Myers’ narrow path to a deadline trade
MINNEAPOLIS — The Golden State Warriors have essentially solidified their rotation at this point in the season, but questions still remain as to whether the team will look to upgrade its roster in pursuit of another championship.
Speaking on 95.7 The Game on Wednesday, general manager Bob Myers gave insight into where the Warriors stand as the NBA’s next Thursday’s trade deadline approaches. In short, he said, a potential move — perhaps for frontcourt depth or an experienced wing player — might add to the team’s “margin of error,” but a trade might be difficult to pull off.
“There are less sellers,” Myers said. “I think the league thought more teams — whether they were trying for a certain player in the draft — would be clearly out on the playoffs at this time. That is not the case. There are not a lot of teams that are making the decision that this season is lost. It doesn’t make for a lot of trading partners.”
The Warriors entered Wednesday’s game against Minnesota with a 26-24 record and in a tight race for playoff positioning in the Western Conference.
Still, Myers believes the current roster can “stack up good enough” with just about any team in the league — assuming the team can roll into the postseason healthy.
Recent history supports Myers’ statement. Despite Golden State’s disappointing record, the team has not lost a playoff series in which Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green have started every game (19-0).
“Our margin of error is not what it was. The record is not what it was,” Myers said. “Comparing to what I know about the teams we’ve had, I’d like to get a bigger margin of error. Can we do it? I don’t know.”
The Warriors reportedly have been linked to players like Philadelphia’s Matisse Thybulle, Utah’s Jarred Vanderbilt, San Antonio’s Jakob Poeltl and Chicago’s Alex Caruso. But if Golden State does decide to strike a deal, it has to make sense from both a financial and personnel standpoint.
“That is the question,” Myers said. “We’ve gotta look and see if there’s something that makes sense to answer that question, something that’s clear. We have to see.
“Is there someone out there that fills that spot? Is there someone in a buyout? Is there someone in a trade? Is there someone who supplants that and becomes the seventh guy, the sixth guy? That’s our job in the next eight days.”