NBA Trade Rumors: The Golden State Warriors may need to target another superstar to help build around Stephen Curry.
The Golden State Warriors currently find themselves out of the playoff picture, which includes the Play-In Tournament. There are several factors contributing to their struggles this season, and the overall vibe seems off.
Gone are the fun and silly Warriors teams that looked like they were having fun on the court. Now, we have the new Warriors. The old, not-so-fun, borderline boring Warriors. Steph Curry is still going to cook from three, but this season feels lost.
Even though Draymond Green is set to return from suspension soon, there's no guarantee he's going to ignite the spark that the team needs. Andrew Wiggins seems interested in playing some nights but then takes others off. Klay Thompson looks slow. The young guys still haven't figured out a way to earn rotation minutes. All of this is to say that the Warriors need help and they need it in a big way.
The NBA trade deadline is coming up quickly, at just four weeks away. By February 8, the Warriors will need to decide if this team can truly compete for a championship by then. Yes, many people will look at this as an overreaction to poor play at the beginning of the season, but this is different. The air and energy in the Chase Center is stale and unnerving. The Warriors need to make a sizable move before the deadline. Here are three superstar trades that could help the team retool around Curry.
Brooklyn Nets: Mikal Bridges, SF/SG
If the Golden State Warriors want to make a splash and get both the offensive and defensive pools wet, they should call the Brooklyn Nets to see what it would take to acquire Mikal Bridges. Bridges is always having fun on the court, just watch his pre-game dances to the warmup music. While expected to take a bigger leap this year, Bridges hasn't. The Nets have stood pat on their stance that they aren't going to trade him, but they're hanging on by a thread for a chance at the play-in tournament. Would they reconsider a trade if it got them younger, foundational pieces?
The Warriors get what Klay Thompson used to be, a perimeter pest who can knock down catch and shoot threes. His defense and effort would carry on through every game, and each night his hustle would be noticed by teammates and fans alike. Bridges is averaging career highs in assists (3.7 APG) and rebounds (5.2 rpg) this year and he is the ultimate iron man, missing 19 games total during his six-year career. Bridges' toughness and willingness to adapt to team needs to make this an easy decision.
The best part is the fit. The Warriors don't change their game plan while adding in Bridges. They can run the same style of offense they have for years without having to integrate another ball-dominant, high-usage player onto their team mid-season. The perimeter defense improves, the hustle stats improve, and the health and availability improve as does the three-point shooting. If I'm the Warriors, I'm calling up the Nets very soon to see if we can't come to some sort of arrangement that includes the team's young players and draft capital.