Wed, 22 Jan 2025 22:36:49 GMT

Hey #DubNation - my take on the mid-way part of the #NBA season. At 21-21 with a several rotation players on the injury list at the beginning of a favorable schedule over the next 8 games and the February 6th trade deadline looming, the Warriors are at a pivotal point of the season.

For my $.02, there are three paths forward (plus the nuclear option): 1) Status quo, do nothing, hope to get their current guys healthy and make a run at the 6th seed or the play-in. This seems like more hope than strategy and would likely wind up in an unfavorable first round match up, an early exit from the playoffs, and a late teens first round draft pick that won’t move the needle next season. 2) Make a “big swing” trade , like for Jimmy Butler, Zion Willliamson, or even KD (although my bet is that Phoenix somehow pulls off a Butler deal prior to the deadline, which renders this moot.)This option is preferable to #1 as it at least is doing something but…also comes with a ton of downside risk. 3) My preferred option - put some combination of Schroeder, SloMo, Looney and Hield plus minor salary filler and second round picks into separate deals for Nikola Vucevic and Cam Johnson (yes, we might have to grit our teeth and throw a first round pick in for the Cam deal). The resulting lineup would feature enough shooting to correct our offensive woes and leave us with enough defensive chops to maybe compete for a top-4 spot in the West and a puncher’s chance to advance.

The harder option to contemplate is the nuclear one - we run up the white flag and trade Draymond and Steph (in his case, to his preferred location) for young talent and picks so that we can look to make a title run in 3-4 years. Going full Sam Presti, i.e., play all the kids and rebuild through the draft would be painful (and please don’t @me for suggesting trading Steph - note that I am only throwing this out there assuming that it would be SUBJECT TO HIS PRIOR BLESSING) but would be acknowledging the increasingly stark reality that the dynasty days are over.

What are your thoughts?

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