Ranking Last-Minute NBA Trade Deadline Targets for the Golden State Warriors
For the third consecutive season, the Golden State Warriors are running away with the NBA's best winning percentage.
What would make them risk disrupting their chemistry at the NBA trade deadline? Probably nothing, which is why they aren't initiating external talks.
However, every team has some needs—in this case, think interior defense and backcourt depth—so general manager Bob Myers and his staff won't stay off the grid until 3 p.m. ET Thursday.
"We'll take phone calls, but we're not going to initiate any," Warriors director of player personnel Larry Harris told KNBR (via Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle). "We'll take phone calls if teams are interested, if they need us maybe in a three-way deal or they see something that can help us. We're certainly not generating calls."
Even if the Dubs aren't looking, they have targets who would interest them. They'd have to be affordable, able to fit Steve Kerr's system and capable of filling a need.
The five best options are listed here, ranked in order of the impact they could have.
5. Jeff Withey, Utah Jazz
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Are the Warriors willing to sacrifice versatility for size? Their potential playoff path says they might have to be.
There's a chance they'll draw Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins in the first round now. And the subsequent postseason steps could put any of these frontcourt barriers in their path: Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol, Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert, LaMarcus Aldridge and Pau Gasol, Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson.
The Dubs don't have the strongest interior presence. They're only tied for 20th on the defensive glass and sit a good-not-great 10th against shots within five feet.
Free-agent-to-be Jeff Withey has a limited skill set, but he'd help in these specific areas.
He's averaging a career-best 3.1 blocks per 36 minutes—JaVale McGee leads Golden State with 2.6—and his 49.5 field-goal percentage allowed at the rim would trail only Draymond Green (43.8) and Kevin Durant (49.1). Withey's 10.1 rebounds per 36 minutes would also rank third in Oakland.
If Withey's name doesn't excite you, that's understandable. But he's the type of player you find in the NBA bargain bin. He's been a part-time player for the Utah Jazz this season, and his clearance contract expires in a few months. It shouldn't take much of anything to get him.
4. Ben McLemore, Sacramento Kings
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Did you see what the Sacramento Kings just accepted for DeMarcus Cousins—an in-prime three-time All-Star? ESPN Insider Amin Elhassan did, and this was his view, per ABC News:
"Honestly, this is why you don't appoint a team president [Vlade Divac] with zero experience: To walk away with a vanilla 23-year-old rookie [Buddy Hield], a middling 2017 first-round draft pick (that only figures to get worse as the season progresses) and a second-rounder for a player of Cousins' caliber indicates either a gross misunderstanding of his value on the trade market or massive incompetence in negotiation strategy.
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If that deal doesn't make trade vultures flock to California's capital, it's only because they were already residing there.
Ben McLemore, the No. 7 pick in 2013, has to be dirt cheap. The Kings now have two first-rounders from this past draft who play the same position (Buddy Hield, No. 6, and Malachi Richardson, No. 22). That's also where their two biggest free-agency additions last summer (Arron Afflalo and Garrett Temple) and their primary compensation for moving down this last draft (Bogdan Bogdanovic) all suit up.
McLemore, by the way, is slated for restricted free agency this summer. And he's sitting firmly on the trade block, sources told The Vertical's Chris Mannix.
All of this points to a sale on McLemore, who owns a 37.0 three-point percentage and has produced his three highest scoring efforts of the season this month.
He's an explosive athlete with great shooting form. That should be enough to draw the attention of the Dubs, who have received inconsistent play from backup shooting guards Ian Clark and Patrick McCaw.
3. Richaun Holmes, Philadelphia 76ers
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If the Warriors want size, the Philadelphia 76ers are a natural trade partner. They have more bigs than any team needs and a clear desire to thin their rotation to a workable level.
Obviously, Joel Embiid is going nowhere. Jahlil Okafor's back-to-the-basket game would muddle the Warriors' historical offense. Nerlens Noel would fit their defensive scheme perfectly, but he probably costs more than they could spend.
