The Golden State Warriors haven’t exactly looked like reigning NBA Champions so far in the 2022-23 season. They have a record of 23-23 through the first 46 games, which is good enough for sixth place in the Western Conference. The Warriors seem to be missing rotation players who they let walk over the summer, quite a bit.
As the February 9 NBA Trade Deadline approaches, they’ll surely be looking to improve their depth to vault back into title contention.
On January 20, Fox Sports’ Rich Bucher reported that Golden State is indeed looking to buy ahead of the deadline.
“A sampling of GMs, scouts and front-office executives identified the Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks as interested buyers on the trade market, looking to add a proven player — or two — to complement their star-studded core and improve their championship title chances in June,” he wrote.
Bucher also listed several players that league executives believe to be potential targets of the Warriors, as well as the Bucks and Mavs.
“And while the market is not exactly teeming with top-shelf talent, GMs and scouts identified several players that could meet the needs of those three teams: Detroit Pistons forward Bojan Bogdanovic, Utah Jazz guards Mike Conley, Malik Beasley and Jordan Clarkson; Orlando Magic guard Terrence Ross; and Houston Rockets guard Eric Gordon,” Bucher explained.
Any of those names would help to improve the depth of the Warriors, and would make them much more dangerous when the playoffs roll around in the spring.
Steve Kerr Explains Incident With Jordan Poole After Warriors Win
Golden State was able to pick up a rare road win on January 20, when they beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 120-114.
The road to road to victory wasn’t without its bumps. At the end of the third quarter Jordan Poole was whistled for an offensive foul, and then, subsequently, a delay of game, after holding on to the basketball as he argued with the officials. The argument wound up costing the Warriors a point as they headed into the fourth quarter up just 12, which Head Coach Steve Kerr was not happy about. He laid into Poole from the sidelines, shouting some choice words at the young star.
Jordan Poole got hit for a delay of game after an offensive foul he disagreed with late third quarter. Steve Kerr got on him: “Lock the f*** in. We’re trying to win the game.” Tense near Warriors bench through quarter timeout. They could really use this W.
The Warriors coach was asked about the heated exchange after the game. He explained to the media that he had just “snapped” in the moment.
“I’m going to stay on Jordan,” he said. “He’s continuing to grow and he’s getting better. I think the last two games, he was fantastic in terms of staying off the referees. He got the offensive foul and then held the ball as he talked to the ref, and that was a delay of game. So I’m trying to get Jordan to the point where he understands every play counts and every moment counts. So, every once in a while, I snap and I snapped in that moment and he looked at me like I was nuts. But it’s all part of it. I love Jordan and I love the way he’s playing and he was incredible tonight.”
Steph Curry Weighs In On Steve Kerr, Jordan Poole Exchange
To the surprise of absolutely no one, the heated exchange was a hit on social media. House of Highlights shared a video of the incident to its Instagram account, saying, “Steve Kerr had some choice words for Poole after his technical foul.”
Warriors star Stephen Curry made his way over to the comments section after the game to defend his head coach.
“Hey for all the kids watching this clip…Coach Kerr coaching like he should,” Curry commented on a post by House of Highlights, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “JP taking the energy the right way. Both of them move on to try and win the game!!! @houseofhighlights Make sure you show how @jordan_poole bounced back after this.”
Steph made sure to explain what really happened between Steve Kerr and Jordan Poole 💯
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Warriors Looking to Trade For ‘Proven Player’ to Boost Title Hopes: Report