Remember this summer, in the euphoric afterglow of a remarkable fourth championship in eight seasons, when it seemed like there was a realistic if slight chance that Kevin Durant would return to the Golden State Warriors? It’s time to fire up the trade machine again, Dub Nation. Just don’t expect for those season-saving dreams to become reality.
Kyrie Irving’s abrupt trade demand from the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday won’t tilt the title picture just because an eight-time All-Star with proven championship chops seems bound to be moved before February 9th. His wholly unsurprising about-face also puts Durant’s future with the Nets back in question, just more than half a season after he originally requested his own trade from Brooklyn—and parties from both sides didn’t exactly squash the possibility of a reunion with the Warriors.
Golden State is in a much less enviable position midway through 2022-23 than it was when Durant initially rocked the basketball world by seeking a new home at the start of free agency last July. You know what would suddenly vault the up-and-down, consistently inconsistent Warriors back to top-tier contender status this season? Bringing back arguably the best player in the world, a guy whose two-way prowess fits any system but already has first-hand knowledge of how to maximize playing with Curry.
Unfortunately for Golden State, acquiring Durant prior to the trade deadline is much more complicated than it would’ve been over the offseason, when still-existing worries about his comfort fleeing to the Bay after failing with the Nets were the biggest obstacle. Now, salary-matching issues after Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole signed extensions in mid-October make the two-time Finals MVP’s potential return close to a non-starter.
The Dubs' blowout loss to the Nuggets wasn't exactly hard to see coming, even when they were shooting the lights out at Ball Arena.
(via @armstrongwinter)https://t.co/AJnNmUvx0L
— Warriors Nation (@WarriorNationCP) February 3, 2023
Wiggins can’t be dealt until six months after he put pen to paper on his new contract because his extension is for longer than two years. That same restriction doesn’t apply to Poole, who signed a rookie-scale extension, but the poison pill provision—Poole’s incoming salary in a trade would be the annual average of his guaranteed earnings going forward, while his outgoing salary would be his current number of $3.9 million—makes him extremely difficult to trade this season, and next to impossible as the centerpiece in a Durant deal.
Where does that leave the Warriors’ hypothetical pursuit of Durant before February 9th? Relegated to including Draymond Green or Klay Thompson as primary matching salary in a Durant trade, not to mention multiple young players and future first-round picks the Nets would demand while parting with an MVP-caliber superstar.
Brooklyn would have no use for either of Golden State’s thirtysomething stars if the team opts to move Durant in wake of Irving’s decision. Green has a player option on his contract for next season, possibly allowing the Nets to treat him as expiring salary in a Durant trade, but the Warriors’ cache of tradable assets otherwise surely isn’t enticing enough for Joe Tsai and Sean Marks to pull the trigger.
Ignore all that for now. Let’s say Bob Myers really does call Marks to express Golden State’s interest in Durant leading up the trade deadline. What would be the Warriors’ best offer?
A package of Green, Jonathan Kuminga, James Wiseman and unprotected first-round picks in 2026 and 2028 might be a good jumping off point, with Brooklyn likely requesting another future first-rounder or Moses Moody or Patrick Baldwin Jr. to sweeten its haul.
Those general parameters are the best Golden State could do until July 1st, when the poison pill no longer applies to Poole and he could function as matching salary in a Durant deal.
Don’t forget that tens of other teams would come calling if the Nets actually made Durant available over the next few days, too. It’s highly unlikely the Warriors’ plausible top offer couldn’t be beaten by title-contending peers who believe adding Durant would put them over the top.
As well as Kuminga’s played over the last two months as a defense-first finisher off the bench, he’s still not viewed as a potential alpha dog star league-wide, and rightfully so. Wiseman might have negative trade value by this point, unable to cement himself as an impact rotation player before his salary rises to a burdensome $12.1 million in 2023-24. Kuminga is also extension eligible after next season, while Wiseman hits restricted free agency in the summer of 2024.
Would the lure of as many as three unprotected first-rounders as Curry and Durant play into their late-30s, retirement dawning, be enough to pique Brooklyn’s interest? Probably not given how well both Hall-of-Famers have aged to this point, plus other Durant suitors offering similar draft capital alongside a superior group of young prospects.
It’s plausible Myers picks up the phone amid the uproar of Irving’s trade request, just to make sure Golden State’s all-encompassing quick fix of adding Durant is as unrealistic as it seems right below the surface. Rumors of Durant’s return will make the league rounds regardless. Until this summer, at least, don’t take the bait of buying into them.
Less than a week from the trade deadline, the Warriors just aren’t in position to swing a trade for Durant—even if he actually wanted to come back to the Bay.
Source: https://clutchpoints.com
