The Golden State Warriors have rebounded well from the initial disappointment of saying goodbye to not one, but two Hall of Fame guards.
It was unfortunate for Chris Paul to be waived without a trade being worked out, and it was gut-wrenching for Klay Thompson to sign with the Dallas Mavericks. Rather than sit at home and lick their wounds, however, Mike Dunleavy and the Warriors front office moved quickly to work out deals with De'Anthony Melton, Kyle Anderson and Buddy Hield.
The Warriors are now 14 players deep with viable rotation options, and their top 12 can rival any team in the league for functional and proven depth. The defense and supplementary scoring and playmaking they can deploy at every position is impressive.
The problem is that they still have one glaring weakness that they will need to address in order to be a team that matters in the Western Conference. They can have depth for days, but if they don't find a second offensive creator to pair with Stephen Curry they aren't going anywhere when the playoffs arrive.
Warriors desperately need a second star
The Warriors seem to understand this; they came within inches of the finish line for a Paul George deal before the LA Clippers balked and George hit the free agent market. They are the frontrunner for Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen but the two sides are reportedly still far apart on the proper valuation in a trade.
If the Warriors cannot trade for Markkanen, what should the next move be? Do they stand pat and hope Jonathan Kuminga takes a massive step forward? Do they go into the season waiting for another star to shake loose? Or could they offer a deal strong enough to entice a team stuck in a similar Play-In purgatory to trade one of its stars?
Let's look at a potential trade between the Warriors and the Miami Heat to bring that needed star to Golden State.