With next Thursday’s NBA trade deadline fast approaching, the Golden State Warriors are one of the teams everyone is keeping an eye on. Are they going to pull the trigger on a big move for a Zach LaVine or Jimmy Butler, or even another high-profile player we haven’t yet heard about? Will they resist the big splash and try to work more around the edges, as they did earlier this season when they traded for Dennis Schroder? Or will they do nothing?
All of these scenarios are in play, but Steve Kerr made it pretty clear on Friday, even if he tried to couch it a bit, that as far as he’s concerned the Warriors are not good enough to take the third option and “stand pat” at the deadline. They need to do something.
In his media session prior to Golden State’s 130-105 loss to the Phoenix Suns, Kerr was specifically asked if he thought the Warriors had enough, as currently constructed, to compete in the playoffs.
“We do. I think we’ve shown that,” Kerr said. “But we’ve also shown that we don’t have enough to seperate ourselves form the rest of the West. So I think the point is we’re not in a position where we can just say, ‘Nah we’re good, let’s stand pat.’ That’s the reality of where we are.
“[Warriors general manager] Mike [Dunleavy] is doing his due diligence, he’s doing his job. If there’s something that makes sense, he’s going to do it. If not, then I’m very comfortable going forward with this team because I know what we’re capable of and I believe in the guys.”
It’s safe to say Kerr adding this last part about being “very comfortable” with the Warriors’ current roster is mostly a coach covering himself with his players should nothing get done. Surely Kerr genuinely believes Golden State is better than its current 24-24 record, which would land them in the lottery if the season were to end today. But deep down he knows this team isn’t anywhere close to a contender. He’s couching it with public confidence in his current troops, which is what leaders are supposed to do, but his message is, in fact, pretty explicit.
The Warriors are not in a position to stand pat.
Now, they may very well do that for reasons fans won’t want to hear. They may not believe there is a move available that puts them in realistic contention for a title, and short of that, they may, once again, err on the side of preserving their future assets in way of both draft picks and young, homegrown players.
But Kerr is right that the Warriors, while not consistently, have shown that they can play with anyone when they’re in rhythm on both ends, and certainly on the right night at least. They’re only three games back in the loss column of a playoff spot, and four back of a top-four seed.
At the end of the day, they still have Stephen Curry. He’s been struggling recently, and it’s clear he needs another premium scorer to take some pressure off as right now defenses are able to bolt down on his off-ball movement without any other threats to truly worry about. LaVine and Butler both fit that bill.
Earlier this week, The Athletic reported that the Warriors are starting to lean more in the direction of LaVine, who is younger and slightly cheaper (annually) than Butler. LaVine, however, would be on the books through at least 2026 with a player option through 2027 while Butler could, if he doesn’t pick up his player option for next year and the Warriors were to decide not to extend him, come off this summer.
This is all the stuff Dunleavy is weighing, probably with a lot of, shall we say, input from Joe Lacob. It’s obvious that Kerr, who said on Friday he’s in daily contact with Dunleavy but declined to reveal the nature of those conversations, is lobbying for a roster upgrade. He knows the Warriors aren’t good enough, even if he’s never going to say that in public.
The question is, how big is the gap between the Warriors and the teams who are good enough? And is there a single player, or even a few players, within their reach that can sufficiently close it?
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