Two days ago, the Golden State Warriors traded 7-foot center Willie Cauley-Stein to the Dallas Mavericks for a 2020 second-round pick.
The Golden State Warriors kicked trade season off around two weeks until the February 6 deadline.
The Warriors could easily have three or four trades completed by the deadline with all their available assets and the lack of draft capital for their future drafts.
After all, with just a few second-round picks in the next seven drafts, the Warriors may look to add several more with their aptitude at selecting talent later in the draft. Players like Draymond Green and Eric Paschall were second-round picks.
Alright, now onto why the Warriors may have wanted to trade Willie Cauley-Stein.
For starters, they just weren’t playing him. WCS was averaging under 23 minutes per game. With the Kings over the last two seasons, he was either just under or at 28 per game. Let’s remember the Warriors are the West’s worst team to Cauley-Stein should’ve been getting more run.
It was shocking he didn’t play more with Golden State, given their lack of available big men, but Steve Kerr just didn’t see him fitting with their current system. Cauley-Stein not being able to shoot from outside of the paint was also an issue.
Cauley-Stein was attractive for suitors because of his contract. He was making under $2.2 million and will likely decline his player option this coming summer. He was a cheap option for teams looking to add frontcourt depth.
They weren’t playing him, his contract was alluring, and thirdly, Cauley-Stein was on a losing team. Had the Warriors been in a position to contend, like Dallas will be, his services may have been put to better use.
Sadly, the Warriors season hasn’t gone exactly as planned, and they’ve struggled mightily. The Western Conference’s worst team, there’s no point in keeping a player that’ll likely walk at the end of the season regardless.
Add all those up, and even a second-round pick was enough to secure a capable big man.