The Golden State Warriors are not opposed to trading their two first-round picks to acquire a star player, but it sounds like they may only have one specific star player in mind.
Bradley Beal has publicly pledged his allegiance to the Washington Wizards on multiple occasions, but there have been signs recently that the three-time All-Star could ask for a trade. The Warriors are said to have interest, and they may be able to use their two lottery picks — No. 7 and No. 14 overall — to swing a trade for Beal. If they cannot, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski says they are content to use the picks.
During his NBA Draft special with Zach Lowe on Sunday, Wojnarowski indicated that Beal is the only star player the Warriors plan to pursue.
Woj thinks Warriors keep and use their picks.
pic.twitter.com/OKseD8lDJY— TheWarriorsTalk (@TheWarriorsTalk) July 25, 2021
“Golden State’s going to wait and see how it goes with Bradley Beal,” Woj said. “But short of Bradley Beal being available, I expect Golden State to use those picks at No. 7 and No. 14 this week.”
Lowe added that the Warriors using their two first-round picks on players that will be on their roster next season is the “likeliest scenario.”
Of course, that could be posturing. The Warriors don’t want to look desperate leading up to the draft, especially with one report already claiming their star players want them to make a big trade.
Beal, 28, averaged 31.3 points per game this season and narrowly lost the scoring title to Stephen Curry. He may have a specific team in mind that he would like to play for, but we’d guess he would welcome a trade to Golden State.
