Several other Western Conference playoff candidates made a league-altering splash at the trade deadline, but the Golden State Warriors didn’t.
They instead settled for a move on the margins, bringing back Gary Payton II to round out Steve Kerr’s rotation in a four-team deal that sent James Wiseman to the Detroit Pistons, making a chip in Joe Lacob’s massive luxury tax bill for both this season and 2023-24.
But just because the Warriors couldn’t match the Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers at the front of a frantic Western Conference arms race doesn’t mean they didn’t try. Golden State, in fact, reportedly went after OG Anunoby in the hours leading up to the deadline, joining a horde of teams making calls to Masai Ujiri about the Toronto Raptors’ ultra-valuable two-way forward.
Why did the deadline come and go without Anunoby in blue and gold? The Warriors reportedly balked at the Raptors’ sky-high asking price, one comprised of Jonathan Kuminga, other players and multiple picks, according to C.J. Holmes of the San Francisco Chronicle.
That intel aligns with the reported trade package Toronto was seeking for Anunoby in the weeks and days before the deadline. Golden State’s inclusion in the Anunoby sweepstakes raised eyebrows league-wide when it was reported Thursday morning, the prevailing assumption being Bob Myers and company lacked the stable of assets needed to emerge as a serious suitor for the most sought after role player on the trade market.
Even if the Dubs were comfortable moving Kuminga, thriving off the bench as a 20-year-old sophomore, it stands to reason they wouldn’t have been able to offer the Raptors the additional draft compensation necessary to get a deal done. Protections on the 2024 first-round pick they owe to Memphis prevent the Warriors from trading another first-rounder until 2028, two years after Steph Curry’s current contract expires.
Would Golden State be better off in the re-loaded Western Conference with Anunoby instead of Payton? No doubt. But ultimately retaining Anunoby through the deadline points to Toronto’s insistence on getting a star-level haul in return for trading him, one no team in the league was willing to meet—and the Warriors, even including Kuminga in a potential framework, simply lacked the assets to offer.
Source: https://clutchpoints.com
