Golden State Warriors have no plans to trade for big man before deadline

The Golden State Warriors were thought to be one of the more interesting teams as the 2022 NBA Trade Deadline approached, but at the end of the day, there will be few options for them that truly make sense.

The main need for Golden State was thought to be a big man.

The Golden State Warriors aren’t likely to make a trade at the 2022 deadline, clearly confident their current roster can win an NBA Championship.

A Myles Turner-esque big would give them the rim protection they need to take their league-best defense to yet another level, and with second-year center James Wiseman having yet to play, there’s no telling if that’s something he can provide.

Golden State will have to take on teams like Phoenix with Deandre Ayton and Utah with Rudy Gobert if they hope to make it to the NBA Finals.

However, recent reports from The Athletic put a halt to any rumors regarding the potential addition of a center via a trade. Why would the Warriors not want another big man despite Wiseman’s continued absence?

Well, it’s because of the recent and continued dominant play of Kevon Looney.

It’s not just that Looney has been playing far above his expectations, but it’s more so that he’s been able to stay on the court this season. Looney’s struggled with injuries in the past but has been a consistent force for Golden State this season.

On the season, the 6-foot-9 Looney is averaging 6.2 points per game and 7.2 rebounds per game. His rebounding numbers are by the far the best of his career, and to make them even more impressive, 2.7 of those 7.2 boards are coming on the offensive glass.

Looney has played and started 47 games this season. The Warriors are 34-13, meaning Looney has yet to miss a game. After playing for 81 combined in the past two seasons, seeing Looney stay injury-free is encouraging.

With Wiseman set to return hopefully in the next month coupled with Looney’s continued availability, the Warriors have no true need to go out and waste assets on a center, especially one that might force them to part ways with the much-improved Andrew Wiggins.

That said, the Warriors really have no further needs besides potentially a true backup point guard.

They don’t have much depth behind two-time MVP Stephen Curry, but even that feels unlikely as Jordan Poole will shift to captaining the second unit more often when Klay Thompson gets his minutes’ restriction lifted.