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The Steph Curry-less Golden State Warriors entered Sunday’s bout with the Toronto Raptors desperate for a victory after having dropped five of their previous six games. And, thankfully, Jordan Poole was able to lead the winning charge by dropping a career-high 43 points.
But if it took that much for the Dubs to down a struggling Eastern Conference foe, one can’t help but wonder how they’ll survive the next few weeks as Steph’s shoulder heals up.
Even if Curry returns without issue, it’s hard to believe he’ll be able to get the club back into the title hunt when his MVP-level effort through the first third of the campaign yielded only a .500 record. For his part, Bleacher Report‘s Grant Hughes seems to think that the Warriors need more.
As such, he’s suggesting that the team explore the trade market to get Steph some real help. To that end, he pitched a sharpshooting veteran and 20-plus-point scorer in Detroit Pistons forward Bojan Bogdanovic as a possible target.
Bojan Bogdanovic Would Add More Offensive Firepower
As Hughes sees it, Golden State simply cannot survive while putting so much on the plate of an almost-35-year-old Curry.
“The Warriors need help in a lot of areas, but giving Curry some assistance in the scoring and shot-creation departments might be the most important. When Curry returns, the Warriors can’t simply go back to wearing down their best player like they did through the first third of the season.”
Enter Bogdanovic, who has low-key been one of the better point-generators in the Association in recent years. And he’s having one of his best individual seasons to date in ’22-23.
Over 31 appearances with the Pistons this season, Bogdanovic is averaging 21.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per contest while shooting a career-best 49.7% from the field and 42.3% from three-point range.
Wrote Hughes:
Golden State has gotten a decent Gary Payton II impression from Donte Divincenzo, but the vacated Otto Porter Jr. spot has gone woefully unfilled. Bogdanović, who’s drilling 46.8 percent of his catch-and-shoot threes, could handle that—and then some. His abilities to space the floor, attack closeouts and function in a movement-heavy offense (he got plenty of those reps with the Utah Jazz) make him an ideal fit.
Is Bogdanovic Worth the Price to Play, Though?
As with the vast majority of hypothetical Warriors trades that are floating out in the ether these days, the big question with a Bogdanovic move is whether the 33-year-old is good enough for Golden State to justify sacrificing some of its youth movement.
That goes double for this particular move, which could require parting with a significant portion of it.
As noted by Hughes, “combining James Wiseman and Moses Moody’s salaries gets the Warriors to within $2.7 million of what it would take to get a deal done.” But would the Dubs really jettison a former No. 2 pick who’s finally starting to show signs of progress and another former lotto guy who has drawn praise from Steve Kerr for his maturity and potential?
If we’re looking at offense alone, there’s a lot to love about Bogdanovic, but defensively — you know, the side of the ball where the Warriors have had the most problems this year? — he leaves a lot to be desired.
The Pistons have been abysmal defensively with Bogdanovic on the court this season, conceding 119.8 points per 100 possessions. When he sits, that number plummets all the way to 110.1.
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