It's hard to find a better NBA front office than Golden State's under Bob Myers, outside of Oklahoma City. From a last minute nixing of the Klay Thompson/Kevin Love trade, to moving off of Monta Ellis while still in his prime, to finding Draymond Green in the second round of the 2012 Draft, the Warriors' whiffs are few and far between.
Then you get to 2020. With a golden (pun intended) chance to reload for the future with the second pick of the draft, Golden State had some buzz in a pretty hyped up draft class. And before undue shade gets thrown around about how big of a bust Deandre Ayton 2.0 ended up being, the popular consensus at the time was that James Wiseman was the most logical pick for Golden State to make. But if recent rumblings about that draft's No. 3 pick, LaMelo Bal,l being on Charlotte's trade block are true, then the Warriors might get a chance at a do-over of that disastrous pick.
LaMelo Ball and the Hornets are fractured
On paper, the Hornets have a very talented core: besides Ball, third-year wing Brandon Miller has shown star potential when healthy and fellow forward Miles Bridges is as talented of a second/third option as you can get anywhere in the league. Even rookie Kon Knueppel has come strong out the gate.
And yet Charlotte finds itself at the very bottom of the Eastern Conference. What's even worse is that Yahoo Sports' Kelly Iko reported on claims that the Hornets brass has grown increasingly doubtful of LaMelo's place in Charlottes future as a franchise. After his one All-Star appearance, Ball and the Hornets have steadily declined, bottoming out early this season when Ball was benched with 4:32 left in what would become a devastating double-digit loss to the Tyrese Haliburton-less Pacers.
For his part, Ball seems frustrated at the Hornets' pace of play, as they are hovering around a bottom 10 pace in spite of his tendencies to push the offense forward — and he might have caught wind that the Hornets' current scheme is clearly aimed at getting Miller more involved. And if that's the case, both parties would likely benefit from a change.
The new Splash Brothers
This is where Golden State comes into play. Despite having a glut of perimeter scorers, they don't have any three-level scoring threats that can also absolutely run an entire offensive scheme as the primary ball handler. Ball can't stay healthy, can't play defense, can't string together more than two or three good on-court decisions. In a word, he's immature. Talented, but still rough around the edges, without a winner to tutor him.
Enter Steph Curry, the greatest winner in Golden State history, and likely the greatest Warrior ever. If anyone can help mold LaMelo Ball into a winning playmaker, it's Steph. And if Steph isn't able to do much by himself, Draymond Green might be the best 'bad cop' in the NBA.
LaMelo's lapses wouldn't fly in an organization like Golden State. In fact, if anything, Steph and Draymond would be great influences on Ball to hone his aggressiveness, and Jimmy Butler on top to put a cherry on top of the winning culture Sunday in the bay.
He'll be expensive; even without considering what Charlotte wants in a trade package for him, Ball still has $130 million owed to him under his current contract. But the Warriors have been simultaneously looking for a young star to take the crown from Steph's hands once he retires, as well as. someone with the star power and skill set to jumpstart their own lethargic offense. Ball offers
Finally, it bears mentioning that the 'rumors' surrounding Golden State's decision on what to do with their first round pick in 2020 were largely linked to Ball. Anthony Edwards was the only other perimeter player worth considering in that range, and the Timberwolves wouldn't have traded down from him. Well, with this trade, the Warriors essentially get this draft pick back for one mulligan before Steph eventually retires. They'd be wise to take it.