Shooting guard Alec Burks is among several players with whom the Warriors are willing to part before the Feb. 6 trade deadline, according to Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. Poole suggests Golden State could be one of the most active teams on the trade market after virtually ignoring it during the past five years.
He identifies Burks as the most coveted of the Warriors’ assets because he can stretch defenses and has an affordable contract at $2.3 million. Burks is averaging 15.5 PPG through 30 games and shooting 34.9% from 3-point range.
Poole names the Lakers, Mavericks, Clippers, Pacers and Raptors as teams that could use another wing player who can shoot from outside. He states that the Warriors will be looking for future assets such as draft picks and young players.
Although Golden State’s front office likes Burks, it needs to open up roster spots soon to keep two-way players Damion Lee and Ky Bowman, who are both nearing their 45-day NBA limit. Lee has 12 days remaining and Bowman has 11. After that, both players will have to have their contracts converted to NBA deals or remain in the G League until that season is over.
“It’s an awkward situation for us, because Ky and Damion are coming up on their limit,” coach Steve Kerr told reporters after Friday’s game. “And they’re two of our top seven players in our rotation. And yet the rules are that we only have them for another nine or 10 days each. Everybody is aware of that. We don’t know how it’s going to play out.”
Several league sources told Poole that the Warriors are ready to move into serious trade discussions. They added several veterans over the summer on contracts they believed would be easy to move when the time came.
Those include Glenn Robinson III at $1.9 million, Marquese Chriss at a non-guaranteed $1.7 million and Willie Cauley-Stein at $2.2 million with a $2.3 million player option for next season. They also traded for Omari Spellman, who makes $1.9 million this season, and picked up his option for 2020-21 at nearly $2 million.
