The Golden State Warriors are far past their glory years in the NBA. After winning three championships in four years, the team is now hoping to get back to the playoffs. They will have Klay Thompson back from injury and Stephen Curry will be back as well. When Draymond Green is added to the mix, that is the core that brought them their first championship. In today's NBA, those three alone likely won't be enough.
What they really need is reliable NBA talent. Outside of the three mentioned above, the Warriors are fairly slim in terms of rotation. They have Andrew Wiggins who might not even feature in home games. Additionally, there is Otto Porter Jr., veteran Andre Iguodala, and young guns Moses Moody, Jonathan Kuminga, and James Wiseman. Rookies are generally unreliable and cannot help right away.
However, two potential Warriors trade candidates can turn the situation around – Jusuf Nurkic and Seth Curry.
Warriors trade candidates
Seth Curry
Starting with Curry, it is obvious why this shooter would be a preferable solution for Golden State. The Warriors are lacking bench offense and it is going to hurt them. Of course, Stephen Curry and Thompson are lethal shooters and offensive players. However, due to Thompson's injury, it is likely that he will not be featured for crazy minutes in his first season back. On the bench, there is a lot of uncertainty and a lot of mixed skills – none of which is offense in particular.
Seth would change that in a heartbeat. It is clear that the Philadelphia 76ers, his current team, are going through a rough period. If there was any time for Seth to play with his brother, it could be now. Not only would that be great for them and the chemistry on the court, it also makes perfect basketball sense for the Warriors.
The younger Curry brother is not a game-changer, certainly not in the same vein as Stephen. However, if there was any player capable to be a gunner from the bench, Seth is on the top of many lists. He does not do much other than scoring, but sometimes, that is what teams need. Guys like Draymond Green, Jordan Poole, and possibly Moses Moody can run the Warriors' offense with the second unit. It would be Seth's job to get into positions of scoring.
Additionally, his contract is not massive and he can definitely be pried to the Warriors from Philly. It would be very fun to see the two brothers together, especially considering their immense shooting talent. Warriors games, with both Curry brothers there, might become the most fun in the NBA.
Article Continues BelowJusuf Nurkic
It is clear – the Warriors need real, NBA-quality talent in the front-court. Kevon Looney and Draymond Green as a front-court partnership seems okay, but Green-Nurkic would be great. There is an array of ways the Bosnian Beast would make the Warriors a great team.
First of all, coming from the ex-Yugoslavia school of basketball, he would fit into Steve Kerr's system in a second. Just like Green, but a bit less talented, Nurkic can pass the ball. He is taller than most players on the court, thus he can see cutters and provide the key pass for an easy basket. Additionally, he does not command a lot of the ball in the offense, which is great for a Warriors team with Curry and Thompson.
Second of all, defensively he is the perfect complement to the team. Before 2016 and Kevin Durant, it was this core that had some great role players that won the title for the Warriors in 2015. One of them was Andrew Bogut, a slow and old-school center who was the screen-setter and rim protector. While Nurkic is a little bit more than that offensively, he is the exact thing defensively.
Nurkic would also be fairly cheap. The Portland Trailblazers are most likely not extending his contract and it would be ideal for them to extract some value out of the situation. The Warriors could get a package together, test it out and see if Nurkic makes them a better team. Additionally, as was outlined above, it is his contract year and Nurkic will need to ball out to get the money he wants. Thus, this is a perfect situation for a midseason trade and a test of compatibility.
The Warriors will need to bounce back from a couple of poor seasons, even without the mentioned trades. It will be very interesting to see how long of a period is given to this roster. Klay will need time to adjust, Kuminga and Moody cannot be of great immediate help and Wiseman does not look as good as what was promised to Warriors fans. However, there is still potential in this roster and if they do one, or both, of these mentioned trades, they might be up there sooner than the NBA fans think.