A 3-Team Trade to Save Golden State Warriors' Steph Curry Era
It's that time again.
Well, it's always time for hypothetical, multi-team NBA trades, but it's still time, and we have a doozy for your consumption today.
Stephen Curry's Golden State Warriors have a bottom-half-of-the-league net rating and a sub-.500 record. Curry often looks like a star without a co-star.
The Toronto Raptors are stuck in mediocrity, with multiple high-level players who may not fit alongside their rising star, Scottie Barnes.
And unless they finally spend a little of their much talked about trove of draft assets, the New York Knicks are at risk of plateauing after making the second round of the 2023 playoffs.
So, why not get these three teams together for one of the aforementioned fake trades?
Hearing no objections, let's do just that below.
The Trade
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Before we dive into why each of the three teams involved would do this, let's look at the framework from a macro view.
Warriors Receive: Pascal Siakam and Isaiah Hartenstein
Raptors Receive: Andrew Wiggins, Evan Fournier, Jonathan Kuminga, Quentin Grimes, a 2024 first-round pick from New York, a 2028 first-round pick from New York and a 2028 first-round pick from Golden State
Knicks Receive: OG Anunoby, Moses Moody, Gary Payton II
As always, feel free to quibble over the draft assets or smaller contracts involved.
At first glance, it feels like the Warriors are giving up a lot (in part because of the salary-matching requirements of the collective bargaining agreement). Perhaps they'd insist on replacing their first with a couple seconds or putting some protections on it. This deal would hurt the Knicks' interior depth too. Some Raptors fans may not be keen on a reboot.
Again, slight adjustments could be in order, but there are reasonable arguments for each of the three squads involved to take this trade as is. And you'll find them below.
Warriors Take One Last Shot
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Warriors Receive: Pascal Siakam and Isaiah Hartenstein
Warriors Lose: Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, Gary Payton II and a 2028 first-round pick
Again, this is a pretty big haul from the Warriors. Andrew Wiggins and Gary Payton II were integral in the 2022 championship run. Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody are both 21 years old and have long seemed like the likeliest success stories from the team's two-track plan that had it simultaneously trying to develop young talent and compete for championships.
One could argue, though, that Golden State's current situation was always a potential outcome of pursuing those two tracks. With the exception of Curry, much of the Warriors' "light-years ahead" era core has simply looked old this season. And because the organization's time and energy were spent on helping them win a fourth title, Kuminga and Moody may not quite be ready to take the mantle from the core (although some numbers may suggest Moody is doing just that with Klay Thompson).
This deal essentially admits the defeat of that philosophy by unloading both younger wings, Wiggins and Payton, but it would make the Warriors better in the short term.
Curry, Thompson and Draymond Green have been the constants for Golden State since their first title together. That fourth spot was occupied by Harrison Barnes or Andre Iguodala in the early years; Kevin Durant from 2016 to 2019; and Wiggins since being acquired in 2020. And this deal would give them the next successor in that tradition in Pascal Siakam.
He's a year older than Wiggins, but he's a little bigger (more importantly, he plays bigger) and has long had more variety in his game. His rebounding rate is higher, and his assist rate is much higher.
And while he's struggled to score efficiently for much of his career, the same could be said for Wiggins. When surrounded by the shooting of Curry and Thompson, or when being set up by Chris Paul, it wouldn't be at all surprising to see Siakam's shooting marks bounce back to 2018-19 levels, when he played with Kawhi Leonard.
As for Isaiah Hartenstein, he's far from just a throw-in here. Right now, Golden State is just flat-out small. Even starting 5 Kevon Looney is only 6'9". Hartenstein is only 25 years old, and he's a legitimate 7-footer. He puts in effort as a rim protector, is a ball-hawk and even flashed some playmaking chops in 2021-22 (when he averaged 4.8 assists per 75 possessions).
In a system that fosters and encourages ball and player movement, Hartenstein's passing could become a weapon again.
Raptors Soft Reset Around Scottie Barnes (and Bring Andrew Wiggins Home)
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Raptors Receive: Andrew Wiggins, Evan Fournier, Jonathan Kuminga, Quentin Grimes, a 2024 first-round pick from New York, a 2028 first-round pick from New York and a 2028 first-round pick from Golden State
Raptors Lose: Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby
In theory, Barnes, Siakam and Anunoby should be a versatile, highly switchable and dynamic trio of two-way forwards.
In practice, lack of outside shooting has made the fit between the three tricky, at best. Since the start of Barnes' rookie campaign, the Raptors are a decent but far from spectacular plus-2.9 points per 100 possessions when he shares the floor with Siakam and Anunoby. Since the start of last season, they have a middle-of-the-road, sub-.500 record.
And with this much evidence, it's getting tough to believe these three will ever make the Raptors better than "middle of the road."
Toronto needs to reboot with a roster that better fits Barnes. Deep down, he's a lead playmaker, and he should be surrounded with as much shooting as possible. This deal doesn't immediately accomplish that enough (though Quentin Grimes and Evan Fournier should help), but it puts the ball in Barnes' hands even more. It also gives the team the assets to pursue more shooting in the draft or through trades.
And though Wiggins has been almost impossibly bad this season (he's shooting just 43.3 percent from the field and 26.7 percent from deep, without providing much in the way of ancillary contributions), he's sort of a wild card here.
The Toronto native is only 28 years old. A bounce back is far from out of the question, and his inclusion in the deal helps the Raptors preserve a little of the positional interchangeability it has with Siakam and Anunoby.
Grimes and Fournier, meanwhile, should help on the shooting front, and the former still has plenty of untapped potential. He's only 23 years old and has shown the ability to defend various player types.
And of course, what may be most intriguing here for Toronto are the more traditional rebuild-ready assets. This deal gives the Raptors multiple firsts and a 21-year-old Kuminga, who could develop into a dynamic pick-and-roll partner for Barnes.
Knicks Double-Down on Defense
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Knicks Receive: OG Anunoby, Moses Moody, Gary Payton II
Knicks Lose: Quentin Grimes, Isaiah Hartenstein, Evan Fournier, a 2024 first-round pick and a 2028 first-round pick
The Knicks are already fifth in the league in points allowed per 100 possessions, and this trade could very well make them better on that end.
Losing Hartenstein hurts the second unit, but Anunoby is among the most formidable perimeter defenders in the league.
Adding him to a starting five that includes Mitchell Robinson would give New York one of the game's best inside-out defensive duos. And if he keeps shooting the way he has for the last two seasons (he's at 39.3 percent from deep since the start of 2022-23), he can help on the other end as a floor-spacer flanking Jalen Brunson.
But that's not all the Knicks get for giving up Hartenstein, Grimes, Fournier (who hasn't been a part of the team's rotation or plans since long before this season) and multiple picks.
Moody is two years younger than Grimes and already has a significantly higher 2023-24 box plus/minus. He replaces some of the depth lost on the wing, while Gary Payton II (currently out indefinitely with a torn calf) adds to the defense, as well.
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