The Golden State Warriors find themselves in a unique position with less than a week remaining until the NBA trade deadline hits. On one hand, the team is just two games behind the league-leading Suns in the Western Conference standings and firmly in the title picture.
On the other, the team basically has just one true center: former No. 2 overall pick James Wiseman, who hasn’t played a game since April of last year and may be unable to contribute in a meaningful way this season.
There has been significant buzz — on the periphery, at least — that the Warriors could swing Wiseman for a win-now big in an effort to make themselves the title favorites. However, the center would be a significant piece to part with, and some pundits think the team would do well not to rock the boat.
During his first media availability since his disc injury, star big man Draymond Green weighed in on the team’s deadline strategy.
Green Sees the Warriors Playing it Cool
During his big press conference, Green was asked for his opinion on whether the Warriors should/will explore making moves, or if he believes they’re in a good place as constituted. He responded by highlighting the Warriors’ past aversion to dealing.
“What I do believe, and know to be true, is that we are not a heavy trade deadline team,” Green said. “We have not been since I’ve been here. I could count on one hand, probably, the amount of moves we’ve made at the trade deadline.
Green then proceeded to rattle off a fairly accurate list of the Warriors’ past in-season acquisitions.
“We brought in Jordan [Crawford] and MarShon Brooks, Steve Blake, the [Andrew Wiggins and D’Angelo Russell] trade and then Kelly [Oubre], Alec [Burks] and Glenn [Robinson III]… If I’m not mistaken, that’s it. I’ve been here 10 years, so seven guys in 10 years… We’ve never been that team to make a bunch of moves at the trade deadline.”
But will this year break that trend? Green thinks not.
“I, personally, don’t see it happening this year. Where we have a great team, we believe in our team, we have found a great mix of youth and experience and we’re executing it,” he said. “So, I don’t think — and it’s not my role and not my job — but I can’t see it happening and, if it does, I’d be shocked.”
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B/R: Warriors Should Be in No Rush to Deal
For his latest bit of trade-deadline fodder, Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz looked at all of the Association’s 30 teams and attempted to identify how desperate to deal each one of them is. As Green asserted during his presser, the hoops scribe doesn’t see the team burning up the phones in search of a deal:
There’s no reason to part with players like Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga or Moses Moody at the deadline to try to find win-now help. Golden State has the luxury of developing their young guys while still possessing enough veteran talent to compete for a championship. That’s extremely rare.
We haven’t seen what a full-strength Warriors lineup looks like with Thompson, Green and Wiseman all active at the same time. Curry getting his touch back would make a big difference as well.
The rest of the league should be terrified of a healthy Golden State squad, whether they do anything at the deadline or not.
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Draymond Green Sounds off on Warriors’ Plans: ‘I’d Be Shocked’