Surprising news: The Golden State Warriors trade their most talented player to another weak basketball team.

Surprising news: The Golden State Warriors trade their most talented player to another weak basketball team.

Remarkable news: the Golden State Warriors trade their best player to a different underperforming squad.

The Golden State Warriors are experiencing the same sensation they provided the rest of the league for a historic decade at the NBA trade deadline. The Dubs gave opponents no decent options when they were at their record-breaking, trophy-hoisting, game-revolutionizing finest.

The Warriors themselves are now in a situation where practically no option appears to be likely to lead to success.

Defining that phrase up front is crucial since Golden State may be able to improve its position somewhat for the remainder of this season and beyond with just one or two minor transactions. Next year’s $30.8 million salary for Chris Paul isn’t guaranteed, and he might get a valuable player in return. Every team likes the kind of youthful three-and-D wing Moses Moody, who is presently hurt but will be buried on the bench when healthy.

For a team that deals in titles, nevertheless, “success” has to entail a return to glory and a place in the elite group of competitors. In a packed West, marginal changes that make the difference between 12th and ninth won’t do.

Nothing the Warriors could possibly accomplish at the deadline to return to the level they were at.

Even though Andrew Wiggins has had some good moments lately, his season has been among the worst of any player in the NBA. The rotation spot most in need of an upgrade is Wiggins’, with a career-low scoring average of 12.5 points per game, a 44.2/31.3/71.2 shooting split, and the fourth-lowest Box Plus/Minus among the 165 players who have played at least 1,000 minutes this season.

Guess who the Warriors would target in a Wiggins deal, though? Someone who looks a lot like Andrew Wiggins in 2021–2022! The only way the Warriors could pull off a Wiggins deal would be to sweeten the pot with one of their few draft selections or young players since no rational trading partner would just send Golden State a better version of the guy it is taking back in return.

In this particular supposition, Golden State might be better off waiting and hoping that Wiggins’ recent return to form continues.

Similar difficult trade prospects exist for other underachievers who were important members of this team’s previous great incarnation, like Klay Thompson and Kevon Looney. Not to mention the sentiment that should prevent trading someone who will a) have a statue outside Chase Center someday and b) appears likely to re-sign for a lesser dollar figure this offseason that reflects his reduced role, Thompson’s expiring $43.2 million salary makes matching money nearly impossible.

Looney is losing rotation minutes, is a stride or two slower (and he didn’t have speed to lose), and is considerably more essential to Golden State than anybody else because of his corporate understanding and locker room influence. He is not bringing back an update.

It seems less likely, the more extreme the change. Until he asks not to be a warrior, Stephen Curry will remain one. Draymond Green has done far more than enough to make his team give up on him, yet he is still with Golden State. That implies, furthermore, that he is not going anywhere.

A lack of valuable assets and a lack of clever ways to exploit them in a trade should be distinguished. Jonathan Kuminga is unquestionably a tempting trade asset, having been blistering hot over his last few outings and generating highlights in abundance.

He is also the lone projected future star in the franchise. It makes little sense to tie him in a movie to Paul or Wiggins.

Kuminga has a true shooting percentage of over 60.0 percent and is on track to become the sixth 21-year-old to average at least 21.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per 36 minutes. Though it’s true that’s a cherry-picked statistic, Kuminga has actually been much more productive since making the move to full-time starter recently. By the time 2023–24 ends, he might be in a category by himself.

For a minute, put aside the statistics and realize that every club in the NBA wants a young player who can drive to any area on the floor, finish through contact, and use his agility defensively.

Once the present core is gone, a veteran-led, sub-.500 team shouldn’t be in the business of sending out the one player on the roster who might save it from bottoming out for a few years. All that’s left of the disastrous “two timelines” idea is Kuminga, and he might be competent enough to make it worthwhile.

Warriors is the only team that has ever “owed it” to a star. Curry has to be given a fair shot at competing while he’s still, strangely, close to his prime at 35. But moving Kuminga, Paul, and a draft selection for Zach LaVine, Dejounte Murray, or any of the other supposedly available players would not only fall short of what Curry deserves. Any possibility he could have of receiving one final opportunity next season may likewise be jeopardized.

This summer, the Thompson deal closes. In a sense, Paul’s too ends. Cuts to those salaries might keep Golden State out of the second tax apron, which would significantly restrict its future options. The Warriors may find themselves in a far worse situation if they take on longer-term debt, are unable to combine salaries, or recover more money than they pay out in a deal.

A stupid decision would be much simpler to defend if the Warriors could really win a bidding war to acquire a superstar. A win-now deal may make some sense if players like Thompson, Wiggins, Looney, and even Paul aren’t close to the bottom of their value curve. And you could defend honoring Curry by going all in on the remainder of this season if Golden State weren’t as close to the 10-38 San Antonio Spurs as it is to the 34-14 Minnesota Timberwolves in the standings.

There isn’t such a star, the Warriors’ supporting cast is worth less than it was a year ago, and there is too much separating this club from the league’s best.

Golden State may have one more opportunity to give Curry the career-ending championship run he so richly deserves if it can be patient and play its cards correctly in the summer. The Warriors must realize right now that, like so many other teams they have played with throughout the years, they have no simple escape routes.Crucially for his offensive growth, he averaged over four attempts at 3-point range, shooting 36%.