Acquiring Oladipo in trade would be for long term
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What is the plan behind their interest in Victor Oladipo? Are they planning to have him as a rental for this year? — Arsh.
Let’s start here: Trading for Oladipo would not be a one-year rental. Warriors GM Bob Myers has been open about the fact that a deal made before the March 25 deadline would be for the benefit of next season. Any trade for Oladipo would likely involve Kelly Oubre Jr. and other rotation players to get up to Oladipo’s $21 million salary. If anything, that hurts Golden State in the short term.
Oladipo will be a free agent this summer, but a team trading for him would have his rights and be able to re-sign him -- and after such a miserable statistical season, he could come cheaper than Oubre.
That, at least, would be the bet by the Warriors’ front office should they make that sort of move. I believe the Warriors are interested in Oladipo, and that’s because he (at least theoretically) fills a need.
Next season, Klay Thompson will be back at shooting guard, which would move a re-signed Oubre to the bench. But Oubre struggled coming off the bench this season in part because he’s not a playmaker and needs to play alongside Stephen Curry and Draymond Green to thrive. Golden State may not be inclined to pay him a large salary to play out of position next season.
Meanwhile, Oladipo, with his shot-creating, slashing and defensive ability, is a much better fit as a sixth man. It’s easy to imagine him playing the Andre Iguodala role. The questions are: Would he want to, and how much would it cost?
This is the sort of calculus the Warriors have to do when considering trade options. The Lonzo Ball opportunity may have slipped away. Oladipo could be too expensive in terms of assets and salary. Oubre himself may be destined for a payday too rich for the Warriors to match. But one thing they definitely can’t afford is to let Oubre’s salary cap slot — previously known as the Iguodala trade exception — expire after the summer.
How big of a risk is the front office taking on Steph Curry’s prime by banking on James Wiseman to ramp up his progress and Klay Thompson coming back to form next season? — Jake.
It’s a big risk. The Warriors can’t assume that with Thompson back they will immediately become title contenders again. It was one thing to assume that before the season, but it’s clear now that was wrong. Thompson is a shot-maker, not a shot-creator. (Incidentally, Green is a shot-creator, not a shot-maker) and this team is in need of a player who can do both.
The talent drain over the past few years is starting to show. Depth pieces such as Iguodala, Livingston, David West, Zaza Pachulia and JaVale McGee became Kent Bazemore, Damion Lee, Brad Wanamaker and Eric Paschall. On the wing, Harrison Barnes turned into Kevin Durant who turned into D’Angelo Russell who turned into Andrew Wiggins. Now look at that list. Durant is clearly the best player, and Wiggins is better than Russell but — and stick with me here — is Wiggins better than Barnes?
Let’s check the stats from this season: Barnes: 16.7 points, 49.2% shooting, 39.2% from 3-point range, 82.6% on free throws, 6.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 35.7 minutes per game
Wiggins: 17 points, 46.3% shooting, 35.1% from 3-point range, 67.2% on free throws, 4.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 32.2 minutes per game
Barnes is more efficient, productive and isn’t afraid to call his own number. The Warriors and their 22nd-ranked offense could use someone like that.
Potentially, Wiseman could fill this void. The 7-foot, second-overall pick has shown flashes of being able to get his own shot, and if his face-up jumper becomes consistent it will be impossible to defend. But how long can the Warriors wait on a 19-year-old who won’t hit his prime for another half-decade?
Over the final half of the season, the Warriors will need to determine not only if Wiseman can play helpful minutes, but also if he can become a go-to option on offense sooner rather than later.
If he can’t, and if Wiggins is content to take what the defense gives him, the Warriors are going to need to find a way to shake things up if they want to give Curry a chance to win another ring.