Getty Kyle Kuzma dunks the ball in a game against the Golden State Warriors.
The Golden State Warriors may want to look for some additional shooting help at the trade deadline, with one insider suggesting the team look at the skill-set of a rival player as an example.
There has been much debate about what approach the Warriors could take at the March 25 trade deadline. Golden State has lingered around the edges of the playoff race, but the front office has said that any moves would likely be focused on bringing long-term success rather than a boost to this year’s playoff push.
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Warriors Could Use Additional Shooting
In a roundup of the team’s needs going into the trade deadline, Kendra Andrews of NBC Sports Bay Area noted that the Warriors front office has already made it clear that they would like to bring in more shooters. As she noted, general manager Bob Myers has repeatedly said that there is no such thing as having too many shooters, though the team isn’t anywhere close to having a surplus with the current roster. Beyond Steph Curry, she wrote, the best pure shooters are two coming off the bench — Mychal Mulder and Damion Lee.
“Both Mulder and Lee are guys who come in and can knock down some shots, but they aren’t players who other teams fear getting hot,” she wrote. “They aren’t big enough threats to change the game.”
Andrews added that the Warriors could use a player like one they face very often.
Kuzma airballed the technical FT and the Warriors let him hear it 😅
“The Warriors need a Kyle Kuzma-like player — and no, he isn’t available — who can enter the game and have opponents fear his capabilities,” she wrote. “If Kuzma gets going, the Lakers’ chances at winning increase a ton.”
Team’s Deadline Approach
If the Warriors do look for more shooting ability beyond Curry, it may have to come on the cheap. Myers has made it clear that the team is not looking to put too much into any deals this year, which could mean keeping hold of rookie center James Wiseman and the top-three protected draft pick that came from the Minnesota Timberwolves as part of last year’s D’Angelo Russell trade.
“I don’t think we want to think too short-term and give up something in the future just to make a little bit of a push now,” he said in an interview with Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. “As hard as that is to stay discipline, I think we would hope that anything that we would decide to do had legs beyond this year or had advantages beyond the rest of this season.”
Kelly Oubre “would love” to stay with the Warriors past the trade deadline t.co/BTBbQw2hvJ
Catch his full interview with @KerithBurke during “Warriors Pregame Live” tonight at 6:30 p.m.
Andrews added that the team would likely hold onto both Wiseman and another potential trade asset in Jordan Poole. She noted that the team has made it clear that Wiseman would only be moved if they got a “generational talent” in return, and it does not appear that such a player may be available at the trade deadline. Insiders believe that would leave Kelly Oubre and Andrew Wiggins as the most likely trade pieces if the team does decide to make some kind of deadline move.
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