The Warriors didn’t make a move at the trade deadline.
And that’s fine.
Could they have added a big man? Perhaps. More shooting? Probably.
But here’s the funny thing with trades: you have to give to receive.
In the case of the Warriors, they would be giving up a player — either as part of the trade or in a release, as to make room for the new Warrior.
Right now, the Warriors like the players on their roster.
Can you blame them?
Fans who spend all day online might have been antsy on Thursday morning, cursing out Bob Myers as part of their craving for the next dopamine hit that comes with the latest Woj Bomb or Shams Wow, but for those of us who view NBA Twitter as a toxic cesspool where interesting basketball discourse goes to die, the Warriors are an outstanding team in a great spot heading into the final two months of the season.
Take a moment to remember that the Warriors head into Thursday’s game with the Knicks at 41-14. They’ve won 75 percent of their games this season. They have the second-best record in the NBA. They just had a nine-game win streak snapped, despite being without All-Star Draymond Green for more than a month. With apologies to Milwaukee and the Suns, the Warriors should be considered the odds-on favorite to win the title.
What’s the problem here?
Yes, they might be a bit small, but let me do my best impression of Warriors play-by-play man Bob Fitzgerald here: James Wiseman could be returning to the court soon, and adding that tall 20-year-old might be as good as a trade.
And much like my old Hyundai Sonata, there are players on the Warriors that have far more value to Golden State than they do on the open market. They can get them from point A to point NBA Finals.
Damion Lee would net the Warriors nothing in a trade, but he’s a great locker room guy and is a critical floor-spacer for the second unit.
We haven’t seen Nemanja Bjelica in a while — he has a back injury — but he’s been a rock-solid player for the Warriors. With apologies to Mo Speights, Bjelica provides a stretch-five presence the Dubs have not had since… ever?
Even if the Warriors wanted to move those guys, what would any of the Warriors players on minimum-value contracts have netted them?
Just another minimum guy.
Forgive the Warriors for valuing the ones they already know more.
No, the minimum guys weren’t tradable. The Warriors’ four All-Stars were untouchable, too — that should go without needing to be said. So who could the Warriors have traded?
Only players making medium bucks.
That means young players and Kevon Looney.
The latter wasn’t going anywhere. No sir. Looney has been the backbone of this team in 2021-22.
As for the youngsters, Wiseman had no trade value thanks to the fact that he hasn’t played in a year. The Warriors would have been fools to trade Jonathan Kuminga. And Moses Moody isn’t the kind of player you trade unless something big was going down.
Nothing big was going down.
The Warriors were right to stand pat. Why force something that’s not necessary? Why make moves merely for the sake of saying you did something?
If the Warriors deem it necessary, they still have opportunities to add to their roster in the coming weeks.
Players who are waived by March 1 will be available to the Warriors for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs.
There might be some pretty nice options, too.
Big men like Tristan Thompson, Robin Lopez and Derrick Favors might be around on the cheap.
Backcourt reinforcements like Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe could be upgrades, too.
Are any of those guys better than the minimum-value contract players on the Dubs? But those are decisions for down the line.
In the meantime, the Warriors were wise at the trade deadline. They weren’t rash. They didn’t panic the night after a bad loss.
Warriors coaches often call things “fake hustle”. That’s doing things just to show other people you’re doing them — acts that don’t actually accomplish anything worthwhile.
The Warriors know that their best with this roster is still good enough to win a title.
There’s no fake hustle in San Francisco. Just eyes on the ultimate prize. And the Dubs are still in a great position to claim it.
