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As the Golden State Warriors continue to explore ways to upgrade their roster, it doesn’t appear that Zach LaVine or Brandon Ingram will be on their radar.
Golden State has been trying to make a big splash to no avail thus far. The team “believed” multiple times leading up to free agency that it would be able to work out a trade for Paul George with the Los Angeles Clippers before he decided to opt out of his deal, per The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami.
Lauri Markkanen has been a frequent target of the Warriors, but Charania, Jones and Slater noted he’s “expected to agree to a massive, long-term contract extension” with the Utah Jazz that will be signed on Wednesday or later, making him ineligible to be traded during the 2024-25 season.
Assuming any possibility of a Markkanen trade comes off the board, there aren’t a lot of options for the Warriors to significantly improve their talent pool.
LaVine and Ingram are probably the two best players who could be available in a trade, but they come with some limitations that any interested team has to consider. LaVine is coming off a foot injury that required surgery and limited him to 25 games last season. He’s owed $89 million over the next two seasons and has a $49 million player option for 2026-27.
Ingram only has one year remaining on his current contract with a $36 million salary. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported in July that Ingram wants a max extension that would pay him $208 million over four years.
Despite losing Klay Thompson in free agency, the Warriors have had a solid offseason. They’ve added De’Anthony Melton, Buddy Hield and Kyle Anderson. Even though none of those players are stars, they add some much-needed depth to the roster.
The Warriors are currently under both of the tax aprons, so they could package together multiple contracts for a star player if one becomes available during the season.
LaVine averaged 19.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game in 25 appearances for the Chicago Bulls last season. Ingram ranked second on the New Orleans Pelicans with 20.8 points, 5.7 assists and 5.1 rebounds per game in 64 starts during the 2023-24 campaign.
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