If you've got an obvious on-court issue that evidently won't be addressed by your current roster, then go out and make a trade that addresses it immediately. That's the lesson the Golden State Warriors can learn from the Phoenix Suns whose latest move paid immediate dividends on Saturday.
The Suns had become tired of veteran center Jusuf Nurkic, with Mason Plumlee similarly limited defensively and rookie Osa Ighodaro perhaps too inexperienced for a significant rotation role at this stage.
Knowing they badly needed an upgrade at the center position, the Suns went out weeks before the deadline and added Nick Richards in a trade that sent Josh Okogie and second-round draft capital to the Charlotte Hornets.
Suns deliver a lesson Warriors should learn from
Richards isn't a big name player by any means, but he is an upgrade on any of Phoenix's other options. That was on full display in his Suns debut against the Detroit Pistons on Saturday, with the 27-year-old going for a huge 21 points and 11 rebounds in a 125-121 victory.
Richards was a +22 in 29 minutes off the bench, as opposed to Plumlee and Ighodaro who were a combined -19 in 18 minutes. Phoenix's latest acquisition came off the bench to try and get acclimatized to his new teammates, but that won't remain the case for very long after his debut performance.
Former Warrior superstar Kevin Durant had 30 points in the second-half and 36 for the game, while Devin Booker added 35 in the four-point win. It was the former Hornet who was the story from a Phoenix standpoint though, with Richards showcasing why he could become a major addition over the second-half of the season and beyond.
NICK RICHARDS.
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) January 18, 2025
The first player in Suns history with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds off the bench in team debut! pic.twitter.com/dGjjjYJduN
Let this be a lesson for the Warriors to learn from -- that any obvious deficiency should be addressed before the season slips further away. Phoenix hold the exact same 21-20 record as Golden State right now, yet Mike Dunleavy Jr. and the front office appear eager to wait until closer to the deadline before making their own center upgrade.
The Warriors have been linked to a number of big men over recent days, including Nikola Vucevic, John Collins, Kelly Olynyk, Jonas Valancuinas and Robert Williams III. Vucevic appears the most obvious answer, and even more so after his 40-point outburst against the Hornets on Friday.
Perhaps Golden State's own move for Dennis Schroder provides a cautionary tale of why shouldn't go too early on executing a trade. However, Schroder's addition as a back court partner for Stephen Curry was never an obvious fit necessarily, at least not compared to the Warriors current need for a stretch five and the Suns desire for a center upgrade that they've now found with Richards.