SAN FRANCISCO – The Feb. 6 NBA trade deadline is a little more than a month away, but rumors already are running rampant, with the Warriors at the center of many headlines and talking points.
Will the Warriors make a major move to improve a roster led by Steph Curry, who turns 37 years old in March, and Draymond Green, who turns 35 just 10 days before Curry’s birthday? Are they willing to mortgage the future to put those two aging stars in the best position for another chase at a championship? Or is the front office looking more so at incremental moves, and possibly even standing pat?
It sounds like the organization’s top decision-makers are in more of a wait-and-see mode than in a rush to jump to any conclusions.
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During the Warriors’ blowout win against the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night at Chase Center, TNT/NBA TV reporter Jared Greenberg said Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy is going to “spend the next couple of weeks truly evaluating” the roster before making any decisions. Steve Kerr is in sync with that thought process, too.
“I’ve talked to Mike about that, and I think it makes perfect sense,” Kerr said Saturday in his pregame press conference ahead of the Warriors’ game against the Memphis Grizzlies. “We’ve been up and down this year, but we like the group, we like the people we have and we really want to see how we play over the next month.
“And then just keep our options open.”
The Warriors come into the weekend a game over .500 with a 17-16 record, which is good for ninth in the Western Conference. They began the season on fire by going 12-3, but have gone just 5-13 since while playing much tougher competition.
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“We’re not in a position to say, ‘Hey, we’re good enough. Let’s just stand firm.’ We have to assess all the options,” Kerr said. “Players know that. They understand how this league works.
“So for me, it’s let’s see what we can do at least these next few weeks. Hopefully we settle into this rotation, start shooting the ball better.”
The biggest surefire name on the trade market right now is Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler, who on Friday was given a seven-game suspension by the organization “for multiple instances of conduct detrimental to the team.” In the Heat’s statement announcing Butler’s suspension, they also announced they will listen to trade offers on the six-time NBA All-Star.
But NBC Sports Bay Area’s Monte Poole reported Saturday, through league sources, that the Warriors have been “skittish” to the idea of adding Butler for a handful of reasons, despite his known desire of being open to a trade to the Warriors.
The injury-prone 35-year-old is making $48.8 million this season with a $52.4 million player option for next season, and hasn’t shied away from wanting a new max-salary contract. Any trade for the Warriors to acquire Butler would have to start by either sending Andrew Wiggins or Draymond Green to Miami, just to match Butler’s massive contract.
Butler isn’t the only big name the Warriors will be attached to. Other names will pop up, and the Warriors already have made one trade this season to improve their roster. At the first second they could bring in Dennis Schroder from the Brooklyn Nets, Dunleavy didn’t hesitate.
Schroder began his Warriors tenure extremely slow, especially shooting the ball, but enjoyed his best game in a Golden State jersey in Thursday night’s 34-point win – his eighth game playing for the Warriors. The 12-year NBA veteran guard was a plus-17 in 25 minutes, scoring 15 points, as well as adding four rebounds, six assists and two steals.
“I think with Dennis in the mix now, we have a chance to really be a great defensive team again like we were early in the year,” Kerr said. “If we can put it together, we may not need to do anything. But we definitely need to take this next month and really see what we have.”
Dunleavy and the rest of the front office have their list of possible targets. Before rushing to any judgments, however, everybody involved wants ample time to come to a conclusion of who this version of the Warriors really is.