NBA expert reveals when Warriors are “well positioned” to make a big trade Originally appeared in NBC Bay Area Sports
While the Warriors may have missed out on potential trade opportunities for Lauri Markkanen and Paul George, the franchise is still in a good position to improve its roster.
According to NBA insiders Marc Stein talks about his latest Substack, Golden State can still acquire another marquee player via trade.
“Golden State is planning its next moves following failed attempts to trade Paul George and Lauri Markkanen in the offseason,” Stein said. “Team officials believe they remain well-positioned for an upgrade trade sometime in the next year or so after responding to the free-agent departure of Curry’s backcourt partner Klay Thompson by acquiring Kyle Anderson, Buddy Hield and De’Anthony Melton on short-term deals while retaining all of their draft picks.
“The clear feeling at Chase Center was that the Clippers and the Jazz, despite numerous conversations with both teams, really did not want to do business with the Warriors.”
Golden State faces an uncertain future after Klay Thompson’s departureAlthough it is clear that Mike Dunleavy and Joe Lacob intend to pursue another superstar via trade, as evidenced by the report The pursuit of LeBron James Last season.
With Steph Curry The Warriors continue to play at an extremely high level and will need to fill the void left by Thompson and find another legitimate scoring threat.
Stein noted that this uncertainty will loom over the franchise when the 2024-25 NBA season begins.
“There are certainly challenges ahead. Curry, Draymond Green and Warriors coach Steve Kerr have yet to truly confront the reality that Thompson is no longer a part of the organization everyone hoped he would never leave,” Stein wrote. “The hope now is that the golden summer Curry and Kerr have enjoyed together will provide lasting insulation in what could be a tricky winter (and maybe even spring) as Golden State continues to truly transform itself.”
With players like Curry and Green still on the roster, Golden State still has the potential to make a playoff run, but unless one of the team’s younger players begins to mature and develop into an All-Star-caliber talent, it will be difficult to make any progress in the loaded Western Conference.
