The Warriors are at a crossroads with the February 8 trade deadline fast approaching.
Do they get aggressive at the deadline to make a playoff push? Do they try and get Andrew Wiggins off the books? Do they... *gulps* stand pat?
Anthony Slater of The Athletic joined the Morning Roast Wednesday to break it all down, especially as a top trade candidate for the Warriors, Pascal Siakam, is part of active trade talks to be sent to the Indiana Pacers.
While Slater said that the Warriors are exploring trade options like Siakam, he posed the question, should Golden State prioritize a reset?
"Not a rebuild, you're obviously going to have Steph Curry next season, you're going to want to compete, but I think the next three seasons becomes a bigger priority than the next couple months, because I don't know that you can save the next couple months," Slater said.
"They've sniffed around in that market, for sure and they'll look at other stuff. But I think we're at the point we can maybe take a step back — I think everyone agrees that some kind of shakeup is needed. But is the best strategy to obsessively try to make this team as good as possible this season regardless of their future assets, or is it kind of a reset?"
Slater pointed out that Siakam would be very expensive this offseason to retain. If the Warriors get him, is that enough to make a playoff push?
"It'd be really expensive to potentially keep him around and risky that whatever you give up, you may end up, four months from now, having nothing for it if he ends up going elsewhere," Slater said. "So is that the right move considering the risk?
"Especially because if he ain't turning you into a title contender — and we can sit here and debate if you guys think Pascal Siakam would turn them into a title contender — then it might impact your future negatively if you go make a rushed trade like that."
He also addressed whether he believes Klay Thompson will stick around this offseason. He leans yes, but laid out a scenario in which he wouldn't.
"I think Klay Thompson is going to need a team like [Houston, last offseason], in that type of situation that's like, look, we have cap space to play with, we're trying to speed up the timeline, we want to get a veteran in here with championship experience who can hit a bunch of 3s, be super competitive, teach our youngsters some stuff," Slater said. "And maybe they do give him way more than the Warriors are willing to give him. That's the situation where I do think maybe it's possible that he's gone."
Having said that, he still thinks Thompson is back.
"At the same time, my guess still, at this point, is he's back on a reasonable contract because I think the market will be suppressed enough and I think there's still enough of a desire to keep the partnership going because of what it means to both parties."
