NBA Trade Speculation: 5 Trades the Golden State Warriors Should Consider
Rumors regarding Monta Ellis' availability surfaced as early as last year.
Even if GM Larry Riley has said that the Warriors are not in a hurry to make a deal, it doesn't mean that they aren't entertaining inquiries about their star shooting guard.
Coming off two All-Star-worthy seasons, Ellis' trade value has increased, which could net the Warriors key pieces that could eventually lead them back into the playoffs.
With that said, here are five new trades that the Warriors should consider.
Monta Ellis and Andris Biedrins for Emeka Okafor, Jarrett Jack, David Andersen
1 of 5
Acquiring Emeka Okafor gives the Warriors a solid defensive presence in the post, which they sorely lacked last year. Okafor would serve as a great complement to the athletic David Lee, who surprisingly is a horrible shot blocker.
The hole left by the departing Ellis could be filled by selecting a sharpshooter in Klay Thompson, or an athletic scorer like Alec Burks with the 11th pick in the draft.
Jarrett Jack would serve as a great backup to either of the guard spots and could provide some veteran leadership to a very young Warrior backcourt.
Sending away Biedrins, along with his bloated contract, would also give the Warriors some cap relief.
After watching the 2011 NBA playoffs, it was obvious that the Hornets needed much more firepower. Chris Paul is a phenomenal player, but clearly he cannot do it all on his own. Without much help, Paul could very well take the LeBron James route and team up with other stars elsewhere.
Ellis could address this major problem. This would give the Hornets their version of a "Big 3". Each member of this trio would have clearly defined roles. Paul would be the distributor, David West as the low-post threat and Monta Ellis as the designated scorer.
Receiving Biedrins and drafting a big like Keith Benson, Jordan Williams or Jeremy Tyler with their own second-round pick would soften the blow of losing Okafor.
Monta Ellis and David Lee for Carlos Boozer, Omer Asik, Ronnie Brewer, 28th Pick
2 of 5
David Lee was acquired by the Warriors in a sign-and-trade deal last offseason, when he signed a contract worth $80 million spread out over six years. Coming off a career year wherein he averaged 20 and 12, it seemed like a great move for the Warriors at the time.
Although Lee has proved that he can score, averaging nearly 18 points per game the past three seasons, he is not the type of player the Warriors need.
Lee is a player who earns his points through athleticism and hustle plays. Boozer, on the other hand, is a certified low-post threat. He has better low-post moves and could certainly create his own shot better than Lee. Boozer could also create a devastating inside-out game with Steph Curry.
Getting Asik would give the Warriors a promising, defensive big man who could see more playing time given the injury histories of both Boozer and Biedrins. The Warriors also would get a great wing defender in Brewer, who could guard opposing teams' off-guards and small forwards.
The 28th pick of the Bulls sweetens the deal and could be used on a young center like Jeremy Tyler or a backup guard like Nolan Smith, who could relieve both guard spots.
This also relieves the Warriors of at least one big contract that could prove to be useful down the road.
For the Bulls, Ellis paired with reigning MVP Derrick Rose would give them an ultra-fast 1-2 combination. Ellis could ease the pressure off Rose, giving the Bulls a more legitimate scoring threat, which the Bulls sorely lacked during their playoff series loss to the Miami Heat.
Lee would replace what Boozer gave to the Bulls, but at a lower cost. Losing the 28th pick would not be that crucial to the Bulls since they still have their 30th pick, having addressed their most glaring need of a starting shooting guard with this proposed trade.
Doing this deal could propel the Bulls to the NBA Finals.
Monta Ellis and Andris Biedrins for Joe Johnson
3 of 5
Johnson is a player the Warriors could use. He has great size for a two-guard, has great play-making abilities and has proved to be a potent scorer. Although he is coming off a bad year, he should be a better perimeter player than Ellis. Another asset Johnson brings is a ton of playoff experience. This could prove to be valuable to a young Warriors squad.
