Golden State Warriors: 4 reasons to trade/not trade JaVale McGee
Reason to trade: Warriors need a creator off the bench
It’s become more and more clear with every passing game that McGee just can’t buy minutes in Steve Kerr‘s rotation with everyone healthy:
Bell has basically replaced McGee in the lineup; Looney has been playing surprisingly well this season; West is having his best season with the Warriors as the primary backup center; and Pachulia is simply more of a bruiser than McGee, which explains why Kerr favors him so heavily over McGee.
In other words, McGee has become the odd man out, which means the Warriors would likely be better off filling his roster spot with a player who could be a better fit or have a better chance at cracking the rotation.
More from Warriors News
- 3x champion may come to regret forgoing Golden State Warriors reunion
- Golden State Warriors: History shows USA may need Stephen Curry for more than the Olympics
- Golden State Warriors villain pours on more pain to end USA’s World Cup
- Golden State Warriors: Stephen Curry continues philanthropic efforts off the court
- The Dream starting 5 for the Warriors 5 years from now
As it turns out, the Warriors are in desperate need of a floor spacer off the bench to pair with Nick Young and Omri Casspi. Even with the both of them having a solid year with the Dubs, the Warriors bench has still noticeably had trouble putting the ball in the basket, ranking just 19th in points per game among all NBA second units (34.4).
In addition, they rank just 26th in field goal attempts (26.6) and 30th in 3-point attempts (6.3), and that simply ain’t cutting it. As much as we all respect Shaun Livingston and Iguodala, those guys aren’t snipers, and Patrick McCaw hasn’t been as consistent this year as many of us had previously hoped.
Therefore, it would be in Golden State’s best interest to deal McGee for a second unit scorer. If that’s not possible, then the next best thing would be to trade McGee for a draft pick, opening up a spot on the roster.
That spot could then be used to add a guy like Quinn Cook, who’s currently on a two-way contract with the Golden State Warriors and their G-League affiliate Santa Cruz Warriors. The reasoning behind this is that two-way contract players cannot play in postseason games, and the Dubs would be wise to add some depth at point guard.