Here Is How the Golden State Warriors Will Most Likely Approach The Fast Approaching Trade Deadline
The NBA trade deadline is approaching faster than you might realize — it’s less than two weeks away — and for the first time in many years, the Warriors will be sellers. For that matter, the Warriors will be involved at the trade deadline for the first time in many years. And we know they’ll be involved because they’ve already made one deal, flipping Willie Cauley-Stein to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for a 2020 second-round pick.
Cauley-Stein was one of a handful of Warriors who had been thrown around as a potential trade piece. Although his performance during the 2019-2020 campaign has been wildly inconsistent, his athleticism and ability in the pick-and-roll were undoubtedly attractive to playoff teams and Dallas proved to be the one to scoop him up. Now that he is out of the Bay Area, the Warrior organization and fanbase can turn their attention to the rest of the potential trade pieces.
Alec Burks is probably the player most likely to be traded next. His scoring and shooting abilities are a major asset to contenders and many of them could use him as a spark off the bench. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him join a good team to fill a role similar to the one that Lou Williams fills for the Los Angeles Clippers. The argument for not trading Burks would be that the Warriors want him for the future. If they believe that they will return to the playoffs or even title contention next season, he could be a fantastic piece. So while it wouldn’t be surprising if he winds up on the move in the coming days, the Warriors will be particularly careful when weighing offers for him.
After Burks, Glenn Robinson III is next on the trading block. He has provided solid but streaky shooting for Golden State this season and often guards the opponent’s best perimeter player. Robinson hasn’t had as strong of a season as Burks has had, but the Warriors would probably be more willing to part ways with Robinson than Burks, meaning Robinson’s fate is very much up in the air.
After these two, the rest of the roster consists of a bunch of players who could theoretically be traded but almost certainly won’t be in actuality. The front office and coaching staff probably wants to keep D’Angelo Russell for at least part of next season to see how he plays alongside Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. In addition, he is unlikely to be traded at all unless it is in exchange for a massive haul that no team would be willing to fork over in late January or early February. The same probably applies to Draymond Green. The rest of the Warriors’ roster is made up entirely of players who are under contract with the team for at least one more season, the oldest of whom — Kevon Looney — turns 24 on the day of the deadline. The organization wants to keep developing these players and sees them as part of the future. They’re not going anywhere for now.
The Warriors have a couple pretty clear options when it comes to who to trade or not trade. These next two weeks will give us a very clear picture of what they intend to do, not just for the rest of this season, but for seasons to come.