Getty James Wiseman and Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors.
With the February 9 trade deadline rapidly approaching, the Golden State Warriors will have some very important decisions to make. If they want to make a run at another championship victory, then they will need to add pieces. And according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic, the recent buzz around the league indicates that they will be active.
“If JaMychal [Green]’s hold on a roster spot is strengthening, it would lessen the likelihood of fringe activity from the Warriors at the deadline,” Slater wrote. “But it hasn’t been silence. The noise around the league the last couple of days is an increased willingness from the Warriors to engage in conversation and explore the idea of moving their younger, out-of-the-rotation players if a significant enough upgrade is offered. There’s a greater whiff of aggressiveness.”
After bringing home their fourth title in eight years at the end of last season, the Warriors made some tough roster decisions over the summer. They parted ways with Otto Porter Jr., Gary Payton II, and Nemanja Bjelica, leaving their bench bare.
They were depending on the development of James Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga, and Moses Moody to fill in the gaps. While Kuminga has emerged as a quality rotational player, the other two have struggled. Moody earns a bit of run, but Wiseman has spent the majority of the season going back and forth between the Warriors and the G League.
Now, with the trade deadline just a day away, the Warriors will need to find a way to improve their bench. If they fail to do so, they could waste one of their last real chances to win a championship with Stephen Curry.
Draymond Green Discusses Trade Deadline
However, while Slater’s sources around the league have indicated that Golden State will be active, one of the team’s star players disagrees. According to Draymond Green, the Warriors will likely stand pat at the deadline.
“If I’m being honest, it feels like one of those deadlines where everyone is expecting everything to go haywire and not much is going to happen (across the league),” Green told Slater. “That’s what I think is going to happen. For me, I’m in this locker room with these guys I play with. We’ve never been a team that moves much at the trade deadline. So I’m not going into this deadline expecting some big moves or something. I don’t know. If it happens, it does. But I’ve been here 11 years and I think we’ve made moves two or three times. We haven’t done much.”
Warriors Have ‘Painful Decisions’ to Make
Regardless of what the Warriors do, one thing is true, and it was pointed out by David Thorpe of True Hoop – the Warriors have some “painful decisions” to make ahead of the deadline.
“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—Curry, [Klay] Thompson, [Andrew] Wiggins, 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.”