In their most light-years-ahead move since signing in the summer of 2016, the Warriors managed without any cap space to land one of the top free agents on the market, a 23-year-old All-Star who could be part of the team's core beyond the careers of their star players.
But trading for D'Angelo Russell will come with a steep price for Golden State's roster and in terms of future draft picks. What does that mean for the Warriors and the other teams involved in this sign-and-trade deal?
Golden State Warriors get: D'Angelo Russell, Shabazz Napier, Treveon Graham
Memphis Grizzlies get: Andre Iguodala, protected 2024 first-round draft pick
Brooklyn Nets get: Kevin Durant, future first-round pick
Get more trade grades for every deal here.
Golden State Warriors: C-
The NBA's collective bargaining agreement specifically tries to prohibit taxpaying teams, like the Warriors have been, from acquiring free agents in sign-and-trade deals, which means punitive rules surrounding them. By trading for Russell, Golden State will be subject to a hard cap at the luxury-tax apron -- $138.9 million in salary, $6.3 million more than the tax line. At no time for any reason can the Warriors exceed that amount.
That was a problem because with max contracts for Russell and Klay Thompson, Golden State already had more than $140 million in salary committed for 2019-20. So 2015 NBA Finals MVP Andre Iguodala, a hero in the Finals as recently as Game 2 against Toronto, was sacrificed. Moving Iguodala came at a huge cost, as the Warriors had to send a lightly protected first-round pick (top four in 2024 and only No. 1 overall in 2025 before becoming unprotected in 2026) to Memphis to get off his salary.
I'm stunned the price to move Iguodala was that high. I'd rather have one year of Iguodala at $17.2 million than most of the contracts signed on the opening day of free agency, so it's surprising that none of the teams with cap space, like the New York Knicks, were willing to make a move for more modest draft compensation.
Even with Iguodala off the books, the Warriors will still be tightly restricted by the hard cap. If they sign second-round pick Eric Paschall to a minimum-salary contract and keep 14 players, they could afford to spend less than $3 million more than the veteran minimum on all their other signings combined. That means Golden State could not use its entire taxpayer midlevel exception worth $5.8 million, and at most could afford to pay free agent Kevon Looney about $4.9 million. (Or $4.7 million if they decide to keep Napier, whose $1.8 million salary is non-guaranteed through July 10. And Looney at that price or utilizing the taxpayer midlevel would be an either/or proposition, to be clear.)
Given all those restrictions, I suspect an important takeaway from this move is that the Warriors aren't serious about contending in 2019-20. Bob Myers would never say that publicly, of course, and Steve Kerr wouldn't say it in the locker room. But aside from Russell, Golden State's wing rotation until Thompson returns from his ACL surgery now consists of Paschall, Jacob Evans, Alfonzo McKinnie and 2019 first-round pick Jordan Poole. Suffice it to say that's a substantial drop-off from two Hall of Famers backed up by a Finals MVP.
Dealing for Russell seems to be much more about the long term. If things work out, he could be the centerpiece of the next era of Warriors basketball. And by 2020, when Thompson is fully healthy, Golden State will no longer be encumbered by the hard cap and will be capable of filling out the roster more completely. Besides the taxpayer midlevel exception, the Warriors would also have a trade exception for Iguodala's $17.2 million salary available to use at the start of the next offseason.
It's challenging to figure out exactly how Russell would fit with a healthy Golden State team. Presumably, the Warriors would start him at shooting guard with Thompson sliding down to small forward. While Thompson is capable of guarding bigger opponents and would often defend the best wing player regardless of position, asking Russell to match up with small forwards is a lot. Stephen Curry certainly can't do that. So Kerr will have a lot less defensive flexibility.
At the offensive end, Russell is used to playing with the ball in his hands more than anyone does in Kerr's offense, which emphasizes passing. According to Second Spectrum data on NBA Advanced Stats, Russell held the ball for 6.4 minutes per game last season, 25% more than the leading Golden State player (Curry, at 4.8). Because Russell is a spot-up threat (he shot 39.4% on catch-and-shoot 3s last season after being between 36% and 37% the previous two years), he won't lose his value playing off the ball, but it will certainly be an adjustment.
Alternatively, perhaps the Warriors see Russell as a trade piece down the road. Given the interest in Russell as a free agent, Golden State could certainly get value in return, perhaps more than enough to offset the two draft picks dealt away to get him.
Nonetheless, trading for Russell is a far riskier move for the Warriors than a more conventional offseason that would have seen them load up on wings to replace Durant and Thompson in the hopes of making a run in the 2020 playoffs. Given the cost of moving Iguodala and concerns about Russell's fit, I wouldn't have gone this route. But you can't crush teams for years without taking some risks.
Memphis Grizzlies: A
Despite being over the cap, the Grizzlies were positioned to take on Iguodala's salary using the trade exception they generated in the forthcoming Mike Conley deal. If Memphis waives Avery Bradley, whose salary is $2 million guaranteed through July 8, the team should be safely below the tax line with Iguodala on the books and wouldn't have had cap space anyway. So the Grizzlies won't sacrifice much by making this move.
Since Memphis isn't really a team that would benefit from having Iguodala this season, we'll see if he takes a buyout or stays on the roster. Besides Bradley, the Grizzlies also have a decision to make on Kyle Korver (whose salary is partially guaranteed through July 7), so the roster remains somewhat in flux.
Putting the draft pick Golden State sends back so far out was a nice decision by Memphis. In 2024, the first year the pick could convey, Curry will turn 36 and Thompson and Draymond Green -- a free agent between now and then -- both 34. Of course, it should be noted that Russell will be in the middle of his prime at age 27, but there's a chance a Warriors pick will have far more value by then than it would now.