Perhaps optimism is once again starting to percolate in Golden State, with the Warriors having produced one of their best wins of the season in a 116-109 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder at Chase Center on Wednesday night.
For weeks the Warriors have been sliding down the Western Conference standings, leading to growing pessimism on where this season could end up. That mindset appeared to have filtered into their trade thinking as well, having removed themselves from the Jimmy Butler sweepstakes while seemingly accepting their fate as a Play-In Tournament team at best.
Brian Windhorst has divulged intriguing insight into Warriors trade plans
For whatever reason things have changed over recent days, even prior to Wednesday's notable win over the Thunder. Golden State re-emerged as a possible destination for Butler on Tuesday, and less than 24 hours later were then linked to a move for Chicago Bulls star Zach LaVine in a major report from The Athletic.
ESPN NBA insider Brian Windhorst shared similar sentiments during NBA Today on Thursday, suggesting that the Warriors could be on the precipice of a major move prior to next week's trade deadline.
"I'm telling you in the last few days I hear the Warriors are dipping their toes back in the trade market looking to make a significant move, and not just necessarily for some of the names you've heard in the past," Windhorst said.
"[That's why] you keep hearing the Warriors' names in trade talks." 😳 @WindhorstESPN says Golden State's 116-109 win against the Thunder is not a "replicable situation." 👀 pic.twitter.com/7goglLU04c
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) January 30, 2025
The last piece of that quote is what may raise eyebrows among Warrior fans, and whether those names of the past include Butler and LaVine. We know Golden State have been linked to Butler as far back as May, while the franchise reportedly rejected a trade for LaVine back in late June prior to free agency.
So if the Warriors have been linked to Butler, LaVine and another strong trade candidate in Nikola Vucevic for quite some time, what is Windhorst getting at in terms of the franchise looking at names we haven't heard in the past?
Could Golden State be brewing a shock move for someone they're yet to be linked to and isn't on anyone's radar? Perhaps we're reading too much into it, but Windhorst's comments are nonetheless intriguing to consider.
At this point a trade for another $20+ million player not named Butler, LaVine or Vucevic would be a shock, but you never know as things can move rather quickly over the final week before the deadline.