Getty Kevin Durant #7 of the Brooklyn Nets reacts to a foul call during the first quarter of the game against the Chicago Bulls at Barclays Center
The Golden State Warriors may need to scrap their fabled “two-timeline” approach and focus on the present by swinging a blockbuster trade, one analyst suggests.
Warriors owner Joe Lacob has detailed the team’s attempt to build a title contender around Steph Curry and fellow veterans Draymond Green and Klay Thompson while also building a core of young players into stars to keep them in title contention for years to come. That plan has hit a major snag this season as Golden State has seen the development of their young players stall, culminating with their No. 2 overall pick James Wiseman being sent down to the G League.
ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith believes the Warriors may need to make a decision — either stick with the young players if they truly believe in them, or scrap the second timeline and go all-in on Curry’s remaining prime years by bringing back Kevin Durant.
Smith Suggests Warriors Target Durant
Appearing on ESPN’s First Take on November 17, Smith warned that the Warriors could potentially waste the last prime years of Curry’s career if they go down the wrong path with their young players.
“Now if you have changed and you no longer believe in some of those young guys … go ahead and make the trade for Kevin Durant,” Smith said. “You can not waste Steph Curry playing like this. You can’t take this for granted.”
.@stephenasmith has a suggestion for the Warriors after their slow start to the season.
“Go ahead and make the trade for Kevin Durant. … You can’t waste the greatness of Steph Curry.”
The two-time league MVP is off to one of his finest seasons, averaging a career-best 32.8 points per game on 53.1% shooting, including 44.7% from behind the 3-point arc.
There have been other rumors connecting the Warriors to Durant, dating back to the summer when Durant had requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets. Though he ultimately rescinded the request and decided to stick with the Nets, one Western Conference executive told Heavy Sports insider Sean Deveney that the Warriors could still be open to a reunion with Durant if Brooklyn’s season continues to go off track.
“It’s a nice idea, having the stars that they have and then thinking that a wave of young guys behind them will step in and be a championship kind of group, too,” the West executive said in November. “But that was always a best-case scenario kind of thing. It happens a lot more that these guys are just too young and might not reach the potential they think they have. If you want to win another (championship) with Steph (Curry), you have to be open to making the mega-blockbuster kind of deal. That’s what getting Durant back would be.”
Warriors’ Young Guns Struggle
After winning a title last season, the Warriors lost a number of key veterans from their bench including Gary Payton II, Otto Porter Jr., and Nemanja Bjelica. There was hope going into the season that the trio of young players — Wiseman along with 2021 lottery picks Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody — could step into the void, but that has not been the case so far.
Both Kuminga and Moody have struggled to stay in head coach Steve Kerr’s rotation, and Wiseman was sent down to the G League Santa Cruz Warriors for more seasoning.
If I were a rebuilding team in the NBA, I would be calling the Warriors ASAP about James Wiseman’s availability.
Some have now suggested other trade combinations the Warriors could consider in hopes of getting their season back on track. Sam Esfandiari of Bleacher Report posed a series of proposals centered on Wiseman, including one that would see the Warriors ship both Wiseman and Kuminga to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Kyle Kuzma.