Warriors in limbo as Beal mulls his future
The player the Warriors are studying most closely in the leadup to Thursday’s NBA draft is a 28yearold who can’t be drafted.
Washington guard Bradley Beal is mulling over his future with the Wizards, and whether he decides to stay or request a trade could have major implications for Golden State. It’s well known that the Warriors’ brass feels pressure to maximize what’s left of Stephen Curry’s prime. There might be no better way to ensure immediate title contention than pairing Beal with Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
A threetime AllStar who
has averaged 30plus points each of the past two seasons, Beal offers the Warriors something they’ve missed badly since Kevin Durant’s departure in summer 2019 — an elite scorer who can create his own shot and carry the team in Curry’s absence. It might not even matter that Beal has a reputation as a poor defender. With Green facilitating to Curry, Thompson and Beal, the Warriors would boast perhaps the league’s most daunting offense.
But the Wizards will part with Beal only if he demands a trade, and he has yet to deliver such an ultimatum. Multiple reports have indicated that Beal could choose to stick with Washington or request out as soon as this week. The Wizards would like some clarity from him by Thursday, given that any potential package for Beal almost definitely would include draft picks.
The Warriors’ two upcoming lottery picks, Nos. 7 and 14, would be central to any offer for Beal.
To emerge as serious contenders for Beal, the Warriors likely also would have to include a future firstround pick or two, James Wiseman and Andrew Wiggins. Even then, Golden State might not have enough. The 76ers could center an offer for Beal around Ben Simmons. The Raptors could offer Pascal Siakam and Thursday’s No. 4 pick for Beal.
Perhaps Beal would prefer to play with fellow St. Louis native Jayson Tatum, in which case Boston would have an edge in the Wizards’ trade discussions.
But until Beal decides his future with Washington, the Warriors are stuck in a sort of limbo. Any trade offer Golden State realistically could receive from other teams for the seventh and 14th picks would be less appealing than a Beal deal. As Warriors general manager Bob Myers waits for the Wizards’ situation to unfold, he must proceed as if he’ll keep both lottery selections.
“We like those picks, and I think the league likes those picks,” Myers said. “To me, it would have to be something material. Obviously, you don’t move them for something marginal.”
With predraft workouts done, the Warriors are finalizing their draft board. Myers and his staff must decide whether to prioritize readymade players over higherupside prospects.
This is no easy call. Even if the Warriors try to capitalize on their winnow window by taking a plugandplay prospect such as Baylor guard Davion Mitchell at No. 7, they might regret passing on players with more longterm potential.
“It’s not so much that old is bad,” Myers said, “but the evidence would support maybe going younger sometimes, and
that’s what you have to cipher out. … Our job is to look at that information and then decide if we want to value it.”
Even if Beal doesn’t make his intentions clear to Washington by Thursday, the Warriors might have to keep him in mind when they go on the clock. An 18yearold with AllStar potential would have much more value in trade discussions than a 23yearold with a limited ceiling.
If G League Ignite forward Jonathan Kuminga — an 18yearold considered a topfive pick until recently — slides in the draft as many are predicting, the Warriors could have a hard time passing on him at No. 7. His physical gifts and scoring upside surely would be enticing to a rebuilding Wizards team.
Though Mitchell — a defenseoriented 22yearold fresh off a national championship at Baylor — could crack Golden State’s rotation as a rookie, he wouldn’t have as much use to a franchise trying to replace Beal’s offense. That matters. In the scenario that Beal gives Washington a list of potential landing spots that includes the Warriors, Myers would need any advantage he can get in trying to outbid other suitors.
Such a hypothetical might not materialize, but it’s something Myers must consider. Other bigname players who’ve been linked to the Warriors in recent weeks such as Siakam, Simmons and Damian Lillard make far less sense for Golden State than Beal. Not only could he thrive in a threeguard lineup with Curry and Thompson, but he might view the Warriors as the ideal team with which to spend the rest of his prime.
Even if Beal requested a trade before Thursday to a franchise other than Golden State, Myers could benefit from the ripple effect of such a blockbuster move. It might prompt a team to offer the Warriors a trade more compelling than anything they could get back for the seventh and 14th picks currently.
Myers conceded Monday that Golden State likely would keep both of its lottery selections. But this is the modern NBA and with stars controlling their own destinies, teams are making trades on short notice.
“Decisions are made much closer to deadlines than ever before,” Myers said. “A lot of real offers don’t come in until right before.”