Warriors Considered Buyout Destination for Double-Double Machine

Mason Plumlee of the Charlotte Hornets guards Nikola Vucevic of the Chicago Bulls. Plumlee has been labeled as a potential buyout candidate for the Golden State Warriors.

Getty Mason Plumlee of the Charlotte Hornets guards Nikola Vucevic of the Chicago Bulls. Plumlee has been labeled as a potential buyout candidate for the Golden State Warriors.

The 2022-23 season continues to be a rollercoaster for Golden State Warriors fans. The Dubs haven’t been consistent all year, currently sitting in eighth place in the Western Conference, with a record 27-26. On top of that, star point guard Stephen Curry injured his left leg against the Dallas Mavericks on February 4, and is expected to miss “multiple weeks.”

With all of those things considered, the Warriors could certainly benefit from adding some reinforcements. One player whose name has been mentioned recently is Mason Plumlee of the Charlotte Hornets.

Plumlee was amongst a short list of players that Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus labeled as potential buyout candidates.

“The Charlotte Hornets should have every reason to find a trade for Plumlee. His expiring $9.1 million salary should be easy for Charlotte to move,” Pincus wrote. “But that doesn’t mean they will. If not, he’s an obvious buyout candidate.”

He went on to highlight several teams that could serve as landing spots for the 6-foot 11-inch big man, should he be bought out. Golden State was amongst those mentioned.

“A long list of teams needing a veteran backup big could include the Portland Trail Blazers, Golden State Warriors, Brooklyn Nets, Boston Celtics, (Los Angeles) Clippers, (Los Angeles) Lakers and (Miami) Heat,” Pincus explained.

The 32-year-old double-double machine is having what could be considered the best season of his career. He has appeared in all 55 of Charlotte’s games this season, playing 28.5 minutes each time. Plumlee is averaging career-highs in points, scoring 12.3 per game, rebounds, securing 9.7 per game, assists, with 3.7 per game, and field goal percentage, shooting 67.4% from the field.


Warriors Encouraged to ‘Make an Offer’ for Kevin Durant: Sources

Landing Plumlee could be a small improvement that proves to be important for the Warriors. However, if they’d like to make a real splash, sources close to Heavy Sports’ Sean Deveney believe that Golden State should look to bring back old friend Kevin Durant.

Deveney’s sources pointed to the summer as the window for the Dubs to do so.

“I think Golden State is a good example of that,” the GM told Deveney. “They’ve got these young guys and some people in that organization want to hang onto them, some want to move off them and win now. Lie, trade them on Thursday. But that is probably not going to happen, and the middle road is, hang on to them for this year and if they don’t pull things together, use them to go and make an offer for KD. They’d love to bring KD back to finish out his career with Steph and Klay [Thompson].”


Warriors Have ‘Painful Decisions’ in Immediate Future

Even with the Warriors’ season in somewhat of a limbo, there a plenty of fans and media members that believe that their current roster can compete for a championship.

David Thorpe of True Hoop is not one of those people. He recently wrote that the current Dubs roster has a “zero percent” chance to win a title, and that there are “painful decisions” in their immediate future.

“There’s an argument, of course, for the Warriors to exercise patience through the postseason,” Thorpe wrote. “Don’t forget that their starting five from last June—[Stephen] Curry, [Klay] Thompson, [Andrew] Wiggins, [Draymond] Green, Looney—has the second-best net rating among all starting lineups this season. Maybe the young guys can figure it out. If not, take a first-round loss on the chin, and then put everyone but Curry up for grabs this summer. They could renovate quickly by cashing in on big names, even if it cost them next-stage darlings like [Jordan] Poole, Wiggins, or Kevon Looney. Not sure how Dubs Nation would feel about that, but no matter what happens, painful decisions are coming.”

 

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