Two years removed from their last championship, and fresh off of Klay Thompson‘s free agency exit, the Golden State Warriors are big-game hunting on the NBA trade market.
They made a run at luring Paul George to the Bay Area, and have since pivoted to pursuing Lauri Markkanen in trade talks. But if that endeavor falls short too, what then?
One option that could present itself is a trade for Cameron Johnson of the Brooklyn Nets.
Johnson is a career 39% three-point shooter, coming off of his fifth NBA campaign, and his second in Brooklyn.
He averaged 13.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.4 assists in 58 regular-season games.
Warriors Trying to Trade Wiggins
Wiggins is two years removed from his only career All-Star nomination. And the two years haven’t been kind to him or Golden State.
The 29-year-old saw a drop-off last season, especially. Wiggins averaged a career-worst 13.2 points per game on a 45/35/75 shooting split.
Now, amidst a dramatic retooling of the roster that saw Thompson leave for the Dallas Mavericks, the Warriors are trying to trade him, too.
Evan Giddings of 95.7 The Game reported as much on a July 6 broadcast.
I think the Warrior’s next order of business is trying to move Andrew Wiggins. Golden State showed us with Klay Thompson, it’s about basketball. Wiggins has hurt more than helped the past two seasons.
“Andrew Wiggins has hurt the Warriors over the last two seasons more than he’s helped them as a basketball player,” Giddings said. “And so that’s why I think we’ve come to the point now this offseason where they’re doing everything they can to detach themselves from him. And the Olympics just happens to be the center point of it because it might be an obstacle to getting off of him if he hurts himself, and I just don’t think they want to take that chance.”
This isn’t breaking news. Wiggins had been the odd man out long before Thompson’s unrest began.
Golden State is determined to move him, and the Nets aren’t strangers to taking on former first-overall picks amidst a career downslide. Brooklyn acquired Ben Simmons in their dealing of James Harden, at a time when his value was never lower.
Wiggins still offers upside as a scorer, and for a Nets team that isn’t after a playoff run, could rehab some value with the extra shot volume.
Johnson, Other Brooklyn Vets ‘Available’
After dealing Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks, Brooklyn is open for business on other veteran talents, like Johnson.
Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype reported as much in a June 29 column.
“Across the bridge, the Brooklyn Nets have chosen to pivot towards a rebuild,” Scotto wrote. “And other Nets veterans, including Cam Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, Bojan Bogdanovic, Dennis Schroder, Ben Simmons, and backup center Day’Ron Sharpe, are all potential trade candidates to monitor, league sources told HoopsHype.”
Johnson is 28 years old.
He’s got the experience of one NBA Finals run under his belt. And he’s one of the league’s premier three-point shooters.
Attaching a first-round pick to Wiggins in order to bring him into the fold is a sensible swap for Golden State.
There’s also something to be said for Finney-Smith, his Nets teammate. The nine-year veteran averaged 8.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.6 assists for Brooklyn last season.
Considered one of the league’s top perimeter defenders, Finney-Smith is also a career 35% three-point shooter.
He’d fit the mold of the Warriors’ direction, after adding three-and-d talents De’Anthony Melton and Kyle Anderson.
Both players are under contract beyond next season. So if they perform well and things don’t work out, Golden State can always try and recoup some assets down the line.
But if they don’t perform well and things don’t work out, well that’s the risk of any trade in the NBA.
