The Golden State Warriors have gone 13-deep in their rotation over the last two games, with Steve Kerr leaning heavily on his depth to record back-to-back wins over the Brooklyn Nets and Charlotte Hornets.
Young forward Gui Santos made a huge impact in Wednesday's victory in Charlotte, scoring 11 points in the second-quarter alone on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting from the floor. The positive impact from Santos and others towards the end of the roster proves that the Warriors can afford to make a bold trade for another superstar when others in a similar situation can't or shouldn't.
Warriors could thrive with three top tier salary players
With today's CBA and the implications of the first and second tax apron, teams have gone against possessing a trio of superstars making maximum or near max money. The Phoenix Suns -- with their previous trio of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal -- have also provided a recent cautionary tale of why it doesn't work.
This time last year the Warriors had depth but lacked top end talent, addressing that by making a 4-for-1 trade for Jimmy Butler which completely changed the fortunes of their season. Now they're in a similar situation again, lacking strong enough talent around Curry and Butler to be a real contender in the Western Conference.
Golden State could again combine multiple salaries to reach an opposition trade target making $40 million, or even over $50 million if they change their stance on veteran forward Draymond Green.
The Warriors are in a better position than most to have three high end salaries on their books for a couple of reasons. Firstly, owner Joe Lacob has shown a willingness to pay millions in tax -- the new CBA really came in to prevent he and Steve Ballmer from continually raising the roof on their payroll.
Secondly and perhaps more importantly, Mike Dunleavy Jr.'s ability to identify rotational players out of nowhere has arguably been the highlight of his time as general manager so far. Not only is Santos a former late second-round pick capable of playing meaningful minutes, but so too their last three picks in the 50s (Will Richard, Quinten Post and Trayce Jackson-Davis). Even Pat Spencer has developed to the point of being a rotation piece while on a two-way contract.
As presently constructed, someone like Santos doesn't play a whole lot. Yet there's also times when he does play where he's more impactful than half the roster, illustrating part of the problem that could be fixed by another consolidation trade for a $40-$50 million player.
If there's one team that can withstand the problems that come with having a trio of top tier salary players, it's the Warriors who, with players like Santos, continue to show they've got capable pieces ready to step up at the end of the roster.