Report: Warriors would be interested in Ingles trade originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
As the Warriors try to find veterans to fill the holes in their roster, a potential trade target has emerged.
The Athletic’s Marcus Thompson II reported Tuesday that the Warriors would be interested in trading for Utah Jazz forward Joe Ingles should he become available.
However, as Thompson noted, any potential deal to acquire Ingles’ $13.1 million salary would be difficult for Golden State given its cap situation and type of contracts on the roster.
It has been reported that the Jazz are looking to find a way to trim some salary, especially after agreeing to re-sign point guard Mike Conely to a three-year, $72.5 million deal at the beginning of free agency Monday. The Jazz also agreed to a deal with free-agent Rudy Gay on Tuesday, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported.
Even before the Gay deal, the Jazz were spending upwards of $144 million which is well over the luxury tax threshold of $136.6 million, meaning Utah is in danger of being hit with repeater penalties if it can’t find a way to get under that number.
Ingles would be a good fit with the Warriors as his playmaking and shooting ability would allow him to play alongside Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, and initiate the offense when Curry sits.
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The most likely way for the Warriors to trade for Ingles would be to sign-and-trade Kelly Oubre Jr. to another team, acquiring a trade exception and then flipping that exception to Utah for Ingles.
Landing Ingles also would force the Warriors’ tax bill even higher, which might be another reason the veteran forward doesn’t end up landing in the Bay.
The Warriors agreed to a contract with free-agent wing Otto Porter Jr. on Monday and still are expected to be in the running for Patty Mills and Andre Iguodala.
Ingles would solve some of the Warriors’ issues, but it’s hard to see a path to deal at the moment.