Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
The Golden State Warriors find themselves in the midst of an important offseason. Golden State has missed the playoffs three of the past five seasons. It is also potentially set to lose four-time NBA champion Klay Thompson in NBA free agency.
There are so many backstories for head coach Steve Kerr and Co. as the Warriors look to remain relevant on the broader NBA stage.
One situation that could soon come to a culmination is the status of future Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul. The Warriors have a $30 million team option on Paul’s contract for next season. It’s an option Golden State is certainly going to decline.
However, Golden State could also use Paul’s contract to bring in assets before his option deadline on Friday. We previously reported that Paul could push back said deadline in order to help facilitate a trade.
We now have more on this courtesy of NBA insider Marc Stein. He notes that the Warriors are working hard on finding a Paul trade partner ahead of the aforementioned deadline later this week.
“The Warriors, league sources say, have continued to explore their trade options with Paul’s trade-friendly contract in conjunction with Wednesday’s draft as well as the prospect of pushing the Friday deadline into July if Paul is amenable to that amendment.”
Related: 5 trades to make the Golden State Warriors title contenders
Expiring contracts are valuable in today’s NBA. If the free-spending Warriors are willing to pick up a long-term contract, they could very well land assets for CP3.
Despite seeing his game take a hit recently, the 39-year-old Paul is still playing at somewhat of a high level. The 12-time All-Star averaged 9.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 6.8 assists on 37% shooting from three-point range a season ago.
Whether the Warriors are able to find a trade partner within the next few days remains to be seen. But it’s clear that general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. and Co. are being proactive in this regard.