Warriors' Top Free-Agent, Trade Targets After Klay Thompson's Achilles Injury

With Klay Thompson sidelined for the second consecutive season, the Golden State Warriors will be forced to detour as they attempt to return to their former perch atop the NBA after a 15-50 season. 

Thompson suffered a torn Achilles Wednesday as he was preparing to return from the ACL tear that knocked him out for the pandemic-shortened season. The Warriors struggled in his absence, with the team also dealing with a hole at point guard due to six-time All-Star Stephen Curry's broken hand.

With both stars originally set to come back for the 2020-21 campaign, it looked as though the Warriors' worst days would be behind them, but they'll now have to reevaluate their roster in an effort to return to their glory days, which saw them appear in five straight NBA Finals and win three of them from 2015-19. 

Per ESPN's Bobby Marks, the Warriors will be applying for a $9.3 million disabled player exception, which will allow them to sign, trade or claim a player for a one-year deal between now and April 17. But the clock is also ticking on the team's $17.2 million trade exception, which expires on Monday and can be used to trade or claim a player without a limit on contract length. 

To bolster any potential trade offers, the Warriors could factor in some future draft picks, including a pair of first-round selections next season and a first-rounder in 2022, in addition to five second-round picks in future drafts.

After drafting center James Wiseman with the No. 2 pick in Wednesday's draft before adding point guard Nico Mannion at No. 48, the Warriors will still need to look across the league for some NBA-ready talent to slot in for Thompson. Among potential targets are Kelly Oubre Jr., Buddy Hield and Avery Bradley.

Bleacher Report's Eric Pincus suggested that the Warriors look to Oubre, who was moved to Oklahoma City in the deal that sent Chris Paul to the Phoenix Suns. The 24-year-old, who began his career with the Washington Wizards before joining the Suns in 2018-19, is owed $14.4 million this season after adding 18.7 points and 6.4 rebounds in 56 games for the Suns last year. With the Thunder in the midst of a rebuild that has them clearing house, Oubre may be a cheaper option for the Warriors in terms of what they'd have to give up to pry him out of Oklahoma City, though he would increase their tax bill. According to Marks, the Warriors owe $66 million in taxes, but with the addition of Oubre, they would be up to $134 million with a $68 million tax-add. 

But it might be worth it to the Warriors, with Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reporting that the Thunder are in "serious talks" to make the move. 

Can Buddy Hield make his way to Golden State? The former All-Rookie honoree is coming off of 19.2 points per game last season where he added 4.6 rebounds in 72 games for the Sacramento Kings, where he's not exactly known for having a great relationship with coach Luke Walton, who benched him in January in favor of Bogdan Bogdanovic. Back in October, he wasn't answering Walton's phone calls, according to Jason Jones of The Athletic. If he really wants out, the Warriors would certainly be able to use him in place of Thompson. 

Bradley is expected to decline his $5 million player option with the Lakers, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN. He posted 8.6 points per game, 2.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists on 44.4% shooting in an average of 24.2 minutes through 49 games this season, and he would bring a wealth of experience to a Warriors bench that needs it now. 

Brian Witt of NBC Sports noted that Will Barton of the Denver Nuggets would also be a strong option for the Warriors that could come by way of the trade exception, while the Miami Heat's Jae Crowder or Houston Rockets star P.J. Tucker are targets via the disabled player exception. In addition to Bradley, the team could look to Houston Rockets guard Austin Rivers, who reportedly opted out of his contract, with the mid-level exception. 

It'll be difficult for the Warriors to replace Thompson, but they'll have to figure something out quickly with just more than a month before the NBA season tips off.