Warriors Shouldn't Move James Wiseman, Others amid NBA Trade Deadline Rumors

The Golden State Warriors find themselves in a bit of an odd position heading into Thursday's 3 p.m. ET trade deadline.

At 28-26, Golden State isn't where it had hoped to be nearly eight months after its latest NBA championship. Add in the fact that star Stephen Curry is out indefinitely with a leg/ligament injury, and it's fair to wonder if the Warriors will be sellers at the deadline.

According to The Athletic's Anthony Slater, teams have been asking this very question while eying young players like James Wiseman and Moses Moody.

"In recent weeks, teams called the Warriors in search of a bargain. If James Wiseman and Moses Moody weren't providing any current on court value, could they be had for pennies on the dollar?"

According to Slater, the Warriors are pondering the idea.

"The noise around the league the last couple of days is an increased willingness from the Warriors to engage in conversation and explore the idea of moving their younger, out-of-the-rotation players if a significant enough upgrade is offered," Slater wrote. "There's a greater whiff of aggressiveness."

It's true that Wiseman, a 2020 first-round pick out of Memphis, hasn't contributed much. He's averaged just 12.5 minutes through 21 games this season. Given the talent on Golden State's roster, he could almost certainly have a bigger impact elsewhere.

Moody recently did a stint in the G League, while Jonathan Kuminga could also be considered a potential trade piece—though he's been much more active, averaging 19.4 minutes.

Golden State could be tempted to dump some salary—Wiseman, for example, carries a $9.6 million cap hit, according to Spotrac—and lighten their luxury-tax burden. Here's the problem, though. The Warriors aren't quite bad enough where fire-selling young players with upside is logical.

Golden State is hovering around the non-play-in postseason field, and even without Curry, it can be dangerous. Monday's 141-114 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder is proof of that. A core group of Klay Thompson, Jordan Poole, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green and Kuminga is plenty potent.

A sudden hot streak could suddenly push the Warriors to one of the Western Conference's higher seeds, especially if Curry returns sooner than later. And in a playoff series, depth will be important, even if it's less so now.

Simply put, Golden State isn't in a position to give up on the current season, even if the financial savings are substantial.

Here's another factor to consider, too. If Golden State does decide to move on from players like Wiseman, it will likely get a much better return in the looming offseason. One unnamed NBA executive believes that this is an important piece of the puzzle.

"The middle road is, hang on to them for this year and if they don't pull things together, use them to go and make an offer for KD. They'd love to bring KD back to finish out his career with Steph and Klay," the executive told Heavy's Sean Duveney.

While a Kevin Durant reunion might not be entirely realistic, the thought process is valid. Why trade anyone right now for practical scraps when an offseason deal might yield a legitimate contributor?

Sure, a strong offer could change Golden State's perception, but the Warriors are unlikely to add a serious puzzle piece for their deep bench talent alone. Teams aren't scrambling to land Wiseman or Moody as their "missing pieces" to a championship run.

The players other franchises might covet, like Wiggins or Thompson? They're not going anywhere.

"I'm not going into this deadline expecting some big moves or something," Green said, per Slater. "I don't know. If it happens, it does. But I've been here 11 years and I think we've made moves two or three times. We haven't done much."

The best move for Golden State is to simply sit on the sidelines during the final trade frenzy. There's a lot of basketball left to play this year, and the Warriors have a chance over the second half of the season to do something special.

If that doesn't happen? Golden State can re-evaluate its young players and the market in a few months and likely better position itself for a return trip to the championship in 2024.