What Could The Golden State Warriors Get For The 7th And 14th Pick In The 2021 NBA Draft?
Toronto's Pascal Siakam and Philadelphia's Ben Simmons could be targets for the Golden State ... [+] Warriors. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) Getty Images  The Golden State Warriors came out of the NBA draft lottery armed with the 7th and 14th pick to add to their roster as they seek to vault back into contention next season. At that range there are some good players who can help them win now, but theres no question the Warriors are out there testing the trade value of those picks, along with this years rookie James Wiseman. To do anything else would be negligent when they have Stephen Curry still playing at the height of his powers and clearly capable of leading a team to a championship, but having turned 33 this past season. The Warriors face a challenging task though to find a trade package that works for them. The picks alone do not carry enough salary attached to construct a trade for most veterans. They dont have much in terms of matching salary outside of Wiseman, or Andrew Wiggins contract, paying out $31.5m next season and $33.6m the following season. That complicates things further as Wiseman is arguably at the lowest point of his trade value after an up-and-down first season. The Warriors would be selling low unless they can find another team who believes in his potential as much as they appear to. Meanwhile, Wiggins has proven his value to the Warriors as a surprisingly reliable wing defender who can provide more than 3-point shooting on the other end. If he is included in any trade, the Warriors are going to need to get a player who can reliably defend the premier position in the league and give them something on offense. But its clear the Warriors will try to find a deal that works. Heres a rundown of the potential trades that might be out there this summer. After the Philadelphias disappointing playoff exit everyone in the world knows that Ben Simmons is on the trade block. The pitch for the Warriors is that they could use him as some sort of Andre Iguodala-plus acquisition as a powerful, playmaking wing of offense who can form a beastly defensive tandem with Draymond Green on the other end. Like Iguodala, Simmons has arguably been miscast as a primary option in Philadelphia and could thrive in a supporting role. However, there are a couple of major differences that really matter. Firstly, there is the obvious question around Simmons unwillingness to shoot from range. Alongside Green that would kill the Warriors spacing. Perhaps this could be worked around. After all Green has found ways to make teams pay for backing off, utilizing dribble hand-offs or running his defender into a screen to free up the Warriors shooters. Simmons could also operate as a passer out of the post, a role the Warriors have used well in the past with their big men, or cutting to the rim to take advantage of his superior finishing ability. So perhaps the fit isnt quite as bad as advertised, though it is an issue that will need to be worked around. The bigger difference between Simmons and Iguodala though is that Iguodala always delivered when it counted. The Warriors would have to be confident that Simmons shrinkage under the spotlight this season was an anomaly. Otherwise he just cant play for the Warriors. The biggest question of all though is the price. The Warriors package of Wiseman, two lottery picks, and Wiggins is probably a bit too much for Golden State to give up when Simmons value is at an all-time low. On the other hand it doesnt fit what the 76ers need at all. They are in win-now mode so wont be as interested in lottery picks or a raw prospect like Wiseman. With Joel Embiid on the roster they have no need for another center anyway. As for Wiggins contract, a team who already has Tobias Harris and Joel Embiid earning max money probably doesnt want to take that money on. After all, they only just got out from under the huge contract they inexplicably gave Al Horford. So while it looks like Simmons will be on the move, a deal with the Warriors has plenty of obstacles. The fairytale of Damian Lillard  For much of the past season its looked like Washingtons Bradley Beal would be the next disgruntled star to come onto the market. But after a late season run the noises coming out of Washington are pretty harmonious. Theres still time for things to go south, but with Russell Westbrook and Beal together neither the Wizards nor Beal appear motivated to part ways. So attention is turning to the next potentially disgruntled star. Enter hometown hero Damian Lillard, who is suddenly making sounds that are a little less committal to Portland than his longstanding and traditional 100% Blazer-for-life stance after yet another earlier-than-desired playoff exit. Theres no doubt the Bay Area would love to see the Oakland-born Lillard in a Warriors uniform. The defensive questions are obvious. The Warriors tried two smaller guards together in Currys early years with Monta Ellis at the shooting guard spot. The Blazers havent made it work with Lillard and CJ McCollum. Obviously a Curry-Lillard backcourt would be streets ahead of both of those experiments, but the fundamentals remain the same, especially if Klay Thompson might struggle to guard quicker players coming off two major injuries. Still the vision of Curry and Lillard trading long bombs is pretty fun. In reality though there would be a bit of an issue about the offensive fit. Lillard is an incredible player, but hes not got Currys off-ball game, which places some limits on how the two could work together, and would cause some issues with the Warriors system, based as it is on ball and player movement. In the