The Golden State Warriors made just one deal before Thursday’s deadline, sending Cory Joseph to the Indiana Pacers. No disrespect to Joseph, but it isn’t even a move. For all intents and purposes, Golden State will complete the season with its existing lineup before facing some painful choices in the summer.
Specifically, what will they do with Klay Thompson?
Thompson was a contender for trade, but not a significant one. Andrew Wiggins was the more probable candidate to be traded, but he still has three years and $85 million left on his contract, and no one was willing to give up anything of worth in order to secure that money in the future.
Chris Paul, who is basically on an expiring deal with no guaranteed money for next season, might have been traded. But again, for what? Paul would simply represent the money in a transaction. The asset(s) being traded would have been draft selections or Jonathan Kuminga.
Nobody on the market justified the loss of what might be very significant first-round selections in 2026 and 2028. And Kuminga has officially become too excellent to deal for anything less than an All-NBA return, which was not available.
For much of the season, Steve Kerr avoided pairing Kuminga and Wiggins, but they’ve looked much better as a duo with Draymond Green back. Thompson rebounded with a strong performance on Wednesday after being removed from the closing lineup the previous game.
There is no longer any consistency with this team. The margin of error is absolutely gone. However, the most hopeful possibility remains if Wiggins, who had one of his greatest games of the season in Golden State’s victory over Philadelphia on Wednesday, regains some of his 2022 form and Thompson goes hot, which can happen on any given night. He’s still shooting 38%, with over nine 3-pointers per game.
With the return of Green (which at least buoys an otherwise sinking defense), Paul’s inevitable comeback, and the hopeful development of Lester Quinones, Trayce Jackson-Davis, and Gui Santos to join Brandin Podziemski, Golden State feels it can still make a run.
“I believe this group has the potential to do something spectacular. “I really do,” Steve Kerr said on Wednesday. “So if we don’t do anything tomorrow [at the the trade deadline], we feel like we have a good group we can push with.”
Thompson agrees.
I saw Steph Curry. I saw Draymond. I’m going home and checking our postseason record as a trio, I suppose,” Thompson said on Wednesday. “I will always believe we can make a run when we’re all suited up.”
They definitely have an uphill battle ahead of them. The Warriors are 23-25 heading into Thursday’s game, one game behind the No. 10 Jazz in the loss column. With a very light schedule over the last 34 games, Golden State is unlikely to earn more than a Play-In position, if that.
If the Warriors make it in, no one will want to face them, particularly in a one-game situation. Stephen Curry still poses a dangerous threat. Kuminga’s greatest years are still to come, but after scoring 20 points only three times in the first three months of the season, he has already done it in nine of his past eleven games. Over that time, Kuminga has averaged 24 points a game on 59% shooting.
Kuminga and Wiggins are the ones who have to assault the hoop. When they get downhill and into the paint, attacking closeouts and bodying/posting switch mismatches may open things up for an otherwise grounded Warriors squad.
This is the most optimistic Warriors outlook: Kuminga and Wiggins attack, Klay comes in at the appropriate moment, the depth wins on the margins, Draymond energizes the defense, and Curry breaks away. Given the available trading choices, or lack thereof, they decided that staying pat was the best option. They won’t contend for the championship unless something really weird occurs in the coming months, but they’re still a danger to anybody in any given series.
From there, they can address greater problems this summer, when Thompson and Paul will be off the books and able to examine things with a clearer brain and a more accurate cap sheet.
More in Sports: https://buzzing.today/sports/
Photo Credits: https://commons.wikimedia.org/