Getty Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors shoots a three-point basket as Kevon Looney #5 screens Kelly Olynyk.
The Golden State Warriors have a new trade target as a potential Kevon Looney replacement.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Warriors had a dialogue and will continue to have about Utah Jazz’s stretch big man Kelly Olynyk leading up to Thursday, February 8, 3 p.m. (E.T.) deadline.
“Here’s an interesting name for Golden State and there are a number of teams pursuing Kelly Olynyk with the Utah Jazz,” Wojnarowski reported on “SportsCenter” with Scott Van Pelt late Wednesday night. “He’d be a perfect fit with Golden State. Certainly his size, his ability to stretch the floor. I think that’s a player Golden State will continue to have some dialogue about.”
Wojnarowski’s report came after Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer mentioned the Warriors as one of the several teams interested in Olynyk. The Toronto Raptors, Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers are the other teams Fischer linked to Olynyk.
On January 30, The Athletic’s Warriors beat reporter Anthony Slater wrote that “he could see [Looney] being the outgoing salary in a smaller deal, especially if it is for an inbound center.”
Olynyk is not as strong as Looney is. But the Canadian big man can stretch the floor, unlike Looney.
A former first-round pick out of Gonzaga, the 6-foot-11 Olynyk is averaging 8.1 points on 56.2% from the field and 42.9% from the 3-point line, an essential attribute to the Warriors if they are to keep both of their non-shooting forwards Andrew Wiggins and Jonathan Kuminga past the trade deadline.
Olynyk is also a playmaking big, which Kerr also favors. The 10-year NBA veteran is averaging 4.4 assists and 5.1 rebounds in 20.4 minutes off the bench for the Jazz. He is in the final season of a $37 million, 3-year contract.
Andrew Wiggins Returns, Klay Thompson Bounces Back
The much-maligned Warriors wings came through in the team’s fourth win in their last five games.
Wiggins returned from a sprained foot and paced the Warriors with a solid double-double (21 points and 10 rebounds) with 1 steal and 1 block in a 127-104 rout of the Joel Embiid-less Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday, February 7, on the road.
Klay Thompson also bounced back from getting benched down the stretch in Brooklyn 2 nights ago. Thompson fired 18 points on 50% shooting as he went 4 of 5 from long distance. He was a game-high plus-24 while Wiggins was a plus-17.
Wiggins’ strong play lately could have an impact on the Warriors’ trade deadline plans. Before Wiggins delivered his second double-double of the season, NBA insider Marc Stein reported that “The Warriors, league sources say, are expected to explore their Andrew Wiggins trade options right up to the deadline.”
Warriors’ Best Route
Wojnarowski believes the Warriors are not going to make drastic moves this trade deadline and are just looking to make a minor trade like Olynyk.
“I think this is a team, Golden State, that believes their best chance to make a run this season is to have some of their underachieving players this year, like Wiggins and Thompson, who’s been up and down, getting back healthy,” Wojnarowski said. “That’s a better route for them to try to get some traction on this season. See if they can make a run into the postseason.”
It is a sentiment shared by Warriors coach Steve Kerr.
“I feel like this group can do something special. I really do. So if we don’t do anything tomorrow, we feel like we have a good group we can push with,” he told reporters before their game in Philadelphia.
Steve Kerr has maintained he doesn’t think the Warriors have to make a trade: “I feel like this group can do something special. I really do. So if we don’t do anything tomorrow, we feel like we have a good group we can push with.”
Their 5-3 record since they resumed their season after the untimely death of assistant coach Dejan Milojević backs up that belief.