The Golden State Warriors have exactly one week to upgrade their roster before the last gasp that is the buyout market.
With the NBA’s trade deadline looming on February 9, Dubs general manager Bob Myers spoke with Steiny and Guru of 95.7 The Game as to his team’s intentions over the next seven days.
Myers said that the Warriors are looking for a rotation player beyond the starting five and bench contributors Kevon Looney, Donte DiVincenzo and Jonathan Kuminga. Exactly who that player might be, however, the GM kept close to the vest.
“That is the question. We gotta look and see if there’s something that makes sense to answer that question,” Myers said. “We gotta see, is there someone out there that fills that spot? Is there someone in a buyout? Is there someone in a trade? Is there someone who supplants that and becomes the seventh guy, the sixth guy? That’s our job in the next eight days.”
Myers Says Warriors Both ‘Need’ And ‘Would Like’ to Make Trade Deadline Deal
The hosts of the show went on to press Myers as to whether he believes Golden State needs to make an addition at the deadline, or simply wants to make an addition by then.
Can I say both? I can’t sit here and say that those eight, and throw in somebody that can give you … five minutes can’t beat a team in a series. I think we stack up good enough, that’s assuming health. But you always want to add to your margin of error. It’s not a margin of error that I’m entirely comfortable with as it stands. Can you increase that margin of error?
There [were] years when the margin of error was so big that I could answer that question and say, “No, we don’t need to do anything.” I’d probably lie and say, “Oh, you know…” but the truth is we didn’t need to anything. Those rosters and those seasons bore out that way.
Our margin of error is not what it was. The record is not what it was. Comparing to what I know about the teams we’ve had, I’d like to get a bigger margin of error.
James Wiseman Likely on Trading Block, Draymond Green Likely Isn’t
Whether he intended to or not, Myers did tip his hand somewhat by acquiescing that DiVincenzo and Kuminga are part of the Warriors’ postseason plans moving forward. As such, that really only leaves James Wiseman and Moses Moody as potential trade chips as the deadline approaches.
Myers also sounded like a man in charge of a team that is far more interested in buying than selling at the deadline, which means rumors and suggestions that the Dubs will and/or should deal forward Draymond Green look like they can all but go at the window at this point.
As far as who the Warriors might target in a trade, they could go a couple of different ways. Shooting guard Gary Trent Jr. is a viable option as a bench scorer should the Toronto Raptors opt to become sellers, while frontline additions P.J. Washington and Mason Plumlee from the Charlotte Hornets make sense if Golden State wants to solidify its rebounding and interior defensive presence.
Still, Myers lamented the lack of options the Warriors face as the trade deadline approaches.
“There [are fewer] sellers. I think the league thought more teams, whether they were trying for a certain player in the draft, would be clearly out on the playoffs at this time. That is not the case,” Myers said.
“There are not a lot of teams that are making the decision that this season is lost. You got a lot of teams that are saying to each other, ‘We wanna get better.’ But if 12 of the 15 teams in your conference, or 22 of the 30 [teams] in the league, are all wanting to get better, it doesn’t make for a lot of trading partners,” he continued.
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Bob Myers Breaks Silence on Warriors’ Trade Deadline Intentions