With the 11th pick, instead of going for a shooting guard, the Warriors could gamble on the defense-oriented Bismack Biyombo or the more NBA-ready Marcus Morris.
With that being said, why would the Hawks want to deal their franchise player? Here are two main reasons.
1. Joe Johnson has a massive contract. After a number of ineffective draft picks and a couple of coaching changes, the Hawks may have peaked with their current roster. If the Hawks choose to keep their soon-to-be 30-year-old superstar, his contract could be hard to move in a couple of years. Trading Johnson right now could still net them an All-Star caliber guard who is younger and costs less.
2. Al Horford is better suited at playing power forward. Although Biedrins' contract is quite unattractive, he is a better option at starting center than Zaza Pachulia. Biedrins is only 25 years old and only two years removed from averaging 12 points, 11 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. Should he be able to bounce back from the injuries he suffered the past two seasons and at least average seven points and eight boards along with 1.5 blocks, the Hawks would have drastically improved their center position while allowing Horford to play the four-spot.
Doing this trade also gives the Hawks much more freedom and insurance to deal Josh Smith. That is, unless the Warriors and the Hawks opt to go for this next trade.
Josh Smith and Marvin Williams for Monta Ellis and Ekpe Udoh
4 of 5
Absorbing Joe Johnson's contract could be hard for the rebuilding Warriors to accept even if it clearly addresses one of their biggest needs.
Trading for Smith gives the Warriors a long, athletic forward who excels on defense.
More importantly, his contract does not shackle the Warriors' cap flexibility in the long term, as his contract is cheaper and expires three years earlier than Johnson's.
Since newly-hired coach Mark Jackson plans to turn Golden State into a better defensive team, acquiring Smith could prove to be a great move since he could serve as the Warriors' anchor on defense. It would also give them the freedom to place Dorrell Wright, a revelation last year, alongside Williams in their second unit to address their depth concerns.
Instead of drafting a shooting guard, the Warriors could go for a defense-oriented big man like Bismack Biyombo, or sweet-shooting European center Donatas Motiejunas, with the 11th pick to give them more depth at center. This would give the Warriors' the freedom to trade David Lee, who is not a great defender, for a starting caliber shooting guard.
If they are not able to deal Lee, they could sign Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady or even pry away Jamal Crawford to fill the hole at shooting guard.
For the Hawks, they would be replacing Smith's spot in the starting five with Udoh, a young forward-center who could share center minutes with Zaza Pachulia. This enables Horford to slide down to his natural power forward position.
Monta Ellis and Andris Biedrins for Martell Webster, Darko Milicic and 2nd Pick
5 of 5
It is no secret that the Timberwolves are not too crazy about having the second pick in the NBA draft. Should the Wolves fail in trading their second pick for Pau Gasol, they should try to make a deal with the Warriors.
The Timberwolves have a glut of power forwards and do not have much use for Derrick Williams. They could draft Enes Kanter, but his only credential is the monster game he had in the Nike Hoop Summit. With starting point guard Ricky Rubio, another unproven prospect, finally coming over to Minnesota, adding Kanter to the Wolves' lineup gives them another high-risk, high-reward player.
Making the deal for Ellis gives the Wolves a clear-cut go-to guy, which the Wolves did not have the past couple of seasons. A starting five of Rubio, Ellis, Michael Beasley, Kevin Love and Andris Biedrins does not sound too shabby. The bench would be formidable with a healthier Jonny Flynn, Wesley Johnson and Anthony Randolph. Suddenly, the Wolves do not seem like pushovers anymore.
On the Warriors' side of things, they could suddenly have a lot of options with the second and 11th overall picks. They could draft Derrick Williams or gamble on Kanter with the second pick. For the 11th selection, Klay Thompson or Alec Burks would be solid picks who could replace Ellis at the starting shooting guard spot. Another option they could look at is defensive specialist Chris Singleton.
Although this may not be the best trade to fulfill Mark Jackson's guarantee of Golden State reaching the playoffs this year, this gives them much cap space that they could use on big-name free agents in the near future.
