Oubre stays put; Wanamaker and Chriss traded to open roster spots
The Warriors made two deals at the trade deadline Thursday, but neither involved Kelly Oubre Jr. as some had anticipated.
Instead, the Warriors sent Brad Wanamaker to Charlotte and Marquese Chriss to San Antonio, opening up two roster spots and saving $11 million in luxury taxes, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Both deals came down in the final moments before the
trade deadline.
For now, Oubre, the subject of trade speculation for weeks, is staying put. Although the Warriors fielded several offers for Oubre, they were not particularly excited about any of them, according to sources.
Oubre will be an unrestricted free agent after the season. The Warriors hope to resign him into a sixth-man role for next season, but Oubre could command an eight-figure salary and seek a starting role that Golden State won’t be able to offer once Klay Thompson returns from a torn Achilles.
Re-signing Oubre for any amount would have expensive luxury tax implications. According to Marks, resigning Oubre to a $10 million salary could cost the Warriors an additional $80 million next season.
In the end, the Warriors preferred to keep their options open with Oubre over any trade offers they received.
With their two roster spots, the Warriors will be watching the buyout market, according to a source. Potential candidates include Cleveland center Andre Drummond, Sacramento forward Jabari Parker and Orlando point guard Jeff Teague. Though operating over the salary cap, Golden State has the ability to sign players to more than a minimum contract if they decide to use
its $9.3 million disabled player exception.
If nothing materializes from the buyout market, the Warriors can use the spots to convert two-way contract players Juan Toscano-Anderson and Nico Mannion to 15-man roster spots before the end of the season.
Wanamaker, 31, underwhelmed in 39 games since signing with Golden State in November and recently fell out of the rotation. He averaged 4.7 points on 35.3% shooting and 2.5 assists. Mannion supplanted Wanamaker in the rotation while guard Jordan Poole emerged as the scoring hub of the second unit.
Chriss, 23, was in his second season with the Warriors but has not played since suffering a broken leg after just two games. He heads to San Antonio, along with cash, as the Spurs approach a buyout with center LaMarcus Aldridge.
From San Antonio, Golden State
received the draft rights to Cady Lalanne, a second-round pick in 2015 playing professionally in Korea. Lalanne will not be part of the roster. WARRIORS GET VACCINATED >> A dozen members of the Golden State Warriors received a vaccine for COVID-19 on Wednesday, including coach Steve Kerr and forward Draymond Green.
The Warriors received their vaccines at Kaiser Permanente San Francisco in Mission Bay, around the corner from Chase Center. Those who participated received the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
“We’ve been really hit hard just by COVID protocols as a team,” Kerr said, referring to recent games missed by James Wiseman, Eric Paschall and Kevon Looney due to the league’s health and safety protocols. “So it’ll be nice to get as many guys as possible vaccinated and hopefully not have any more issues in terms of missing games.”