Warriors Rumors: PBJ & Wiseman Could Be Targeted by OKC

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Golden State Warriors forward Patrick Baldwin Jr. fires a shot during a fight with the New Orleans Pelicans.

Much has been written and said about the Golden State Warriors possibly acting people – James Wiseman, anyone? — or want to trade to the People – so Myles Turner and Jakob Poeltl – to increase their chances of the title. However, the fact that dubs players are attractive targets for other teams has been far less discussed.

Of course, everyone wishes Stephen Curry would lead their offense, and Draymond Green has been linked by pundits with the LA Lakers and his hometown Detroit Pistons, but Golden State definitely has other commodities worth keeping an eye on, as the February trading deadline approaches.

In a roundup of potential trade targets for all 30 NBA teams, Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley linked Warriors players to more than one club. Perhaps more interesting, however, is the fact that he has listed a club as a possible candidate for not one but two the youngsters of the team.

This club: the Oklahoma City Thunder, who made a name for themselves as wealth collectors after the departure of Paul George three years ago.

B/R: OKC could pursue Wiseman & PBJ

While the Warriors committed to a dual-timeline roster last season — and there was some thought that some of the team’s youngsters could actually contribute in 2022-23 — things didn’t pan out exactly as anyone would have them in the bay had hoped for.

As such, Buckley can envision a scenario where the dubs settle, and he sees former No. 2 overall winner James Wiseman and 2022 first-rounder Patrick Baldwin Jr. attractive to the Thunder.

“Golden State has found their growing pains to be deal-breakers, but OKC can live with some subpar results in order to achieve a better process,” Buckley wrote. “There aren’t many players who can match Wiseman’s combination of size, skill and athleticism, and Baldwin stands out as a 6ft 9″ forward with holds and a soft shot.”

It has been noted that OKC has made progress since it first drew attention to its own youth movement with the George deal, however the club remains in wealth building and development mode.

“The Thunder are as buoyant as they were during their lengthy rebuilding project, but they’re not quite ready to splurge on a timeline accelerator,” added Buckey. “Instead, they can stay on the slow and steady path to competition by focusing on player development and looking for distressed assets.”

Wiseman is averaging 6.5 points and 3.7 rebounds in 12.7 minutes per game for Golden State this season. As for Baldwin, the young rookie has only completed five games for the dubs in 22-23, averaging a 3.2 PPG.

They’ve been doing their G League thing lately and, well…

OKC had a front row seat to a recent outbreak

Aside from being a blue chipper, which the Warriors’ owner once likened to Joel Embiid, there may be other reasons the Thunder Wiseman kicks the hoops. Notably, he just shed some light on their G League partner in the Showcase Cup competition (and Baldwin was right there with him).

Seeing is believing, right?

In 29 minutes against the Oklahoma City Blue on Dec. 11, Wiseman dropped 24 points on 11-of-13 shooting and added 16 rebounds, three blocked shots and two assists.

Baldwin, meanwhile, scored 25 points on 9-of-12 shooting (and 6-of-9 from three-point range). He also contributed six rebounds in the Sea Dubs’ 122-111 win.