Trayce Jackson-Davis was a rare positive for the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday against the Miami Heat, logging a career-high 35 minutes and recording a season-high 19 points in the 114-98 loss.
Yet despite Jackson-Davis' strong performance on Tuesday and his largely impressive form since returning to the starting lineup last month, the center position is still a spot where the Warriors still need to make an adjustment that's not available on the current roster.
The Warriors have finally realized they need a center upgrade
This is both a Jackson-Davis and a Golden State schematic issue. The second-year center is still young and inexperienced, with huge question marks on his playoff viability if the Warriors are actually able to make it that far.
Perhaps the more critical factor is that having two limited offensive players at the four-five spots is just becoming way too difficult in today's NBA. That's exactly what the Warriors have with Jackson-Davis and Draymond Green, with bench options like Kyle Anderson and Kevon Looney also limited offensive players.
The need for an offensively-skilled big man isn't new, having been a common discussion point during the offseason. That's continued through the first-half of the season, including in the below quote from this article over a month ago.
"Golden State desperately need an upgrade at center. They need a veteran who can foreseeably play 25+ minutes, be part of closing lineups, and ideally provide more offensive spark than either Jackson-Davis or Looney do."
Fortunately the Golden State front office appear to have come to their senses, realizing that they cannot continue with Jackson-Davis alongside Green in the front court. The Warriors have reportedly turned their attention to acquire a center before the trade deadline, according to ESPN's Marc J. Spears.
“Right now the Warriors seem much more interested in adding a big to go alongside Draymond Green on this team than another shooting guard," Spears said on Tuesday's episode of NBA Today.
Golden State have been strongly linked to a move for 2x All-Star Nikola Vucevic, while Spears also mentioned the likes of Jonas Valancuinas, Walker Kessler, John Collins and Myles Turner as possible targets.
While Warrior fans are increasingly becoming frustrated by their team's recent play and a 6-15 record in the last 21 games, they can at least be relieved that the front office are acknowledging one of their biggest issues which they'll now look to address before the trade deadline.