Jimmy Butler III, Stephen Curry, Warriors
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The Golden State Warriors need a reliable No. 3 option behind Jimmy Butler III and Stephen Curry.
The Golden State Warriors‘ second-round exit showed how vulnerable their current roster is when one of their stars goes down. They lost the last four games in the second round of the playoffs, which Stephen Curry missed due to a hamstring injury.
Finding a reliable third option who can slide to No. 2 when either Curry or Jimmy Butler is unavailable is a must for the Warriors as they look to go all-in over the next two seasons — the length of the contracts of the Curry-Butler-Draymond Green core and coach Steve Kerr.
Buddy Hield had his moments, but he was inconsistent. Ditto with Brandin Podziemski. But to be fair, it was a tough ask for a second-year player. The polarizing Jonathan Kuminga showed flashes, but his skill set overlaps with Butler and Kerr made it clear he doesn’t trust the young forward to play 38 minutes given their current roster construction and win-now window.
Warriors’ Trade Target
Enter Boston Celtics guard Derrick White, who is a Warriors’ trade target, according to The Ringer’s Logan Murdoch when he appeared on “The Zach Lowe Show” on May 16.
“Another guy that I think you should look at for the Warriors going forward is Derrick White,” Murdock said. “A guy like that I think, is something that the Warriors are looking at right now because Boston is expected in league circles to have some sort of fire sale or some sort of maybe reset… Just somebody that can play defense and kind of just settle everyone down. Especially when you have a young group like that, you need to settle them down in the non-Steph [Curry] minutes, so that’s something to figure out.”
And it’s not hard to see why. White has a championship pedigree and he has a mutual connection with Kerr — Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs — which makes him a seamless fit.
Consolidation Trade for Derrick White
Stephen Curry, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Celtics
Getty Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors is guarded by Jrue Holiday and Derrick White of the Boston Celtics.
Adam Taylor of the USA Today’s Warriors Wire proposed a consolidation trade, which he noted works under the “the rigorous trade machine test over on Spotrac, that will ship White to Golden State.
Here is Taylor’s trade proposal:
Golden State Warriors receive: Derrick White
Boston Celtics receive: Gary Payton II, Buddy Hield, Trayce Jackson-Davis, a 2027 first-round pick (lottery protected)
The Warriors have up to four first-round picks as draft capital in a trade. So this will leave them with still enough ammunition to go out and get another piece to add to their veteran core.
“For Golden State, White would be an ideal two-guard next to Curry. He defends at an elite level, rarely makes the wrong read, and can hit the three of both the catch and the dribble,” Taylor wrote.
White was one of the few bright spots of the Celtics’ lost season.
The 6-foot-4 guard averaged 20.2 points in their second-round loss to the New York Knicks. He finished the playoffs as Boston’s third-best scorer, averaging 18.8 points, behind Tatum (28.1 points) and Jaylen Brown (22.1), and was also one of their top perimeter defenders.
White will be 31 in July and his four-year, $118 million deal will start kicking in next season. If the Warriors acquire him, he could help them in the interim to make a run at another championship and bridge the next era after Curry and co. fade into the sunset.