The Golden State Warriors have had the quietest offseason.
Most of the talk involving the Warriors has revolved around restricted free agent forward Jonathan Kuminga, who reportedly hopes to be traded away, but talks have hit a stalemate and the Warriors want him back for a discount.
Kuminga and the Warriors have had disagreements during negotiations between the two sides. The likely resolution is reportedly a two-year deal, but the Warriors are “going to be holding firm” that they want the second year to be a team option, and they continue to shut down trade opportunities from other teams looking to get their hands on Kuminga.
But Kuminga isn’t the only restricted free agent the Warriors are looking at.
Golden State Warriors Interested in Chicago Bulls Restricted Free Agent
According to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line, the Warriors have shown interest in Chicago Bulls’ restricted free agent point guard Josh Giddey — and it wouldn’t be the first time the Warriors attempted to acquire Giddey.
“But Golden State’s interest in Giddey is genuine,” Fischer wrote. “The Warriors were prepared to select Giddey with the seventh overall pick in the 2021 draft, sources say, only for Oklahoma City to choose Giddey and steer the Warriors toward selecting Kuminga at No. 7 overall. It’s believed that both the Thunder and the Warriors had Giddey and Kuminga projected as the players to go sixth and seventh in some order entering that draft.”
However, there are quite a few issues with getting any sort of deal between Giddey and the Warriors done, and of course, that revolves around money.
“I’m told that the Warriors continue to value Giddey’s skillset and have communicated their interest to the Australian point guard’s representation,” Fischer said. “There simply does not appear to be a feasible pathway to such a trade … not right now. The base-year compensation issue alone makes it challenging before we even get to the limited salary-matching and outgoing player flexibility that Golden State is currently facing.”
If the Warriors are able to beat the odds and manage to find a way to acquire Giddey, swapping Kuminga out for Giddey would cost the Warriors a scoring presence but add a playmaking backcourt running mate for Curry with size. His skill set could fit well with what the Warriors like to do and would help continue to open up shots for Curry and Jimmy Butler, the team’s top scoring options.
Giddey, who played three seasons with the Thunder, was dealt to the Chicago Bulls last summer in exchange for guard Alex Caruso, who helped the Thunder capture their first title.
Giddey, who is still just 22 years old, averaged 14.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists on 46.5% shooting from the floor, 37.8% from beyond the arc and 78.1% from the free-throw line in 70 games last season.
