SAN FRANCISCO – Firmly inside the 48-hour window when the NBA trade market closes, the Warriors by all accounts remain among the busiest teams in the league.
Frustrations with a span of sub-mediocrity stretching into its third month have Golden State’s front office, led by general manager Mike Dunleavy and CEO Joe Lacob, brainstorming ideas and rummaging through possibilities in hopes of reversing the tailspin.
The Warriors are, according to one league source, “determined” to make a move. Stephen Curry or Draymond Green remain unavailable, and they continue to exhibit reluctance regarding inquiries about Jonathan Kuminga.
Yet the internal feeling is that the team’s current status is unacceptable, with no one more displeased than Lacob.
“There's a reason this franchise is where it is right now,” coach Steve Kerr said after practice Tuesday. “Joe bought the team and everything changed. Joe has driven a lot of this success with his ambition and his vision. Obviously, the players are the ones on the floor and Joe and his group, led by [former Warriors GM] Bob Myers and now Mike, they've put together some amazing teams.
“But it's all driven by the ambition for success and victory, and it starts with Joe. Draymond shares that. Steph does. I do. We’ve got a lot of competitive people in here, so it’s not easy being .500 and wanting to be better, wanting to compete for a championship.”
The Warriors started the season winning 12 of their first 15 games but are 13-21 since Nov. 22. They have been no more than two games of either side of .500 since Dec. 21.
Golden State Warriors
The Warriors’ emphasis, based on conversations with various teams, is being placed on reshaping the frontcourt. There have been discussions about Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vučević. About New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram. About, yes, the possibility of a reunion with Kevin Durant.
Lacob might have to lower his sights, but his tendency is to think big and shoot for the moon. Make the kind of seismic move that brought such names as Jerry West, Rick Welts and Durant to the Warriors. Everyone in the locker room knows this.
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“You’ve got to know your people and who you're dealing with,” Green said late Monday night. “And [Lacob] does not ever ... you ever look at him when we’re losing. He ain't going for no losing. So, sitting at .500, you’ve got to expect that they're going to look to be aggressive. It’s not an organization that's going to do anything dumb, but they're going to look to be aggressive. And I understand it. I respect it.
“So, yes, when you're sitting at .500 and you have the expectations as an organization that we have, it’s definitely going to be a little more intense. And then you add into the fold that Luka Dončić just got traded, so everyone thinks everything's possible at this point. If you saw that, and you didn't call every superstar, you're crazy. That's just the reality.”
There are plenty of potential trade partners, with some targeting Kuminga and, thus far, being rebuffed. For what it’s worth, which seems to be a lot, nobody among the Warriors’ decision-makers is more bullish on Kuminga than Lacob.
So, the calls continue. The names, some flashier than others, keep flying. The team keeps struggling. There is no doubt, with Curry turning 37 next month and Green turning 35, that their advancing age is pushing the level of urgency.
“What we're dealing with is just the reality of where we are organizationally,” Kerr said. “A decade into this this run, most teams would have been broken down by this time and all the parts sold off and a new everything. But this team has been special for a long time, and we're trying to extend it for as long as we can. And that’s not an easy thing to do.”
The Warriors are trying to determine how deep they’re willing to go to chase one more championship. Is there a path to rebuild the team in such a way that it could vault them from the outer edge of the NBA playoff race into top-four status in the Western Conference?
And while Kerr, Curry and Green are unanimous in believing the current roster has underachieved, they would embrace a move that would provide a jolt over the final two months of the regular season and into the playoffs.
What’s clear is this: Lacob is not among the NBA governors who is comfortable sacrificing a better product to save money. He wants no part of mediocrity. If the Warriors don’t strike a deal by noon Thursday, and I believe they will, it won’t be out of negligence.