The Golden State Warriors may have had a good offseason and are arguably better as a result of their summer transactions, but there's no shaking a sense of oddity when looking up and down the roster.
Stephen Curry sticks out as the lone star, with the Warriors having failed to acquire a co-star for the 2x MVP despite their best efforts. Adding the likes of De'Anthony Melton, Kyle Anderson and Buddy Hield was prudent business, yet only add to the depth of a team that lacks little hierarchy after Curry and fellow veteran Draymond Green.
A mid-season trade for the Warriors is fairly close to a certainty
This is an incomplete roster, plain and simple. The team has too much depth and too much in the way of future assets to be putting a half-finished squad around their best ever player who remains close to his prime.
While there's always trade speculation surrounding Golden State regardless of what their roster may already look like, this season more than any other feels like one where there is bound to be a deal before the February deadline.
Mike Dunleavy Jr. hinted as much during his press conference on Thursday, stating that his team is "probably as impatient as you can be as a franchise right now given our time horizon."
The general manager may preach patience in what he described as a "fine line between impatience and undisciplined," but it's hard to see something not arising in the coming months unless this current roster takes an extraordinary jump few expect.
Mike Dunleavy on the Warriors
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) September 26, 2024
“We’re probably as impatient as you can be as a franchise right now given our time horizon. But there’s a fine line between impatience and undisciplined.”
“There’s no point in going all in to be slightly above average.” pic.twitter.com/bH4VwpoZ65
The Warriors have often been hesitant to make any significant mid-season dealings to shake up the core of their roster in recent years. Despite the myriad of speculation hovering over Andrew Wiggins and Chris Paul last season, Golden State stood pat and only moved Cory Joseph to the Indiana Pacers for financial reasons.
It was notable the year before that they gave up on former second overall pick James Wiseman at the deadline, but at that point the young center was nothing but a bit-part player in the rotation. The player they got back in that trade, Gary Payton II, was injured at the time and was never going to make too much of an impact over the remainder of the season.
Dating back to their 2021-22 championship year and Golden State didn't make a mid-season trade there either. While they may have similar ambitions of the ultimate success this season, that's not going to happen without a sizeable shake up to the roster.
The Warriors are primed to make a move and it's a matter of 'when' not 'if' when it comes to a trade going down at some point before the February 6 deadline.