It’s no secret the Warriors are shopping the No. 7 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, looking for short-term help. They have a championship core in Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and a healing Klay Thompson, but that trio is on the back end of their prime — Golden State needs more help now.
The players they select with the No. 7 and 14 picks in this draft, much like James Wiseman last year, may be very good eventually but are not on the same timeline as Curry and friends.
Which is why the Warriors three stars encouraged GM Bob Myers to trade those picks and do whatever else he needs to do for good players now — with the top target being Bradley Beal. If he decides to leave Washington. From Marcus Tompson II of The Athletic:
The Warriors’ trio of stars — Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson — have made it clear to management they want the franchise to focus on the pursuit of a championship, even to consider using their two lottery picks to get someone who can help immediately, sources confirmed. Warriors general manager Bob Myers said their goal this offseason is to add more of a veteran presence.
Should the Warriors go that route, Beal, the Washington Wizards’ guard who made third-team All-NBA, is deemed to be the best player and best fit for the Warriors among the players who could potentially be available this offseason.
Beal is not currently available.
There is a long list of other teams watching the situation, too. Plenty of people are advising Beal to push for a trade, but he has yet to do so, wanting to find a way to win in Washington. While you can make a good basketball case the Wizards should trade Beal and Russell Westbrook this offseason — getting a treasure trove of young players and picks to jumpstart a rebuild — that is not the mindset of owner Ted Leonsis. This team did not trade Beal at the deadline and instead made a push for the play-in games, eventually making it to the playoffs as the eighth seed. Beal felt vindicated by this, and it’s smart to expect the same mindset from Washington until Beal asks out.
That said, the Warriors (and Heat, and Knicks, and every other team with championship aspirations) should monitor the situation and come up with potential Beal trade packages. Just in case. Same as the situation with Damian Lillard in Portland (who seems closer to asking out but has not yet).
Golden State is looking for another shot creator and scorer to go with its Curry and Thompson backcourt. Expect Myers to be aggressive on that search, looking not only for stars but good players on the next tier who could help (Toronto’s Pascal Siakam is a name tied to Golden State). Warriors ownership will spend. The Warriors have interesting trade assets in the two lottery picks and Wiseman, plus Andrew Wiggins to balance out any big salaries. Golden State is poised to pounce.
It just needs a target to open up.
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Warriors’ stars reportedly want team to trade picks for help now, ideally Beal originally appeared on NBCSports.com