It took Draymond Green 48 seconds to rattle off all the moves Golden State has made at the trade deadline since the Warriors drafted him 10 years ago.
He didn’t name them all with complete impunity, but the point stands: the Warriors haven’t historically been hyperactive at the deadline.
“What I do believe, and know to be true, is we are not a heavy trade deadline team,” Green told reporters Thursday. “We haven’t been since I got here. I could count on one hand, probably, the amount of moves we’ve made at the trade deadline.”
It’s ironic Green brought up Golden State’s past aversion to deadline moves, because his status will determine whether this year’s Warriors break tradition or not. In five of the last 10 years, including three straight trips to the NBA Finals, the Warriors made no trades at the deadline. This season, less than one week from the Feb. 10 trade deadline, the Warriors’ level of urgency depends on one major factor: their health.
“I don’t think we feel urgency,” GSW general manager Bob Myers told reporters Thursday. “But we’re always listening and talking… If I was being told, ‘Don’t count on Draymond coming back,’ we would react differently. If I was being told, ‘James is not coming back,’ we would approach the deadline differently.”
Injuries to Green and James Wiseman have left 6-foot-9 Kevon Looney as a one-man army at the center position for three weeks. Wiseman hasn’t played all year as his torn meniscus has taken significantly longer to rehab than expected. Green has missed the past 15 games with an L5-S1 disc injury — a peculiar ailment he described in detail Thursday.
As of now, Myers said the organization believes both Green and Wiseman “will be available and back to help us with some games to go.” Of course, that intel could change before the deadline, which GSW would react to. And there’s still concern.
Looney wants to play all 82 games, but using exclusively him, Nemanja Bjelica, Juan Toscano-Anderson and Jonathan Kuminga at center is unsustainable.
“Right now, we have one five,” Myers said. “Ideally, we’d like to have all three, if you’re counting Draymond as a five with Looney and Wiseman. I’d be worried if we only had one a month from now.”
That hypothetical is something GSW needs to have contingencies for; mainly because it’s not so hypothetical. Green is set to be re-evaluated before the Feb. 20 All-Star Break, but said he hopes he’s only out three-to-four more weeks. Wiseman hasn’t even resumed practicing yet — he’s been close to clearance but has hit setbacks along the way.
So do the math. One month from now is March 4. That’s around when Green ideally returns, but he can’t guarantee it. There would only be 19 regular season games left to re-introduce Wiseman, who will have been away from the court for about 11 months at that point.
That’s cutting it close. The Warriors have legitimate championship aspirations, and banking on bringing a 20-year-old back into the fold completely cold for a playoff run might not be realistic. Betting on Green to return stronger than before — as he said he will — is risky.
Still, if Myers and the front office are confident in Green and Wiseman returning, as he says, don’t expect the Warriors to be active.
“We think those two will help us more than anything we’re looking at on the market,” Myers said of Green and Wiseman.
Aside from another big man — that is, if Green and Wiseman are unavailable — the Warriors don’t have a clear need. At 40-13, Golden State has the second-best record in the league, and hasn’t even had its core three players healthy for a minute of action.
If the Warriors stay put at the deadline and get unfortunate news afterwards, they could still acquire a player via the buyout market. Robin Lopez, whom Steve Kerr drafted when he was a Suns executive, is expected to be a top option. Tristan Thompson and Derrick Favors may also become available.
But signing a buyout player would require losing a current rostered player. Myers said owner Joe Lacob would likely be open to spending even more money on top of GSW’s already ludicrous luxury bill, but the general manager likes all 15 guys currently on the roster.
In the end, if the Warriors make a move before Feb. 10, that means they’re more pessimistic on Green and Wiseman’s health than publicly stated. If not, that bodes well for Green post-All-Star Break. The franchise’s calculus in the micro ultimately comes down to their health, as does the Warriors’ 2022 title chances.