regular season it wouldnt be a problem but once youre in the playoffs, teams will find ways to expose your limitations. Fun as Curry and Lillard together is to imagine, in the end this is probably one for fantasy basketball or an All-Star game. The Toronto Raptors are in an interesting spot. They had a disappointing season in Tampa, Kyle Lowry is 35-years old and a free agent, and they just tanked their way into the 4th pick in the 2021 draft. Along the way this season there was some smoke coming out of the Raptors around Pascal Siakam and coach Nick Nurse. At the same time their President Masai Ujiri is about to be a free agent and no-one knows whether hell be back or not. They could treat last season as a blip, take Gonzagas Jalen Suggs with that 4th pick, and jump right back into the mix as a playoff team in the Eastern Conference. But they might not quite have enough to contend. If so, the Warriors package might be interesting to them. Wiggins contract is less of an issue for them with a relatively clear salary cap, and his Canadian roots will help sell him to fans. Wiseman still has the allure of potential, and the 7th pick at least would give them another shot in this draft. Siakam didnt have a great season last year, shooting under 30% from three. Indeed the version the Warriors saw as a high-end complementary star in the 2019 Finals isnt quite what theyd be getting here. The last two seasons Siakams usage has skyrocketed without Kawhi Leonard on the roster, but his efficiency has plummeted from 54.9 fg% in 2018-19 to around 45 fg% the last two seasons. If he cant really shoot, they might face the same issues as they would with the Simmons-Green fit. Whats more Siakam is going to be out for the first part of the 2021-22 season after shoulder surgery. That can be a tricky injury to work back from, and with Thompson also expected to be out for the early part of the season the Warriors could end up cashing all their chips in and finding themselves rehabbing their star wing rotation for most of a season when they need to be winning games. If the Warriors could somehow expand the trade to include the 14th pick and get back the 4th pick, they could get their hands on the impressive Suggs, a perfect fit for a contending team and worth the trouble. But thats probably too much of a price to pay for Toronto unless they really want Wiseman. In a recent podcast ESPNs Zach Lowe and Jonathan Givony mused whether the Detroit Pistons would give up the number one pick, and Cade Cunningham, for Wiseman, the 7th and 14th pick. It does appear that the Pistons are not deadset on taking Cunningham with the top pick, while they were high on Wiseman last season. But theyd be mad to do that trade. If it is there the Warriors should bite their hand off. Nonetheless, the Warriors moving up is generating some buzz. To have any shot at Cunningham though, who would be an incredible fit in Golden State as a big, playmaking wing who can shoot and defend at a high level, the Warriors probably need to get into a position to take Jalen Green, who the Pistons apparently are coveting as their top prospect. That likely means trading up to the top-3. Presumably if theyre after a big though the Cavaliers can just hope to take Evan Mobley who is more versatile and a better fit for the modern NBA. So it would probably cost the 7th pick as well. If the Warriors can then package that pick and 14 for Cunningham, its a path worth exploring. But there are a lot of moving pieces here, and the value for the Pistons appears to be Wiseman, who the Warriors would have to part with to move up. The other fly in the ointment in moving up is the Orlando Magic who have a much better package to move up, armed with the 5th and 8th pick. However, the buzz out of Orlando appears to be that theyre moving towards hiring franchise legend Penny Hardaway as their coach. This is good news for the Warriors. The connection between Hardaway and Wiseman is well known. Its not hard to imagine Hardaway selling the Magic brass on going after Wiseman and for the Magic to seek building their roster around the promising big man and his mentor. A potential deal that could work for both sides is Wiseman plus filler, probably Eric Paschalls contract, for the 5th pick and veteran scoring guard Terrence Ross, who has no real place on a rebuilding roster. That would give the Warriors a veteran bench wing who can fill it up, and another asset to throw into a trade with Toronto. All of a sudden a deal constructed of Siakam and the 4th pick doesnt seem so lopsided. The Raptors would only be trading back one place to 5th where they can take a higher upside wing like Scottie Barnes or Jonathan Kuminga, and are getting the 7th pick, the 14th pick and whatever other sweeteners the Warriors can throw in. That could include potentially another future first rounder and Torontos own second-rounder in next years draft which could be high up in the second round if they are going down a rebuilding path. In this scenario the Warriors get Suggs as their third guard who can help them win now but also take them into the future, Siakam as their star wing to complement their existing core, and Terrence Ross to help plug a gap on the second unit and bolster the rotation while Thompson and Siakam recover. Still, the convoluted nature of such a trade underlines the fundamental truth for the Warriors as they seek the perfect trade package. Wanting to get a deal done is not the same as actually finding a deal that gives them the boost they need to contend now, while getting the right value out of their assets. So kick the tires they will, but dont be too surprised if they end up sticking with what theyve got and using the picks on some players who can win now.