After missing out on the Paul George trade, the Golden State Warriors are adjusting their plans to potentially focus on players like Brandon Ingram and Zach LaVine.
According to Yahoo Sports Jake FisherThe Warriors’ trade options range from trying to send draft picks to the New Orleans Pelicans for Ingram to potentially acquiring a pick and LaVine from the Chicago Bulls.
The Warriors were interested in George, but it was really only viable if he opted out of his $48.8 million contract to negotiate a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers due to Golden State’s salary cap situation.
ESPN Adrian Wojnarowski reported that George opted to decline his option before Saturday’s deadline, making him a free agent.
According to The Athletic Team KawakamiPeople within the Warriors organization believed at several different times Saturday that they were close to a deal with the Clippers for George.
As the search for George continued, The Athletic newspaper Shams Charania and Anthony Slater The Warriors are reportedly preparing to lose Klay Thompson as the two sides have had “almost no communication” since the negotiating period for starting free agents opened on June 18.
If Thompson leaves and George no longer appears to be a viable option, the Warriors will need to add another high-volume scorer to pair with Stephen Curry.
Ingram and LaVine are no strangers to trade rumors. LaVine, in particular, has been mentioned as a trade candidate for the past two years.
The Chicago Bulls may be ready to start a rebuild after trade Alex Caruso is leaving for the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Josh Giddey. They could also lose DeMar DeRozan in free agency.
It’s all due to LaVine $89 million over the next two seasons and has a salary of $48.97 million in 2026-27. The two-time All-Star only played in 25 games last season due to a foot injury that required surgeryHe averaged 19.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game in 2023-24.
ESPN Bobby Marks noted that the New Orleans Pelicans could end up in the luxury tax for the first time in franchise history next season, unless they refuse to bring back Jonas Valančiūnas and Naji Marshall in free agency or trade someone under contract.
Ingram is the most obvious candidate for a trade because he is ready to play in a 36 million dollars expired contract.
Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Researcher reported that the Pelicans do not want to offer Ingram a maximum extension and will explore trading him if a deal cannot be reached, but will have a “high” asking price.
Ingram has averaged at least 20 points per game and shot better than 46 percent from the field in each of his five seasons with the Pelicans.
The Warriors are coming off a season in which they finished with a 46-36 record and missed the playoffs after losing to the Sacramento Kings in the play-in tournament. They have won just one playoff series in the past two seasons since winning the 2022 NBA Finals.