pick in the upcoming draft, plus more future firsts, attached to Andrew Wiggins as salary match filler.

Now would the Warriors actually trade Wiggins for Lillard? Yes they would in a minute.

Well, that trade has come but it did not include Draymond Green and a total reshaping of the roster. The Warriors are trading for Kelly Oubre Jr. and absorbing his contract into a trade exception slot (Andre Igoudala.)

Here are the details on the trade:

Golden State is nearing a deal with Oklahoma City to acquire Kelly Oubre Jr., sources tells ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 19, 2020

Breaking: Golden State is nearing a deal with Oklahoma City to acquire Kelly Oubre Jr., sources tell @wojespn.

The Warriors will absorb Oubre, and his $14.4M salary into their $17.2M trade exception once the deal is done. pic.twitter.com/txO3GCcuhg

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 19, 2020

The Warriors traded for Andrew Wiggins and drafted James Wiseman but their season is over. Without Klay you wont have the luxury of falling behind in series knowing you have a guy like Klay who has made a career out of winning game 6’s by himself.

Outside of the obvious outside scoring punch, Steph, Klay and Draymond will all be a year older into their 30’s if and when they do come back together. It is time for the Warriors to consider trading Draymond and phase into a different version of the Warriors that we all knew these last 5 years.

Here is the news on Klay’s new injury:

Source: Golden State’s Klay Thompson has suffered a season-ending Achilles tear.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 19, 2020

Kerr says from a basketball standpoint he never understood the fit (most of us didn’t) and that he’s glad to see Russell in a better situation with the Wolves.

Clip below:

Steve Kerr on D’Angelo Russell: “To be blunt, the fit was questionable when we signed him (from a positional standpoint).” Full quote. pic.twitter.com/eKs89GSLQr

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) February 7, 2020

With that said, I also feel sorry for the NBA. Boogie Cousins is back and the Warriors are at 100% of their powers.

Boogie walking into arena with appropriate filters added pic.twitter.com/sqDS1C8akc

— DeWobcus Cousins (@WorldWideWob) January 19, 2019

YEAH, WELCOME BACK BOOGIE (via @NBATV) pic.twitter.com/Q7bVS3EZc6

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) January 19, 2019

Lebron himself has finally declared himself the GOAT, citing that the Cavs’ 2016 1-3 comeback in the Finals was a special moment that cemented his legacy:

What do you think?

Let’s be clear. No one is saying that Kevin Durant isn’t the second best player in the world, but we also aren’t running to congratulate him for joining a 73-9 team that was about 6 minutes away from winning a title without him.

Kevin Durant secured the bag. I get that. He was a free agent and free to play where he wanted. Golden State, Utah, Sacramento, New Orleans, CBA, NBADL, Africa, Thailand, anywhere he wanted to play basketball in 2017 was free game. No one is questioning that.

What Durant did secured his legacy. He saw an opportunity to get a guaranteed ring (barring injury) and took it. While we can complain here in 2017, KD will go down in history with the winners. You have to erase his name off the list of great players who didn’t win rings under Jordan such as Karl Malone and Charles Barkley. KD is a champion and no one can take it away from him.

How Durant got his title was not “honorable” but there are no rules in war.

So who’s to blame for this? How did we get to the era of the Ultimate Warriors?

Easy. Bad team planning. And I have three teams in particular to blame: the Minnesota Timberwolves, Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets.

Let’s go back in time to the 2009 draft. Everyone knew about Stephen Curry. Multiple teams made it known that he was on the radar and you know who one of those teams were? The Washington Wizards. The same Wizards who held the fifth pick in that draft.

The Wizards worked out Stephen and it looked like he was going to be a Wizard and you know what happened? The Wizards traded the pick. For who you ask? Randy Foye and Mike Miller. The Timberwolves would go on to draft PG Johnny Flynn at the fifth spot, Ricky Rubio sixth, and Curry fell seventh to Golden State.

Were Ricky Rubio and Johnny Flynn ever better players than Curry? Nope. And the Wizards knew this, but instead mortgaged the pick for veterans who could help them immediately.

For what it’s worth, the Warriors would draft Ekpe Udoh the next season over Gordon Hayward and Paul George but it didn’t matter because of what would happen the next year…

The Charlotte Bobcats (Hornets) drafted Bismack Biyombo and Kemba Walker over Klay Thompson.

The Bobcats, a team that has had a perpetual hole at the SG position to this current day, passed on a lottery pick that fell right in their lap due to “attitude issues” in college.

This is also the draft where the Wizards selected Jan Vesley sixth overall.

No surprise. Bad teams make bad draft decisions. I won’t even rag on the Wolves for taking Derrick Williams second because at the time he was the best player in the draft (yes over Kyrie Irving who played less than 10 collegiate games.)

The very next draft the Warriors draft Draymond Green with the 35th pick. Charlotte drafted Jeffrey Taylor with the 31st pick and Washington took Tomáš Satoranský with pick number 32.

As you see, if either one of these teams were somewhat competent at the draft process then there is no Warriors core. There is no super team for Kevin Durant to join. Either he goes to Washington to play with Curry or goes to Charlotte to play with Klay and Draymond.

The GMs brought this on themselves. You cannot blame Golden State for mastering the art of evaluating players and picking up where other GMs left off. Much like how you cannot blame the Bulls for selecting Jordan after Sam Bowie.

Bad teams rebuild through the draft. That is why the lottery system exists. But when teams such as the Nets and Wizards exchange their future for immediate gratification in the win column the great GMs and advisors such as Golden State’s Jerry West feast on them.

Who do you think the Nets would rather have right now? 19 year old Markelle Fultz or 41 year old Kevin Garnett? Because that’s essentially the exact trade that occurred.

Stephen Curry or Randy Foye? Again, another trade that really happened.

We can’t blame KD for being an opportunist and creating a super team. It’s time to blame the NBA GMs who let the super teams happen.