Mike Dunleavy, Warriors willing to trade youth for right-hander – NBC Sports Bay Area & California

SAN FRANCISCO – Although the Warriors have long resisted the idea of ​​making Jonathan Kuminga available in a trade, that position lost some of its potency Thursday afternoon.

Kuminga and his fellow Golden State young core — Trayce Jackson-Davis, Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski — may not be on the market, but general manager Mike Dunleavy has made it clear that none are untouchable.

That any or all of them can be moved to get the right return.

“It would have to be something that we felt would unequivocally change the trajectory of our franchise,” Dunleavy said.

Like, say, adding a nine-time NBA All-Star. Or someone voted six times to the All-NBA team. Or, maybe, a four-time All-Defensive Team member.

Paul George is all of those things. And the Warriors, league sources say, are monitoring George’s status with the Los Angeles Clippers. He can decline his $48.8 million player option for next season and become an unrestricted free agent.

And the Clippers, according to president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank, are preparing for that possibility.

“We’ve had ongoing discussions with Paul and Aaron Mintz, his agent,” Frank told reporters Thursday afternoon in Los Angeles. “We love Paul. We really want to keep Paul. »

“But we also understand and respect very well that this is a business. And players have a limited amount of time so they can not only make the most money, but also be able to pursue what they want.

George, who turned 34 last month, would be the most attractive UFA available on the market. LeBron James won’t be leaving the Los Angeles Lakers – not with the arrival of his son Bronny. Tyrese Maxey of Philadelphia is a restricted free agent. James Harden is simply less attractive than George.

“We hope Paul decided to stay here,” Frank said. “He was great. He was an All-Star three out of five times. He is one of the best players in the league. He’s a great person, he has a great family. We hope he will be here. »

“But we also respect that if he chooses to step down, that is his choice. He deserved it. And we’ll see how things play out.

The Warriors too. After finishing sixth in the Western Conference in 2023, they dropped to 10th place last season. They are aiming for a big success.

That means adding an established star with the necessary gifts to complement and bolster veteran leaders Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, both in their 30s.

George, a 6-foot-8, 220-pound winger, is one of the few players potentially available who fit that profile.

The Warriors don’t have the cap space to pursue George as a free agent, so their only path to acquisition would be through a sign-and-trade deal. This cannot happen before the start of the new ceiling year on July 1st.

There are other obstacles to such a transaction, all of which can be overcome if all parties are willing.

And it’s conceivable that the Warriors would be willing to sacrifice some of their future to put themselves in position to compete for a championship.

Losing one of the four young people would be painful. But Kuminga would be the hardest to leave, especially after making appreciable progress last season.

“We love these guys,” Dunleavy said. “We think they’ll be really good, so we’d have to do something that makes us a lot better than that. »

Paul George brings enough skills to immediately make the Warriors much better than “good.” Of all the players that could be available, he might be the only one that could be said about.

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