The Golden State Warriors are pursuing the Chicago Bulls pair of former two-time All-Stars Zach LaVine and Nikola Vučević, Clutchpoints’ Brett Siegel reported on Friday, Jan. 31.
“The Bulls and Warriors have held significant trade conversations through the weeks, sources said, with the focus on LaVine and Nikola Vučević. Although Vucevic was the early favorite to be traded to Golden State, the focus has shifted to LaVine, who would instantly become the team’s No. 2 scoring option next to Curry.
“[Jonathan] Kuminga being traded doesn’t seem likely for the Warriors, and trading [Andrew] Wiggins still draws a lot of mixed reviews. As a result, Golden State has been going through all of its options ahead of the trade deadline, including the possibility of pursuing LaVine without giving up either forward, sources said,” Siegel wrote.
It will take a multi-team trade to acquire LaVine without giving up Wiggins and Kuminga.
The Bulls are seeking one first-round pick for Vučević, according to Marct Stein. It is unclear what the Bulls want for LaVine, who has successfully come back from a serious foot injury to average 24 points per game this season on 51% field goal shooting and 44.6% from the 3-point line.
The Athletic’s Anthony Slater and Marcus Thompson II reported on Wednesday, Jan. 29 that Golden State is willing to dangle its first-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft as a sweetener in a deal to improve its roster that is currently fighting for a play-in berth.
Whether this would be enough to land either of the Bulls’ former All-Stars will be seen in the next few days leading up to the Feb. 6 trade deadline.
Warriors One of Two ‘Likely’ Landing Spots for Jimmy Butler
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Warriors and the Suns are “heating up” to be the likely landing spots for the disgruntled Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler.
“Miami and Jimmy Butler, they have the same goal right now, between now and next Thursday, and that’s finding a trade for Butler out of Miami,” Charania said on the “Pat McAfee” Show. “They are in active conversations.
“Tonight actually on ESPN, I would call it ‘The Jimmy Butler Bowl.’ I know we got the Super Bowl next weekend, but this might be ‘The Jimmy Butler Bowl’ tonight between the Warriors and the Suns.”
The Warriors are back in the mix in the Butler trade conversations, per Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor, after the Heat lowered their asking price, per ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, in their effort to finally end the drama that has become a distraction in their playoff chase.
Both teams are facing complicated paths to trading for Butler.
The Suns have one big problem: Bradley Beal, their only trade chip who can match Butler’s salary, is unwilling to waive his no-trade clause.
On the other hand, the Warriors have a cleaner path salary matching-wise to landing Butler but they have their concerns of their own.
Warriors View Zach LaVine a ‘Safer Option’
The Warriors are on the fence between LaVine and Butler.
But if the biggest takeaway from this dilemma is that “there is some understanding and alignment from all levels of the Warriors organization that they lack a true second scorer next to [Stephen] Curry,” according to Slater and Thompson.
“LaVine is viewed by some within the organization as the safer option. At 29, he’s five and a half years younger and some $6 million cheaper than Butler this season, though his contract extends longer and he’s had some recent health concerns. There are risks all over the board,” Slater and Thompson wrote.
The Warriors view LaVine as the better culture fit than Butler, whose volatile nature is in full display once again with this messy trade request from Miami.
“The Warriors already have a mercurial player in Draymond Green — though he usually gets along with those types (see Chris Paul and DeMarcus Cousins) — and adding Butler raises the combustion possibilities,” Slater and Thompson wrote.
But Butler offers something that LaVine couldn’t.
“Butler plays defense, which would be needed if Wiggins is shipped off in a deal,” Slater and Thompson wrote.
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