The Warriors won’t make the splashiest move of the trade deadline — far from it — but appear to be closing in on a minor upgrade.
According to multiple reports, Golden State and Detroit have had conversations about a trade surrounding Pistons wing Saddiq Bey and Warriors center James Wiseman.
Wiseman, the second overall pick in the 2020 draft, has fallen out of Golden State’s rotation and failed to make inroads due to injuries and inexperience. Bey, meanwhile, was a First-Team All-Rookie selection in 2021 and is averaging 14.8 points in 28.8 minutes per game.
Bey, 23, has a reputation as a strong defensive player and is a career 35.7% shooter from deep. If the trade gets finalized, he’d fit into the Warriors’ rotation as an extra floor-spacer and wing defender.
Yahoo! Sports’ Jake Fischer was the first to report developing conversations between Detroit and Golden State.
The Athletic’s beat writer, James L. Edwards, confirmed that the two organizations have discussed a deal, but nothing appears imminent. He also reported that Moses Moody could also be involved.
Trading Wiseman for Bey would significantly decrease Golden State’s payroll. Because Bey was the 19th pick in the 2020 draft, his salary is substantially less than Wiseman’s ($12 million to $4.5 million). And with every penny costing the Warriors an exponential amount due to their luxury tax repeater status, any decrease in salary would lighten the books.
The NBA trade deadline is today, Feb. 9, at noon pacific time.