This Pacers-Warriors offseason trade is focused on TJ Warren

Right now, the Indiana Pacers organization is facing a lot of drama as they are not only dealing with NBA rumors about the future of head coach Nate Bjorkgren, but recent drama between center Goga Bitadze and assistant coach Greg Foster has been stirring up a lot of rifts within the organization. 

According to a recent article published by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Nate Bjorkgren is on the “hot seat” after ongoing issues between the players and staff. As if the situation could not get any worse for the Pacers, the Bitadze-Foster feud happened a day or two after this report came out from ESPN, shining more light onto the ongoing tensions inside the Pacers organization. 

READ MORE: NBA Trade Rumors: 3 teams who could consider trading for TJ Warren in the offseason

Now, the narrative being brought forth recently is that TJ Warren is “unhappy” in Indiana and one of the main reasons he elected to have season-ending surgery was so he did not have to play for Nate Bjorkgren. According to Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer, the Pacers never talked with Warren about the potential hiring of Bjorkgren and he was not a fan of the hiring. 

Could this mean that last year’s breakout star of the Orlando Bubble could be put on the trade market this offseason? If he is, then the Golden State Warriors could be a team that looks to make a run at Warren. 

With Klay Thompson returning, the Warriors will be looking to add pieces to their roster to make themselves a championship contender again, but there may be only one scenario that could possibly work for them to potentially acquire TJ Warren. Let’s take a look at how the Warriors could possibly make this work. 

Golden State Warriors, Kelly Oubre Jr., NBA Rumors
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Golden State Warriors Receive: F TJ Warren

Indiana Pacers Receive: F Kelly Oubre Jr. (Sign-and-Trade), GSW 2022 1st Round Pick, TOR 2022 2nd Round Pick

It is seeming more and more like Kelly Oubre Jr. will not be returning to the Golden State Warriors next season, but that does not mean that they will not look to use him as trade bait. Oubre Jr. is set to become an unrestricted free agent in the offseason, but there is a possibility that the Warriors could pull off a potential sign-and-trade with him. 

Now, the details of what the contract could look like and the terms of the contract are unknown at this time and it is hard to speculate how much this contract for Oubre would be worth, but the Warriors could definitely create a situation where they are not having to move around multiple contracts to come up with a contract that matches TJ Warren’s $12.6M for next season. 

The Warriors are going to be over the hard cap next year anyways and are going to be paying luxury taxes, so if they really want to make the most of their championship opportunity, going after TJ Warren makes a ton of sense, even though he and Andrew Wiggins play virtually the same position. 

READ MORE: NBA Trade Rumors: 3 teams who could consider trading for TJ Warren in the offseason

Last year in the NBA Bubble, TJ Warren was one of the breakout stars, as he averaged 31.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and shot 57.8% from the floor and 52.4% from three-point range in six seeding games.

This year, he was expected to take another big leap in his career, but then he went down with a stress fracture in his left foot that has kept him out virtually the entire season. Warren is expected to make a full recovery and should be ready to go when training camp for the 2021-22 season begins. 

So could the Warriors actually make this trade work and are the Pacers willing to take on a larger contract with Kelly Oubre Jr? Let’s take a closer look as to if this trade makes sense for both the Warriors and the Pacers. 

TJ Warren, Indiana Pacers, NBA All-Star
Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Does this trade make sense for the Golden State Warriors?

If the Warriors can pull off this trade, even if it is for a “one-year rental” of TJ Warren, this would be yet another fantastic move made by the Warriors’ front-office and GM Bob Myers. They are not strangers to doing these types of deals either, as they executed a sign-and-trade for Kevin Durant/D’Angelo Russell two summers ago. 

While they do have Andrew Wiggins as their starting small-forward, getting TJ Warren would be huge for the Golden State Warriors because that would be yet another weapon that they can utilize, something they are lacking this year. 

Without Klay Thompson, the Warriors have been exactly the kind of team everybody had thought they would be with Steph Curry literally carrying this team on his back. When Klay returns, the Warriors will be getting a ton of production back, but they could gain even more by getting TJ Warren for the year. 

READ MORE: NBA Trade Rumors: 3 teams who could consider trading for TJ Warren in the offseason

Rotation wise, who knows what the Warriors would do since Steph, Klay and Draymond would all be in the starting lineup, but Steve Kerr is no stranger to having multiple superstar talents on a team and would be able to figure things out. 

This would be an A+ move by the Warriors if they could get this kind of value for Kelly Oubre Jr, especially since he is on an expiring contract and can sign anywhere as an unrestricted free agent. 

Kelly Oubre Jr., Golden State Warriors, NBA Rumors
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Does this trade make sense for the Indiana Pacers?

If these TJ Warren rumors are true, then there is no reason why they should not look to try and get as much value for him as possible. While this trade with the Warriors does not give them a ton of future value and while they would have to probably take on a larger contract with Kelly Oubre Jr, they would definitely be replacing Warren with a reliable wing. 

Oubre Jr. is only 25-years-old and over the last few seasons, he has really started to grow as a reliable threat on the wing. His focus trends more towards offense, but this season with Golden State, Kelly Oubre Jr. has shown flashes being a reliable defender on the wing as well. 

Losing Warren would definitely hurt the Pacers overall skill level, but getting Kelly Oubre Jr. is not a bad move at all, especially since he can contribute right away and he would be a really solid secondary option next to guys like Malcolm Brogdon, Caris Levert and Domantas Sabonis. 

READ MORE: NBA Trade Rumors: 3 teams who could consider trading for TJ Warren in the offseason

Not to mention, Indiana would also receive two draft picks in 2022 from the Warriors, a first-round pick and a second-round pick. Maybe the first-round pick would come with some protections on it, but nonetheless, this would still be valuable for a franchise that does not really have many young talents that are going to step into big roles moving forward. 

If TJ Warren wants to be traded, then getting Kelly Oubre Jr. and some draft picks is not bad value whatsoever, which is why this would definitely be a trade the Pacers would show some interest in this offseason.

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