NBA Trade Rumors: As the NBA Trade Deadline quickly approaches, the Golden State Warriors could be making a huge miscalculation by lowballing their perfect target.
At 22-23, the Golden State Warriors find themselves in a far-from-ideal situation. They're 11th in the Western Conference standings and could be in desperate need of reinforcements with just a week (and change) left before the NBA Trade Deadline. Of course, the problem is that the front office may not have much interest in making a huge move right now to salvage what may be an unsalvagable situation.
Instead, the front office would much rather play the long game and wait for the right star target to become available - something that may not happen until the offseason or later. The issue with that is that the Warriors would be deferring another season of Steph Curry's career, leaving this team in an unfortunate situation - one that could end with them missing out on the postseason entirely.
One "small" move that the Warriors have been reportedly open to make for the right price is a trade for Nikola Vucevic. In theory, he could emerge as a big help to the Warriors in the frontcourt. He'd offer a true stretch-center dynamic alongside Curry and could help take some pressure off this team's already thin - and battered - frontcourt.
The Golden State Warriors are lowballing for Nikola Vucevic
Making a trade for Vucevic may not help this team become an immediate championship contender in the West, but it could be the difference between making the playoffs or not. Unfortunately, at least for now, the Warriors aren't willing to meet the asking price the Chicago Bulls currently have for Vucevic.
According to a recent report, the Warriors are only willing to offer second-round pick draft compensation at the moment. The Bulls are looking for a first-round pick for their big man. As the two sides continue to negotiate, you can't help but wonder if this lowballing is going to end up backfiring on the Warriors.
It's understandable that the Warriors would be hesitant to offer a first-round pick for Vucevic but it is a risky move by the team to be willing to not improve the roster ahead of the trade deadline. If Golden State were to not improve the roster at the trade deadline and then go on to miss the postseason entirely, I'm not sure what type of impact that could have on their relationship with Curry (who clearly still wants to play for a contender).
It's something that everyone in the front office has to consider before deciding how they make decisions at the NBA Trade Deadline. Maybe the Bulls come around and accept the two second-round picks that Golden State may be offering. But, if the Warriors aren't able to make a move for Vucevic or any other difference-making player at the trade deadline, you can't help but wonder how that could impact this team heading into the offseason.