Where do the Warriors turn after their latest dose of bad news?
On Wednesday, what was supposed to be a night of celebration was overshadowed by devastating news of Klay Thompson’s injury setback.
Hours prior to the Warriors selecting James Wiseman with the No. 2 pick in the NBA draft, Thompson called general manager Bob Myers and told him he suffered an injury to his right leg after landing awkwardly during a pickup game in Los Angeles. Thompson, who was sidelined all of 2019-20 with a torn left ACL, will miss his second straight season after an MRI showed a torn Achilles.
Thompson’s injury has wide-ranging and long-term ripple effects on Golden State. It could force the Warriors to take another gap year after going 15- 50 last season, or close the championship window for good.
“I was hoping we were through all that,” Myers admitted.
In the weeks leading up to the
draft, the Warriors locked in on Wiseman, though Thompson’s injury made them think briefly about going in another direction. LaMelo Ball, who went the next pick to Charlotte, was available. They reportedly had trade offers from Chicago and Boston that could have netted them a rotation player and a lottery pick to use on possible Thompson replacements Tyrese Haliburton or Devin Vassell.
However, after months of scouting and planning, they decided to take the top player on their board.
Wiseman, the 19-yearold 7-footer with boundless athleticism, helps address the team’s stated need for size. Coach Steve Kerr has talked openly about needing to add length. Recently in a video on Instagram, Stephen Curry acknowledged that the team’s biggest need was “size.”
The playoffs made that need more profound. Three of the final four teams featured All-Star big men (the Lakers’ Anthony Davis, Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic and Heat’s Bam Adebayo), and the Warriors will have to get through at least one of them to advance to another NBA Finals.
“We think he’s got great immediate help for a position we’ve coveted for a long time,” Myers said. “Some people think the whole league is small but we believe there’s still a place for a guy like him.”
No matter Thompson’s diagnosis, Wiseman was the right pick. There’s no sense in scrapping months of work to react to what was vague injury news at the time. Though he doesn’t play shooting guard, Wiseman will still help Golden State’s defense, rebounding and offensive production — all areas that needed improvement.
T here’s no replacing Thompson — perhaps the second- best shooter in league history and an impenetrable defender — but the Warriors may have to start thinking about life without one of the splash siblings.
Everything Golden State does is centered around getting Curry easy shots. Another all- time shooter is
helpful but Curry’s teammates need to be able to pass and defend, first and foremost.
Right now, Andrew Wiggins and Draymond Green are the only players who can help create shots for Curry. Without Thompson, Green is the only holdover from a dynastic defense that overwhelmed opponents en route to five straight Finals.
Now the $17.2 million trade exception created by trading Andre Iguodala last summer carries greater im
portance, and the Warriors should be even more motivated to use it to its fullest extent.
“We have the green light to do that,” Myers said. “I think we needed wing depth anyway.”
A scan of possible trade exception targets didn’t yield many exciting options. Orlando’s Evan Fournier; Eric Bledsoe, George Hill and JJ Redick out of New Orleans; Houston’s Eric Gordon and Brooklyn’s Spencer Dinwiddie.
T hursday ’ s apparent deal to acquire Oklahoma City’s Kelly Oubre settled that part of the equation. A 6-foot-7, scoring-minded wing, the 24-year-old Oubre is a natural fit next to Curry. The Warriors will ask him to build on the best season of his career by becoming more efficient and a more consistent defender.
Perhaps the Warriors inquired about Bledsoe and Gordon. Both have a lot of years and a lot of money left on their contracts, and the Warriors would be banking on bounce-back years, but it might be the best move left.
Bledsoe is an All-NBA-caliber defender who can penetrate the defense and kick out to Curry. He’s a leag ue- average 3 - point shooter until his annual collapse in the playoffs, but the Warriors would hope their ecosystem can excise that tradition. Gordon is coming off a down year that rendered his contract nearly untradable, but he’s a 37% 3-point shooter, willing passer and sturdy defender.
None of those options inspire much confidence, but the free-agent market for wings is more dire. Jae Crowder, Kris Dunn, Derrick Jones Jr., Avery Bradley, E’Twaun Moore, Maurice Harkless, Michael Carter-Williams and Andre Roberson could be helpful depth pieces, but leave a lot of boxes unchecked. The Warriors could be forced to throw their entire $5.7 million mid-level exception at Glenn Robinson III or Wesley Matthews.
That’s the problem. Before Thompson’s injury, all of those players would have been solid additions to the bench. But as the Warriors saw last season, there’s a huge difference between rotation players and starters, and an even greater chasm between them and All-Stars.
Wi sema n was sup - posed to help prolong a dynasty but he may never get the chance. Curry is 32 and should age well. But Thompson is 30 and coming off two major leg injuries that robbed him of two of his prime years, and it’s unclear how many years Green, 30, has left of his prime. The championship window is closing and throwing away another year as the next generation of contenders emerges could shut it for good.
The Warriors feel the urgency. The new Chase Center and a competitive-ashell owner demand it. A win-now move could be coming.
They missed out on Jrue Holiday, but they still have the assets to package for an All-Star. Surely, they are monitoring Brad Beal’s situation in Washington. All reports indicate the Wizards won’t trade Beal this offseason, but if things go south quickly they could take calls before the trade deadline.
Thanks to Oklahoma City’s Sam Presti and New Orleans’ David Griffin, the cost of an All-Star in today’s arms race is steep: A good player, three first- round picks and two pick swaps. That’s the starting price for Washington general manager Tommy Sheppard.
Wiggins, Minnesota’s top-three protected firstround pick in 2021, their own picks in 2021 and 2023 and a pick swap in 2022 gets them close. Would they have to throw in Wiseman? The Wizards will ask.
(Golden State owes Memphis its 2024 first-round pick, which because of protections may not be conveyed until 2026. That locks up its ability to trade a firstrounder between 2024 and 2026.)
Another repercussion of the Thompson injury: Trading Wiggins, now their best wing, is only worth it for a bona fide All-Star. Could the Warriors pry Zach LaVine from Chicago or DeMar DeRozan from San Antonio without including Wiggins? And is it worth it if it means giving up picks that could be used for Beal?
The Warriors cannot afford another down year. The goal should be to maintain playoff position until the trade deadline, when Beal and others could become available. With Thompson, the Warriors were a top-four team in the West. Without him, they are a team with a single superstar jockeying for position in a loaded conference.
With one wrong step, what was already a pivotal offseason became even more consequential. The Warriors can’t afford another.