Should The Golden State Warriors Stand Pat At The Trade Deadline?

A Look At The Roster

It seems silly to ask this question considering what we know about the Warriors. Though individual pieces are certainly upgradeable, the way this team has meshed together on both ends of the court makes it harder to pinpoint problem areas for the NBA’s best team.

Curry is obviously off limits. So too is Klay Thompson, who, as you should recall, was off limits this past summer when the Minnesota Timberwolves dangled Kevin Love. Andrew Bogut‘s name may come up because of his injury history, but such suggestions are downright silly, since the Warriors need him as an anchor in the middle defensively, not to mention his toughness, chemistry and amazing interior passing skills.

Harrison Barnes is young and since Steve Kerr moved him into the starting lineup, he’s done the job his team needs an an unsung role player. Draymond Green is Golden State’s most important defender/glue guy, one that the Dubs will be willing to pay up for this summer when he becomes a free agent.

Looking at the bench, Shaun Livingston‘s length and defense makes him a vital component of the second unit. Andre Iguodala‘s numbers aren’t great, but he’s another glue guy at who can play point forward in spots. Marreese Speights is a top Sixth Man of the Year candidate and Leandro Barbosa has played much better recently off the pine.

On this deep team, really the only players who could be easily replaced are Barbosa, Justin Holiday, Brandon Rush, Festus Ezeli, Ognjen Kuzmic and James Michael McAdoo. But between lack of playing time or being injured, none of those players possess particularly high trade value to bring in a game-changing piece.

The Warriors also have two trade exceptions, but they’re only worth about $2 million combined. Basically, there’s not a lot of upgrading to be had here.

Next: The Remaining Piece