The Golden State Warriors have remained an active participant in recent trade discussions as the Feb. 6 trade deadline quickly approaches.
Golden State currently holds a 14-11 record while holding onto the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. After beginning the season with a 12-3 record through 15 games and obtaining the No. 1 seed in the West, the team has suffered a skid that could be attributed to a lack of size and offensive skill at the center position.
This has given the Warriors a great reason to scour the trade market for a surging center on a selling team looking to acquire draft capital and prospects in exchange for their star in the frontcourt.
Recent reports have indicated that Golden State is following this exact plan, with their general manager Mike Dunleavy presumed to have contacted the Chicago Bulls’ front office to discuss the possibility of landing their exploding former All-Star center, Nikola Vučević.
“The Warriors have recently checked in with the Bulls on Nikola Vučević,” Forbes’ Evan Sidery reported via Twitter/X Thursday night.
“Golden State has the necessary expiring salaries and draft capital to make a potential deal work with Chicago.”
In his fourteenth NBA season at 34 years old, Vučević is putting together a resurgent campaign in 2024-25.
The 6-foot-10 Swiss center is currently averaging 21.1 points, 9.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists paired with a career-best 47.5% shooting clip from three-point range.
For all intents and purposes, Vučević’s value is as high as it’s been in the last handful of seasons.
Due to these developments, it would make complete sense for Chicago to see what kind of future assets they could obtain from Golden State by giving them a frontcourt star that can stretch out to the three-point line and display sufficient passing abilities.
The two-time All-Star will be under contract for this season and next, but will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2027. This makes the star center a likely half-season rental, but one that could make all the difference in the team’s chances of title contention.
In a potential deal to acquire Vučević, Golden State would likely have to give up a package including prospects like Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski or even Jonathan Kuminga along with first-round draft capital.
About the author