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There are about two weeks before the NBA draft and three before free agency begins. With Damian Lillard reportedly assessing whether he wants to be traded from the Portland Trailblazers, there is a lot on the table for the Warriors to consider.
Even if the Warriors are players for Lillard, could they make a deal work? Would he want to come to San Francisco? The Athletic’s Anthony Slater assessed whether any or all of those factors could come together to make a Lillard-to-Golden State deal happen.
According to Slater, the Warriors will “get involved” and “have already internally discussed the idea.”
The Warriors can offer James Wiseman, both of their first round picks this year and future picks, plus Andrew Wiggins.
Despite the defensive deficencies that would come with a backcourt of Lillard and Stephen Curry, Slater wrote that he believes the Warriors would go through with the deal, “if it reached the final stages.”
But the factor working against them is that he doesn’t think Lillard would want to be traded to the Warriors.
“Would he want to come to San Francisco — not his hometown of Oakland anymore — and serve as a backcourt 1B to Steph Curry? My sense is no,” Slater writes. “And I don’t think any trade or Lillard gets past first base if he hasn’t already approved the landing spot.”
Read the full breakdown here from The Athletic, which includes perspectives from other potential Lillard suitors.