The Golden State Warriors would ideally like to add a marquee player to their roster this offseason in order to get over that playoff hump and finally be contenders in the Western Conference. Their lineup of budding young stars has proven to simply not be enough to get past the first round. Armed with new head coach Steve Kerr, the Warriors could be in play for several free agents, but not a trade.
The Warriors were listed as one of the teams who would ideal make a run at a trade for Kevin Love. Golden State has draft picks and plenty of trade pieces they could offer Minnesota. Their backcourt alone is filled with depth and young talent that the Timberwolves could build a roster around. However, the Warriors are not so keen on giving anyone up and might target a free agent instead to out-right sign.
According to Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, the Timberwolves would ideally like Klay Thompson in a trade and the Warriors are not willing to give him up. Thompson is up for a contract extension and it appears the Warriors would prefer to keep him around instead of trading a valuable player even if it is Love. As a result, the Warriors are looking to Carmelo Anthony as their favored player in free agency.
There are still ways to get Love without involving Thompson. According to Bleacher Report's Gran Hughes, Golden State could try and package David Lee with Draymond Green, Harrison Barnes and a future first-round draft pick. The Warriors have been trying to dump off Lee's contract and this could be a trade that does it. However, it is likely that any deal for Love will have to involve Thompson which could cause Golden State to pursue another direction.
According to Marcus Thompson of the San Jose Mercury News, the Warriors will look to Anthony if a trade for Love is impossible. The Warriors still want to trade Lee. They ideally would need to get rid of his contract in order to create cap space for Anthony, but there are ways around that. Getting the Knicks guard would be an excellent pairing to Stephen Curry.
The Warriors are also looking at Orlando's Arron Afflalo as an option. The team is trying to figure out who could take Lee. The Knicks could strike a trade involving Anthony. New York needs an upgrade at forward since Amar'e Stoudemire has failed to impress. New York might not want Lee back though.
The Warriors will be very active in the offseason. Whether it is a trade for Love or trying to sign Anthony, they plan on making moves to finally make noise in the postseason.
