Early Trade Targets Warriors Should Pursue at NBA Deadline

Klay Thompson's absence will always cast a certain gloom over the Golden State Warriors' 2020-21 season, but at least their doomsday scenario seems off the table.

A pair of blowout losses to open the campaign are moving further to the memory banks with the Dubs having gone 6-3 since. Stephen Curry has engineered some magical moments, Draymond Green is locking down the defensive end and Andrew Wiggins is trending up (nine blocks his past two outings).

If Golden State keeps this up, it should fall clearly in the buyers column leading up to the March 25 trade deadline. So, which players might be on the shopping list? Well, we have identified three early candidates.

George Hill, Oklahoma City Thunder

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Every team with any level of win-now aspirations surely has an eye on George Hill.

He's a fish out of water as a battle-tested 34-year-old stuck on an Oklahoma City Thunder team taking the long road to a top-to-bottom rebuild. He'd also be quite the catch for championship contenders and playoff-hopefuls alike.

He has plug-and-play potential in any system, thanks to impressive versatility that reaches both ends of the floor. He can steer an offensive attack or operate off the ball as a catch-and-fire gunner (career 38.4 percent from deep). He also offers enough resistance to hold his own defensively against either backcourt spot, which is a necessity for any guard who shares the floor with Curry.

Golden State needs more stability in the backcourt, especially with newcomer Brad Wanamaker off to a disappointing start. Hill would provide that, and while he'll have too much trade interest to be a bargain buy, his cost shouldn't be prohibitive.

P.J. Tucker, Houston Rockets

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The Houston Rockets went the long-term rebuilding route with their long-anticipated trade of James Harden, building their return package around four first-round picks and four pick swaps (plus free-agent-to-be Victor Oladipo).

A P.J. Tucker trade seems like the next domino to drop in Space City, and if does, Golden State should pay close attention to the proceedings. He's a small-ball big who looks like a perfect fit—both in this system and into the $9.3 million disabled player exception granted as a result of Thompson's injury.

"Out of all the players the Warriors can acquire using the DPE, Tucker makes the most sense," NBC Sports Bay Area's Brian Witt wrote. "He is the best fit for their team and arguably is the best talent available. ... He would provide Golden State with further lineup flexibility and some needed experience and toughness."

A defense built around Tucker and Green sounds like the final boss in a video game, especially when you add in the tremendous length supplied by James Wiseman, Wiggins, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Kent Bazemore. Tack on Tucker's career 36.3 three-point percentage, and he'd also be a sneaky-good source of spacing to help Curry find more breathing room at the offensive end.

Bradley Beal, Washington Wizards

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Bradley Beal might be the pie-in-the-sky target for the Warriors—and any other suitor—but they might have the trade chips to make a realistic run at the Association's current scoring leader.

The trade cost would be significant—the top-three protected 2021 first-rounder from Minnesota, Wiseman and Wiggins might be the starting point of negotiations—but so would the possible prize.

How would defenses even try to handle an offense featuring Beal and Curry creating shots off the dribble, splashing catch-and-launch triples and engineering pick-and-roll sorcery with Green? Once a (hopefully) healthy Thompson rejoins the field next season, it might be game over. You could put a cardboard cutout of a basketball player as the fifth Warrior on the floor and this should still be an elite attack.

To be clear, Beal isn't on the trade block yet, but teams are starting to circle above the District in hopes he'll get there soon, per The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor. With the Beard off the board, Beal should have sole possession of first place on optimistic trade target lists, but it's possible the Warriors could have the strongest trade offer depending on how much they're willing to sacrifice.

All stats courtesy of NBA.com and Basketball Reference unless otherwise noted.