Golden State Warriors: 3 cons of trading for Jrue Holiday
By Luke Duffy
2. They need to get bigger
If the bubble showed us anything, it is that contending teams now need to have more height to have the versatility to play against any kind of opponent. The Los Angeles Lakers look set to make another run at a championship next year, and the Warriors have to think that if they want to reach the Finals again, they will have to go through LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Davis in particular being the generational talent that he is, one capable of playing at the four or five, means that the Warriors need to come up with some kind of answer for that. Green can only do so much, and if his time is spent going after Davis, it just means the paint will be vulnerable to attack from James.
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The Lakers were able to get limited, but important, production from both JaVale MaGee and Dwight Howard during their title run. You can bet they’ll be bringing back another cost-effective option or two at that position. The Warriors should be looking into this as well as a way to combat bigger teams exposing them in the paint.
The likes of Tristan Thompson are out there and likely available at the right price. Overpaying for a big man isn’t smart either though, as teams with premier big men, like Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz, once again had to sit them against certain teams. It is about finding more of a balance, one which Holiday would not bring.
He is excellent at defending bigger opponents and would fit so well in that regarding next to Thompson and Green. Their ability to switch would be a great scheme to have in their arsenal. But it would come at the expense of being hammered inside. Holiday is a career 35.4 percent 3-point shooter and would be another guy who could stretch the court for the Warriors.
But if he was playing alongside Curry and Thompson, and really he wouldn’t be added to this roster to come off the bench, would there be too much crossover and similarity between the three of them to really get the best out of any of them? They would scorch a lot of opponents, but the lack of a clear plan B would become apparent in the postseason when needed.