The Golden State Warriors have to be pleasantly surprised with the emergence of backup point guard Pat Spencer who has been great in the past week. Could Spencer even be turning himself into a valuable trade chip for the Warriors?
Spencer has gone from an afterthought on the roster to a legitimate starter, making his first two career NBA starts in back-to-back games against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls.
Warriors may have unlocked an unlikely trade chip in Pat Spencer
He earned those starts after several straight great performances coming off the bench in the past week. He put up 17 points against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday and hit a clutch fadeaway jump shot over the skyscraper that is Chet Holmgren to give the team a lead in the fourth-quarter.
Head coach Steve Kerr then pulled him late in that game in favor of Brandin Podziemski which was a bit of a questionable move, but he responded on Thursday against the Philadelphia 76ers where Kerr rode the hot hand and went with Spencer late which almost saw the Warriors complete the unlikeliest of comebacks.
Spencer put up 16 points in that game, beating his chest while hurling expletives at the Philadelphia crowd in a performance that let everyone know this dude is for real. After that game it seemed obvious that the Warriors have to keep him around despite being on a two-way contract currently.
He followed that up with another rock-solid performance on Saturday night in Cleveland, put up 19 points in his first NBA start, before posting 12 points 24 hours later in a dominant win over the Chicago Bulls.
It may seem crazy, but maybe there are other teams out there who are taking notice of what Spencer is doing and might value him in a trade. No matter how good Spencer has been in recent games, Stephen Curry is obviously the undisputed starting point guard which leaves the 29-year-old back in a guard-heavy rotation once the 2x MVP returns from injury.
At the same time, the Warriors may be figuring out that Spencer could be an important part of the second unit even when Curry returns. With how things are shaping up this season, Spencer seems like he could be a valuable part of the team and may wind up being a more reliable bench piece than someone like Brandin Podziemski who has struggled with his consistency so far this season.
The fact that one can even make the argument that Spencer could be a decent trade chip speaks to how great he has played, even though he's simultaneously proving that he's invaluable to this Golden State team right now.
The Warriors do have recent history when it comes to trading a two-way contracted guard, having sent Reece Beekman to the Brooklyn Nets as part of the De'Anthony Melton-Dennis Schroder deal last December.