Long before the Golden State Warriors‘ hit a stretch of nine losses in 11 games, questions were being asked about the team’s ability to contend with the elite big men around the NBA. And the situation hasn’t changed as the season has progressed.
Kevon Looney may be doing a yeoman’s job in manning the pivot and Draymond Green’s remarkable versatility allows him to function as a five-man in spurts, too, but both players are undersized for the position.
Moreover, Green is battling a disc injury and the team’s lone seven-footer — former No. 2 overall pick James Wiseman — may not be in the regular rotation when he finally returns from knee surgery rehab.
Despite the team’s frontcourt shortfall, Warriors GM Bob Myers elected not to add another big man at the trade deadline. So, what you see is what you get for the remainder of the 2021-22 campaign. However, he could make a move this summer and one hoops pundit sees the potential for a blockbuster addition.
Lowe: Warriors Could Make a Trade for Anthony Davis
During the March 7 episode of his podcast, The Lowe Post, ESPN’s Zach Lowe and guest Bill Simmons fired off a number of trade proposals centered around Lakers star Anthony Davis. In doing so, Simmons dropped a hypothetical deal that would see Golden State cashing in on its young guns to get another superstar.
“This does nothing for LeBron [James], but I think the Lakers would at least have to have a meeting,” he said. “What if it’s just [Andrew] Wiggins, [Jonathan] Kuminga and [Moses] Moody for Davis.”
Where BBall Index’s RAPTOR score is concerned, that deal doesn’t affect the Warriors’ projected win total one way or the other, but it does give them an MVP-type player who can also go toe-to-toe with the likes of Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, Bam Adebayo, Rudy Gobert, Deandre Ayton, etc. in the playoffs.
Meanwhile, it adds a win to the Lakers’ total and makes their roster a little deeper/less top-heavy. It also nets them two of the most promising prospects in the Association, which is a big deal for a club that has done everything but brace itself for the future.
Although Lowe agreed that the trade probably wouldn’t be a winner in James’ eyes, he opined that it was a good deal for Golden State, while conceding that moving Kuminga would be painful.
“I think I’m saying yes to that [as the Warriors],” Lowe said. “I gotta say yes to that because I have Steph [Curry] and Klay [Thompson] and Draymond [Green]; I gotta go all-in while I got them.”
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Where the Deal Might Fall Apart
As constituted, the Warriors have some tough calls to make this offseason with regard to rounding out their roster. Right now, the team is historically deep into the luxury tax zone despite the fact that it only has eight players under contract for next season. Simmons’ proposed trade would only make matters worse.
While swapping Wiggins, Kuminga and Moody for Davis would actually save the Dubs $5 million in 2022-23, it would also drop the club to just six contracted players with a payroll in advance of $165 million and more than half of its roster left to fill out.
One might say that it would be worth having an excess of minimum-contract players to field a star quartet with Steph, Klay, Draymond and AD. However, the Lakers’ top-heavy “super team” has failed spectacularly. And the Brooklyn Nets just pulled the plug on their own Big 3 at the trade deadline
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