3 reasons why the Warriors probably won’t trade for Damian Lillard
By John Buhler
2. The Warriors have a lack of young talent to offer the Trail Blazers in a deal
Even if the Trail Blazers can find a way to convince themselves they are not rebuilding if they trade Lillard for someone like Wiggins as the centerpiece of a blockbuster package, they cannot deny it if they ask for somebody else. Maybe the Portland front office is really keen on second-year pro James Wiseman? Outside of him, there are not a ton of young players to get truly excited about.
Yes, they have an extra lottery pick this year from Wiggins’ former team in the Minnesota Timberwolves, but is the No. 7 overall pick this year going to be all that enticing? If the Warriors want to give up No. 7 and No. 14 in a deal for Lillard, that could be interesting, but ask yourself this: How many more times will Golden State be picking inside of the lottery portion again?
For this to work, Portland would have to be super high on either Wiggins or Wiseman, as well as being willing to part ways with at least one of their two lottery picks this year. Either of these potential trade scenarios would also signify that Portland is almost certainly rebuilding. With a new head coach, they can do that, but it has been a long time since the Trail Blazers were awful.
If the Warriors had an emerging star on a rookie contract, that would make a deal more probable.