The Golden State Warriors are set to remain active on the trade market over the coming weeks, leaving the futures of some current players under serious question marks leading up to the February 6 deadline.
Two of those players are veteran duo Gary Payton II and Kevon Looney, both of who are on expiring contracts and make a combined $17.1 million. That makes the championship pair obvious trade candidates in salary-matching situations, particularly if the Warriors wish to acquire a $20 million player like Nikola Vucevic.
Gary Payton II and Kevon Looney both closed for the Warriors on Saturday
One of Golden State's biggest issues over the past 18 months has been a lack of hierarchy on the roster. While they've had a lot of depth for Steve Kerr to utilize, that's also caused headaches in terms of the rotation and who to play in what combinations.
Those same problems could now extend to general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr., particularly after Saturday's 122-114 win over the Washington Wizards. After falling behind by 10 early in the third-quarter, both Payton and Looney played key roles down the stretch of the eight-point win.
Payton and Looney each played over seven minutes in the fourth-quarter, with the former taking a direct matchup on Jordan Poole who shot just 2-of-5 in the final period despite going for 38 points in the game.
Looney had 10 points, 13 rebounds (five offensive), two blocks and was a +13 in nearly 24 minutes, while Payton finished with 10 points, two rebounds, two assists and was a +11 in 19 minutes.
While it's easy to speculate that the pair will be candidates to be moved before the deadline, and that they can subsequently be thrown freely into the trade machine, it won't be that easy in reality for Dunleavy and the front office.
Not only are Payton and Looney forever etched into franchise history as championship players who bring a lot from a culture and locker room standpoint, but Saturday night proved they're still valuable rotation players capable of filling big fourth-quarter minutes.
It would be far easier to move on from them if Golden State had a set top eight in the rotation that they were outside of. Instead, Payton and Looney are among over half the roster who are battling for their share of minutes in Steve Kerr's lineups. On the other hand, perhaps moving on Payton and/or Looney is the sort of ruthless decision the Warriors need to try and resuscitate their mediocre season.