On today’s edition of “The Lowe Post” podcast, NBA analyst Zach Lowe had a special guest, fellow league insider Bobby Marks. Marks has been vaunted for awhile now as a smart, sensible guy when it comes to talking hoops, and in his guest appearance on Lowe’s show, he made mention of a possible trade the Warriors could make to look at the deadline.

The trade proposed? The Charlotte Hornets get James Wiseman and Moses Moody, and the Warriors receive P.J. Washington and Mason Plumlee.

“Out of all the Wiseman-type deals, that’d be a little more intriguing for me just because you get two players back right there that can help” Marks commented when discussing the deal.

The segment of the pod talking about the Warriors continued on with concerns about contracts (specifically Washington’s) and the idea that Golden State aren’t usually active at the deadline, which has been the case for the better part of the dynasty. But in evaluating how much this trade would be worth it for the Dubs, there are a few things more to examine. So here are the pros and cons about the deal Marks proposed:

The Pros
The simplest way to put it is that the Warriors get back two surefire usable rotation players in exchange for two young guys without having to give up Jonathan Kuminga. Washington is a versatile wing defender whose IQ has been lauded since he’s been in the league, standing at 6’7 and able to guard almost any position on the floor. He shoots around 34% from three this season, a regression from his career average of just under 37%, so he can space the floor at the three or play in smallball lineups at the four without being a negative on offense. Given he plays in the Charlotte offense which is largely guard-dominated, he knows how to fit into the role that will help the team succeed the best.

Plumlee is great option as a backup center, one the Warriors may need to look for. He’s a true 6’11 and averages almost a double-double with points and rebounds in a regular rotation role. While he’s not a notably impressive defender, he’s a good athlete and has been in the league long enough to know where to slot in on that end. The primary value the Warriors would get out of him comes from his rebounding, screening, and baseline capability as a passer. He’s not the answer the team’s been looking for, but he could certainly have a positive impact in a bench role.

Adding these two into the current rotation the Warriors have (which goes about 10 players deep when fully healthy) gives some sustainability in the immediate, and increases their depth going into the playoffs. Zach Lowe is a proponent of “8 is the magic number” when it comes to a playoff rotation, and for the most part, that’s a true sentiment: You don’t need many more guys than that, if any. Increasing the playable rotation to 10 in the playoffs would be a boon, and you’re getting back two guys which not only address areas of need with the current structure of the team, but make enough of an impact to be bench difference-makers.

And, of course, a 2-for-2 swap would mean the 15th roster spot remains open, allowing the Warriors to sign someone from the impending buyout market, or convert one of Ty Jerome or Anthony Lamb. It may not be the flashiest deal, but in a lot of ways, it is one of the most sensible when you measure what kind of contributions the team needs from the second unit, which has been playing really well lately.

The Cons
The biggest thing here is Washington’s contract. In an off-season where the Warriors are going to be on the hook for several large paydays, P.J. Washington (like most other wings who can defend and shoot well enough) is going to make a lot of money as a restricted free agent. The Warriors would have to take a pretty sizable cap hit to take on the extra salary, and even though they owe Wiseman $12 million next year, they’re going to owe Washington more if they want to keep him around. Plumlee is also a free agent next year, so the concern begins to become “are we going to get enough from these guys to get us to a championship this season”, and how much that’s worth versus retaining Wiseman and Moody.

There’s also the concern that while Plumlee and Washington do fill out a team need, they both have weaknesses. Washington’s undersized to be a true shooting big, and even then, while he can kind of shoot? He can’t stripe it well enough to enhance Golden State’s spacing comfortably. He’d have to be playing the four alongside Draymond Green or Kevon Looney to have an impact: You can’t put him at the five practically at all.

As for Plumlee, he can’t shoot at all. His freshman year in the NBA was his best season from the free throw line at 66%. He doesn’t attempt threes, and has resorted to taking left-handed jumpers sometimes for unclear reasons. While isn’t a defensive liability, he notably has problems switching out onto guards, and doesn’t bring enough versatility to get the consistent minutes the team needs out of a true backup center.

Conclusions
As with any trade the Warriors could make to improve before the deadline, this one’s a gamble. Ultimately it boils down to a question of whether Plumlee and Washington move the needle enough to turn this team into title contenders this season? The answer has to be yes to pull the trigger on the trade because the likelihood is they’re both gone next season, and it’s just unclear whether or not they will. The strawman argument is “anything is better than Wiseman”, but that’s not really true: He’s shown signs of serious development, and while he’s likely not going to be a playoff rotation guy, there’s still a load of potential there, and the Warriors have their 8-man playoff rotation anyways assuming they can stay healthy.

It’s also worth considering that Moody’s been in Kerr’s doghouse lately, but before he was, he was playing some very solid basketball. He showed improvements as a point of attack defender and screen navigator, while being able to take offensive loads and score in bunches. The microissues which Kerr benched him for aren’t even mistakes he made consistently, and he stays ready more than almost any other player off the bench. There’s still a possibility he ends up being a playoff-level rotation player this season, even if it’s as 9th or 10th man depth. A lot of the discourse around Moody right now is the same as the discourse around Kuminga to start the season.

If the Warriors like what they see in Mason Plumlee and P.J. Washington enough to gamble on them turning the team into legit contenders, then this is the trade to make. But the biggest problem the team faces is not fit; it’s a mental barrier when it comes to on-the-road performance. With a thinned rotation due to injuries to Stephen Curry, Andrew Wiggins, and Kuminga, the team we’ve been watching over this recent stretch is far from complete, and they’ve been playing pretty well. It’s a matter of riding that confidence into the next road trip. They have the personnel to get back to the playoffs comfortably, and once they get there? It’d be shocking to see another squad that could beat them in a 7-game series, even if they don’t make a trade.

(Photo credit: Jacob Kupferman / Getty Images)