The Warriors were finally turning a corner, but ran into a wall. After an up-and-down first few months of the season, the Warriors finally hit their stride, winning 11 of their last 15 games.
On January 19, the Warriors were looking to get their 4th straight win. In the 3rd quarter, Jimmy Butler jumped for a lofted pass but was nudged by his defender mid-air. He landed with all his weight on his right leg. His knee couldn’t handle Butler’s 6’7 230-pound frame. The arena rang with gasps from the crowd. Butler tore his ACL and won’t be back for about 360 days.
What does this mean for the Warriors? This means incoming trades. The Warriors finally moved on from Jonathon Kuminga. On February 4th, the Warriors traded Kuminga and Buddy Hield to the Hawks for Kristaps Porzingis. Although he is injured currently, he should be healthy in 1-2 weeks. He is a good rim protector, the kind the Warriors haven’t had in the Steph Curry era. He is an amazing 3pt shooter. His ability to score will definitely help fill the scoring gap from Butler’s injury. Porzingis is a very great basketball player, but he is one of the most injury-prone players in the league.
One trade isn’t enough to turn the team into a contender this season, and with Curry being 37 years old, he’s only got a few years left. The Warriors need to try to make another trade to improve the team even more to get the most out of currys last year or so of amazing basketball before Father Time catches up with him. Also, relying on an injury-prone Porzingis to be your second scoring option isn’t the smartest decision. He will most likely miss time this season, as he hasn’t, as he only plays on average 60 % of the games in the regular season due to injuries.
The Warriors are trying to keep their dynasty afloat, and Butler is a big part of that. Before the injury, he was top 3 in all statistical categories for the team. The general manager, Michael Dunleavey Jr., has stated he wants to keep Butler, but most analysts believe he is just trying to keep Butler’s trade value from falling too far.
Another player that the Warriors are looking to move off of is Draymond Green. While he was once the league’s best defender, he has struggled this season. Green’s offence has never been his strong suit, but this yearshooting efficiency has gone down, and he’s turning the ball over more often. On the defensive side, he has looked sluggish and unmotivated. He is a bad defender by any means, but his defense has always been good enough to outweigh his lack of offense. This season hes gotten worse on both sides of the ball.
How much value do Butler and Green have? Butler is getting paid 54 million dollars this season and 56 million dollars next season. Sure, Butler is an amazing player, but he is more of a burden in a trade than an asset with his giant contract and year-long injury.
Green is hard to value. Green only has one year left on his contract, being a free agent in the upcoming summer. Some young rebuilding teams may be interested in the experience that he could bring to a young squad.
There are still some good players on the trade block. Zach LaVine or Domantas Sabonis from the Kings could be doable. Lauri Markkinnen from the Jazz has been in Warriors trade talks for 3 or so years. He would fit with Steve Kerr’s offense, but he’s a non- factor of the defensive end. Michael Porter Jr. from the Nets is the best scorer available, but his injury concerns are definitely something to consider
The Bucks’ power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is the best player available. He is a once-in-a-lifetime player who could change the future of the Warriors. What would it cost to bring him in?
Well, there would have to be a 3rd team involved. Rebuilding teams sometimes take on good players who are injured or playing badly, with the idea that they can trade the player for more than what they traded for. It’s kinda like playing the stock market, buying when the stock is low and hoping the stock will rise. These bad teams aren’t really concerned with winning at the moment, just trying to accumulate assets for when they are good.
Butler and Green’s contracts combined are more than 75 million dollars this season. If a 3rd team is willing to take on either Butler or Green for more draft capital to be given to the Bucks, the deal could be done. Also, either Moody or Podziemski would have to be in the deal. Both have great potential this season and are on cheap contracts. Every team would love to have either of them.
Is the price tag too steep? Most likely, trading for Giannis would leave the Warriors even more depleted than they are currently and with no future draft picks. A Giannis-Porzingis-Curry Trio would be the best Trio in the league, but only 3 players can’t win a championship and may not even improve the team record-wise. Trading all your players and draft picks to possibly remain in the same position in the league is a gigantic gamble to make.
The Warriors’ General Manager, Michael Duneleavey Jr., stated that he does not plan on trading Butler, but most NBA analysts say that he is just trying to keep Butler’s trade value up. If Duneleavey Jr. is telling the truth, then the Warriors are not going to have enough capital to trade for a second scoring option.
The next few weeks leading up to the trade deadline will be crucial to the crumbling Warriors’ roster. Waiting till the off-season to make any meaningful changes could cost the Warriors their Dynasty.
