Golden State Warriors: 5 Potential Trade Targets
With the 2016 NBA Trade Deadline approaching, the Golden State Warriors don’t need to make a trade, but here are five trades they should consider anyway.
Out of all the teams in the NBA, no one but the Golden State Warriors has the luxury of saying they absolutely, without a doubt, don’t need to make a trade. They’re 47-4 through the first 51 games of the season, they’re on pace to smash the regular season record for wins and at this point, they’re the overwhelming favorites to win the 2016 NBA Finals.
The old saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” doesn’t even do the situation justice; it’s more like, “If your flying death contraption that has the power to eradicate all other life forms is still functional, you probably don’t need to tweak it very much.” For a historically great team, 99 percent of the trades this team could maneuver wouldn’t make much sense.
For one thing, the Warriors are an extremely tightly knit group. Trading any player — even one at the end of the rotation — could upset the balance in the locker room and sow seeds of discord or distrust between the players and the front office. There’s zero advantage to breaking off even a small part of this team’s rotation, so doing so would send a very bad message to the players who vibe so well together.
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For another, there are very few trades that would actually make the Warriors better. There’s a reason some Dubs pundits have gone as far as questioning whether the team should make a move for Kevin Durant this summer — everyone on this roster knows their role and the team is winning games as currently constructed. No matter who’s brought on board, upsetting the distribution of shots and minutes could disrupt this team’s path to having a historic season.
The Warriors don’t need to make a trade at the deadline, and they probably won’t. There are very few players they could add to the mix who would not only fit in both on and off the court, but who would also be realistic trade targets from a financial standpoint. Golden State is trying to leave cap space open for KD this summer, even if everyone’s mind is on winning another title in the here and now.
However, that’s not to say there aren’t any trades that would be advantageous for the Warriors. For the sake of being thorough, here’s a look at five trades (and one honorable mention scenario) that might actually make the Dubs better with the 2016 NBA Trade Deadline approaching.
Next: Honorable Mention