All of that's fine. The oft-overlooked Richaun Holmes is the preferred target, anyway.
The sophomore packs incredible athleticism into his 6'10", 245-pound frame. It shines most at the defensive end, where he's an intimidating shot-blocker (career 1.9 per 36 minutes) and capable switcher. He didn't get shorted in terms of physical gifts, and he works hard to maximize them.
"There is a toughness in him," head coach Brett Brown said, per Sixers.com's Brian Seltzer. "You can judge to me somebody clearly from that—he cares. There is an aggression and toughness and energy that sort of [is] highlighted by his bounce. He's got a motor."
Holmes intrigues at the offensive end with soft hands, an ability to finish in close and a developing jump shot. And the fact he's handled some difficult situations—getting crunched for minutes as a lottery team—without getting frustrated suggests he'd be a great team player on a contender.
If there's a hang-up with Holmes, it's whether he could be had at a reasonable price. Philly's clogged frontcourt makes it seem possible, but the Sixers don't need to deal him and would likely have multiple suitors if they do.
2. P.J. Tucker, Phoenix Suns
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If Golden State had a player mold, it would fit around P.J. Tucker like a pair of skinny jeans.
Basketball Insiders' Michael Scotto said Tucker's value rests in his "versatility to guard every position on any play or a defensive switch." Phoenix Suns coach Earl Watson credited Tucker for being "strong and...very shifty [with] quick feet and a strong upper body," per Doug Haller of the Arizona Republic.
Doesn't this sound Warriors-like and even a bit Draymond Green-ish?
Tucker, who packs 245 pounds on his 6'6" frame, is a defensive menace. Of the 51 players who have faced at least 60 isolation plays this season, only six yield a lower scoring rate than Tucker's 0.71 points per possession. And he's a workhorse on the glass, posting this season's fourth-highest rebounding percentage for a player his height or shorter (11.6).
He's much more limited at the offensive end, although he's an average shooter from distance (career 34.7 three-point percentage) and someone who doesn't hurt himself by straying outside his lane. When he gets an open look from three—which would presumably happen much more frequently with Golden State—his conversion rate spikes to 40.5 percent with defenders four-to-six feet away.
His defensive pedigree has put him on the radar of multiple clubs, and his expiring contract should give the Suns some incentive to sell. If he's priced as a one-way rental, the Warriors should have the assets to get something done.
1. Kyle O'Quinn, New York Knicks
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The New York Knicks need assets for the rebuild around Kristaps Porzingis coming whenever Carmelo Anthony decides he's had enough of the Big Apple and Phil Jackson.
Their problem is the players they want to trade aren't the ones suitors want (Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah) or, in Anthony's case, ones they're allowed to deal. But in fifth-year forward-center Kyle O'Quinn they have a player who could be superfluous with the current roster.
"Willy Hernangomez is already better than Joakim Noah, and Kristaps Porzingis' wiry frame needs to see some time at the 5," Bleacher Report's Dan Favale wrote. "And with Noah being immovable, per Basketball Insiders' Steve Kyler, Kyle O'Quinn's cap-friendly contract becomes the most logical trade chip."
O'Quinn has thrived in a reserve role throughout his career, but this season he has brought a new level of activity. His per-36-minute marks of 15.1 points, 13.1 rebounds and 3.2 blocks are unmatched among qualified players. His 75 blocks pace all players averaging fewer than 20 minutes, and his 68 assists rank 20th among all big men.
With 30-somethings Zaza Pachulia and David West already losing substantial time to injuries, the Warriors might want insurance policies with more seasoning than Kevon Looney and Damian Jones (and less volatility than JaVale McGee). O'Quinn could provide that if the Dubs can afford him.
Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com or NBA.com and accurate through the All-Star break. Salary information obtained via Basketball Insiders.
Zach Buckley covers the NBA for Bleacher Report.
