NBA Rumors: League Insiders Reveal Potential Trade Targets For Warriors In 2020 Offseason

The Golden State Warriors are one of the teams who are highly expected to be aggressive on the trade market in the 2020 offseason. Instead of using the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft to add another young and promising talent to their roster, the Warriors are planning to use it as the main trade chip to acquire an established superstar.

Though there’s no clear indication if they will really be available via trade, the league insiders who spoke to Tim Bontemps of ESPN named some of the big names the Warriors could target this fall. These include Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns, Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards, Jrue Holiday of the New Orleans Pelicans, Marcus Smart of the Boston Celtics, and Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers.

“People around the league are unanimous in thinking that the Warriors will do their best to pull off a trade. But finding the right trade is the problem. Booker isn’t available. Neither is Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal. Despite a first-round playoff exit, Philadelphia 76ers general manager Elton Brand has declared Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid off limits as well. The best package Golden State has to attract a star — forward Andrew Wiggins, the No. 2 pick and Minnesota’s lightly protected 2021 first-round pick — would almost assuredly be available if any of those players do hit the trade market.”

Acquiring any of those big names would undeniably boost the Warriors’ chances of fully dominating the Western Conference and reclaiming the championship title in the 2020-21 NBA season. Booker, Holiday, and Beal would allow the Warriors to form a three-headed monster with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, while Embiid would immediately address their need for a starting-caliber center.

Though he remains hesitant to shoot the ball from beyond the arc, Simmons could still make the Warriors a more formidable team in the Western Conference. Aside from what he could contribute on both ends of the floor, Simmons could also bridge the gap to the next era of basketball in Golden State. Meanwhile, Smart may not on the same level as the other players, but he would be an incredible addition to the Warriors.

Compared to Booker, Holiday, Beal, Embiid, and Simmons, Smart has more playoff experience and vast knowledge on how to excel on a team with multiple All-Stars. Of all those potential trade candidates, Bontemps believes the “most gettable name” is Holiday. At 30, he’s obviously an odd fit in New Orleans. Also, he is set to become a free agent in the summer of 2021.

Though the Wizards have already made it clear they have no intention of trading Beal and undergoing a full-scale rebuild, Bontemps revealed the “most popular suggestion” by the league insiders for the Warriors is to collect pieces to try to acquire him before the 2021 February NBA trade deadline.