The Phoenix Suns are going all-in to win the championship by trading for Bradley Beal. How can the Golden State Warriors keep up?
The Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors were both dispatched in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs. Both are older teams with an immediate, borderline urgent desire to win the championship next season.
Well, Phoenix was quick to stir the pot and make a big splash. The Suns traded for Bradley Beal on Sunday and gave up startlingly little to get him. While questions about Phoenix's depth remain, there's no doubt that a team built around Beal, Kevin Durant, and Devin Booker is capable of making a deep run.
The Warriors, meanwhile, face several offseason conundrums under new GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. With extensions and high-profile free agents to juggle, on top of general roster management duties and the upcoming NBA Draft, what can the Warriors do to keep pace with Phoenix in the cutthroat West?
Move Warriors need to make to keep up with Suns: Re-sign Draymond Green
Not unlike Phoenix, the Warriors are cash-strapped due to several massive contracts: Stephen Curry ($51.9 million), Klay Thompson ($43.2 million), Jordan Poole ($28.7 million), Andrew Wiggins ($24.3 million). Now it's Draymond Green's turn to get paid, and the Warriors are expected to do everything within reason to keep him.
That being said, it will get difficult to build out the roster around five $24+ million players under the new CBA. The Warriors will have to get crafty and rely on smaller free agents, the draft, and good old-fashioned front office ingenuity.
The Warriors probably don't want to pay 33-year-old occasional offensive liability Draymond Green max dollars over 4-5 years, but here's the thing — they can't afford not to re-sign him.
Whatever complaints one might register with Green's deficiencies on the offensive end, he makes up for them with rigorous defense and unmatched basketball genius. He's one of the smartest players in the NBA and he has been the beating heart of four championship defenses. His ability to orchestrate teammates and connect the dots in Steve Kerr's system is irreplaceable. The Warriors absolutely have to find common ground on a new contract. That's the first order of business this summer.
Move Warriors need to make to keep up with Suns: Trade Jonathan Kuminga
There has been buzz around the Warriors potentially trading Jonathan Kuminga for a high pick in next week's NBA Draft. Kuminga's workload was inconsistent all season and the 20-year-old slipped out of the rotation entirely in the playoffs.
It's not uncommon for 20-year-olds to have a short leash in the playoffs, but Kuminga was the No. 7 overall pick in 2021 and the talent is plain to see. Not many 6-foot-8 forwards can match Kuminga's downhill explosiveness and growth potential on the defensive end. Plenty of younger teams would be happy to hand Kuminga a significant, unwavering role.
For Golden State, the "two timelines" nonsense is firmly out the window. Moses Moody flashed nice upside in the playoffs, but the James Wiseman pick bombed and Kuminga hasn't been able to get consistent high-leverage playing time as a top-7 pick. It was always foolish to prioritize youth over veteran depth in the middle of Stephen Curry's prime.
The Warriors' core is talented enough to get away with the front office's misstep, but swapping Kuminga for a more ready player and netting a good draft pick would be a sensible move. The Warriors could even prioritize an older rookie, giving them a ready-made contributor under long-term team control in advance of the new CBA.
Something like…
The Warriors get an immediate, playable 3-and-D vet (on an expiring contract) in Reggie Bullock, plus another top-10 pick to bolster their depth chart. Think along the lines of Gradey Dick or Anthony Black: ready-now, ultra-intelligent and competitive young players with winning tendencies.
Dallas gets to swing on Kuminga's upside without moving out of the first round (or even the top 20). This feels like a reasonable gamble both ways.
Move Warriors need to make to keep up with Suns: Trade Jordan Poole
The two timelines live on in Moses Moody, but the Warriors' youth movement takes another hit with Jordan Poole's exodus. It feels necessary — maybe even inevitable. The conflict between Poole and Draymond Green irreparably damaged the Warriors' chemistry last season. While that altercation was entirely Green's fault, he is simply far too important to lose. The Warriors should move on from Poole if the market is robust enough.
Poole still has tantalizing upside as a movement shooter and microwave scorer on the perimeter. Last season's struggles can't completely wipe out his remarkable run during the Warriors' 2022 championship run. That said, Poole was borderline unplayable in the 2023 'offs. His defense was unforgivably porous and he simply couldn't make up for it with shot-making the second time around.
The Warriors are set to pay Poole $128 million over the next four years. That contract has already aged like milk. He's only 23, so maybe the doomsaying is premature, but Poole doesn't really fit into a backcourt consisting of Stephen Curry and past-prime Klay Thompson. The Warriors would be wise to break his contract into smaller, more manageable chunks.
If Golden State can squeeze a couple legitimate veteran contributors out of Poole, that would be a massive victory. Kuminga probably has more value when it comes to moving up on draft night, but there ought to be a team out there willing to bet on Poole's deft handles and shooting dynamism long-term.
The Rockets are rapidly losing steam in the James Harden pursuit. Let's say Houston digs wing Cam Whitmore instead of guard Amen Thompson with the No. 4 pick in next week's NBA Draft. Why not kick the tires on Poole as a 3-point bombing, movement shooting backcourt partner next to the driving dynamo that is Jalen Green? The Sengun-Poole two-man game would be bonkers-level fun, if nothing else.
For the Warriors, Kevin Porter Jr. is slightly bigger, slightly better in the playmaking department, and cheaper. He has been shrouded in character concerns for essentially his entire career, but hey, maybe that championship culture can break through. Jae'Sean Tate would be an immediate impact player in the Golden State second unit. Plus, more draft capital as the cherry on top.
