The Golden State Warriors have had issues on both ends of the floor through the first quarter of this season, meaning there's an argument for almost any potential trade target leading into the mid-season deadline.
However, recent reports linking the Warriors to a potential move for Brooklyn Nets big man Nic Claxton makes very little sense given Steve Kerr's continued propensity to still go small in the biggest moments.
Nic Claxton isn't worth the price Warriors would have to pay
According to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints on Friday, Claxton has been brought up as a potential target for the Warriors, albeit an unlikely one given the Nets apparent disinterest in young forward Jonathan Kuminga.
"One name that has come up in discussions around the league as a potential target for the Warriors is Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton. However, there has been pushback to such a scenario involving Kuminga, as the Nets could have pursued the young forward at any point during the summer while he was a restricted free agent," Siegel wrote.
Claxton is enjoying a career-best season in Brooklyn, averaging highs in minutes (30.1), points (14.0) and assists (3.9). The 6'11" center is also averaging 7.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game on a Nets team that fell to 3-16 following Saturday's loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Claxton is going to be one of the primary center's available mid-season given the value in his production and a descending contract, yet his lack of floor spacing does provide offensive concerns next to Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green in the frontcourt.
You could argue that Claxton's length and rim protection may more than make up for that, yet Quinten Post is proof that defensive excellence doesn't automatically lead to big minutes. The second-year center astonishingly ranks ninth in defensive rating in the entire league this season, only to be averaging 16 minutes per game despite Al Horford having already missed nine games through rest or injury.
With Horford, Post and small-ball lineups with Green, one has to question how many minutes Claxton would even get. If it's only around 20 minutes per game, then surely there's much more impactful rotation pieces the Warriors should be targeting if they're going to use Kuminga's contract on the trade market?
This isn't to say Claxton wouldn't be a valuable trade target to others around the league, but his fit specifically with the Warriors is far less understandable than some may believe.