The Golden State Warriors didn’t have a pick in the 2017 NBA Draft going into Thursday. They made nary a peep in the first round. But as the second round got underway, the Warriors decided to have a go of it.
The Warriors paid off the Bulls to get Jordan Bell
The undisputed best team in the world decided to buy into the draft. They did so with style.
Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
So they sent $3.5 million to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for the No. 38 pick, Oregon power forward Jordan Bell.
That dollar amount is unheard-of in trades for second-round picks without other contracts involved. In fact, $3.5 million is maximum amount any NBA team could send to another team in any combination of trades ... for an entire season. The Warriors blew it all for a single second round pick, seemingly on a whim. (It’s not as though Golden State is hurting for talent.)
Cash transactions aren’t tracked closely in the NBA, but this very well might be the record for the biggest cash outlay for any pick, first or second round.
That $3.5 million is likely three times or more what Bell will actually get paid in 2017-18, and perhaps 10 times more if the Warriors leverage the new two-way G League roster slots for the youngster. The Warriors have used their G League affiliate Santa Cruz heavily in recent years, and Bell could spend the next season at that level.
Meanwhile, the Bulls get some cash to help pay for Dwyane Wade’s suddenly wildly inappropriate $24 million contract.
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