Portland Trail Blazers: 3 worst Damian Lillard trades on the internet
By Andy Quach
HoopsHype’s Yossi Gozlan proposes that the Golden State Warriors add a third member to the Splash Bros
It’s very rare that a superstar is traded to a big market contender like many analysts and fans predict. Whether it’s Jimmy Butler to Minnesota, Kawhi Leonard to Toronto, or Russell Westbrook to Washington, more often than not, a star player is traded to a surprise destination with the best possible assets to offer in a package.
The reason for that is because the more exciting teams don’t have the ammunition to swing such a trade, without giving up one of their own stars in return.
That didn’t stop Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype from attempting to trade Damian Lillard, while also keeping the Golden State Warriors big three in tact.
Here, Gozlan is massively overvaluing the draft compensation being sent. The seventh pick is just outside of the top-tier talent in this year’s draft and honestly, the number one pick wouldn’t even be enough in this deal.
Andrew Wiggins has had somewhat of a career resurgence in Golden State, but his ceiling is of a third-option on a championship team—at best.
James Wiseman had a massively disappointing rookie season after being selected with the Warriors second-overall pick in 2020. While there’s still plenty of room for him to grow, his ceiling as a mostly interior big man will limit his potential in today’s NBA.
The Warriors will still be dark-horse contenders when Klay Thompson returns from injury next season. General Manager Bob Myers is surely banking on it, because Golden State is well short on assets to acquire a true third star.