The Golden State Warriors still have one roster spot left — and the buyout market just slammed shut on their best alternatives.
Cam Thomas, Haywood Highsmith, and Jeremy Sochan are all off the board. That leaves Golden State staring at a suddenly thin list of realistic options.
According to Blue Man Hoop’s Peter O’Keefe, the Warriors should stop overthinking it and go get the one player who can actually change everything:
“Lonzo Ball could still be the best move for the Warriors.”
Just days ago, the Warriors were reportedly “close” to landing Ball after the Cleveland Cavaliers flipped him to the Utah Jazz, only for the Jazz to waive the 28-year-old immediately. He hit free agency with his elite playmaking, elite defense, and that famous 6-foot-9 wingspan still intact.
Then Marc Stein dropped the report that Golden State had cooled off. The buzz went quiet.
But now? The market has dried up. The sexier names are gone. And suddenly Lonzo Ball looks like the smartest — and most terrifying — option left on the board.
Yes, the injury history is real. Yes, some fans are rolling their eyes. But O’Keefe is right: Ball has a higher ceiling than Highsmith or Sochan ever showed, and he is a dramatically better stylistic fit next to Stephen Curry.
Think about it: a 6-foot-9 point guard who sees the floor like a savant, launches threes from the logo, and locks up the other team’s best perimeter player on the other end. Pair that with Curry’s gravity and the Warriors’ switch-everything scheme, and you’ve just built a nightmare defensive backbone that can also run in transition and stretch the floor on offense.
And here’s the part the rest of the West should fear most: this is a revenge-driven Lonzo Ball.
Drafted second overall by the Lakers in 2017, hyped as the future of the franchise, then shipped out in the Anthony Davis deal and forced to watch the Lakers win a title without him. He’s been through the Bulls nightmare, the Pelicans limbo, the Cavs detour, and now the Jazz waiver. At 28, still in his physical prime when healthy, Ball has every reason to be motivated like never before.
The Warriors are reportedly ready to pounce before someone else does. A deal in the range of $20 million (likely a short-term, incentive-heavy structure) would be a bargain for a player who, on any given night, can look like a top-20 guard in the league.
The Western Conference was already on notice when the Warriors added depth at the deadline.
Add a healthy, hungry, revenge-fueled Lonzo Ball to that mix?
It’s over.
The playoffs are about to meet their $20 million nightmare.