Warriors' Rotation, Trade Options After Will Richard's UCL Injury

Richard's injury leaves the Warriors very thin on depth

Will Richard | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Golden State Warriors will be without Will Richard indefinitely after the second-year guard suffered a torn UCL in his thumb.

It's not clear how much time he'll miss, but UCL injuries typically take weeks to heal.

The Warriors are thin on healthy bodies with the long-term absences of Jimmy Butler (knee), Moses Moody (knee) and Kristaps Porzingis (illness).

Let's go over what they can do with the rotation to replace Richard as well as what kind of trade options they have.

Rotation Options

Richard is averaging 17.2 minutes per game playing primarily as shooting guard who provides on-ball defense on opposing guards.

It should be noted that Basketball Reference estimates that he's played 74 percent of his minutes at the 2 and 26 percent of his minutes at the 3. Richard is often in three-guard lineups where it's not clear who is the 2 and who is the 3.

It should also be noted that Richard has played 171 minutes this season, and 53 of them came in the two games Stephen Curry and Draymond Green were out.

His minutes average with Curry and Green active is 14.8. His minutes average with Curry and Green inactive is 26.5.

In games that feature Curry and Green active, replacing Richard's minutes won't be too challenging. His approximately 15 minutes can be dispersed to Gary Payton II, De'Anthony Melton and possibly Brandon Williams, who could play alongside Curry for a few minutes.

When Curry and Green are out, the Warriors will have even bigger depth issues due to Richard's injury. For now, LJ Cryer figures to be the biggest beneficiary. He won't provide the on-ball defense Richard does, but his three-point shooting off the bench could come in handy.

Cryer could play about 16 minutes, leaving about 10 from Richard's average playing time with Curry and Green out. Payton could see most of the remaining 10 minutes from Richard's absence.

Trade Options

The Warriors currently have just 14 healthy players, with three of those on two-way contracts. Reports suggest they are hoping to trade Porzingis for a center.

They would also benefit from another on-ball defender while Richard is out.

The Warriors have used up all of their standard contract roster space, so if they wanted to acquire two players, they'd need to send out two players.

One idea is trading for 6'9" big Jalen Smith and 6'6" wing Isaac Okoro from Chicago. I previously wrote that the Bulls might accept this trade if the Warriors gave up Gui Santos along with Porzingis. The Warriors could try to replace Santos with Richard, but I could see the Bulls wanting some draft compensation to make up for the fact that Richard isn't as valuable as Santos.

Another possible option is trading Porzingis and one deep reserve for Orlando's Wendell Carter Jr. and Jevon Carter or Jamal Cain.

The Magic might shop Wendell to clear apron space for an Anthony Black extension. My guess is the Magic would demand one first-round pick (likely a protected 2027 first) for Wendell, which would be worth it for the Warriors, as the 6'10" center is averaging 14.8 points and 9.6 rebounds per game.

Jevon would give the Warriors another three-and-D guard, though at 6'1" he doesn't have the length of the 6'3" Richard. Jevon can't be traded until Dec. 15, so if Richard is totally recovered by that point, then the Warriors would likely prefer to keep Richard.

Jamal Cain is trade-eligible immediately and an intriguing Richard replacement at 6'7". He had some good reps guarding Curry on Saturday, that Curry often got the better of him with outrageous shotmaking.

Among the Warriors' deep reserves on standard contracts, it's clear that Charles Bassey, Georges Niang and Brandon Williams are too valuable to trade. Gary Payton II has an implicit no-trade clause, meaning he could reject any trade. That leaves Richard as the most likely player to be included in a swap for Wendell and one Magic reserve.

It would be ruthless to trade Richard, who has done nothing but exceed expectations since being drafted with the 56th pick of the 2025 draft. But the longer he's expected to be out, the more practical that decision would be just so the Warriors can have more healthy bodies in their rotation.