The Warriors, who led almost an entire game, suffered a final-minute reversal, losing 116-117 at home to the Nuggets and swallowing their fourth defeat in their last five games.
In this game, the Warriors forced the Nuggets to make as many as 18 turnovers with aggressive defense, and in the case of the collective decline of the opposing role players, they wantonly wrapped up Nikola Jokic, but still let the league MVP cut down a gorgeous stat of 35 points, 17 rebounds and 8 assists!
In the crucial final defense, it was precisely because the Warriors focused all their attention on Jokic that Monte Morris got the opportunity to empty the position and complete the three-point shootout.
It's no known if it's the first time this season that the Warriors have paid a terrible price for their inner weakness. Without any action before the deadline, will they seek reinforcement of the center position through the buyout market next?
How do Warriors sign people?
This year's trade deadline is not noisy compared to previous years, but last year's two Finals teams, the Bucks and the Suns, have slightly upgraded their lineups through trades. The Warriors, who have rebounded strongly this season and are fighting for the championship, have chosen to stay still.
As for why the Warriors are unwilling to use young assets such as Wiseman and Cumminga in exchange for immediate combat strength, there have been many analyses before, and I will not talk about it here. The reality is that rather than restructuring the lineup at the risk of destroying existing chemistry, the Warriors management prefers to make targeted fixes to the lineup through the buyout market after the deadline.
The Warriors have the top salary in the league this season, with a luxury tax alone of more than $170 million, but in fact, they have a $5.9 million mini-middle class that they haven't used. Although because of the punishment mechanism of multiple luxury taxes, if the Warriors use up this middle class in full, they need to pay more than $30 million in luxury taxes, but in the Warriors' usual style, as long as it is certain that it can help the championship, they are absolutely willing to pay.
In fact, long before the training camp began, Warriors general manager Bob Myers revealed the use plan of this middle-class exception in an interview: "We have to be smart and use it in the buyout market." Every year there are players who are bought out of contracts, and we have to be prepared if we need to spend a little more money on that. ”
The 5.9 million mid-class exception is not high, but it is already tempting for veterans who bought out their previous contract. Most of the time, in order to join a more competitive team, they can only accept a veteran base salary. So, that's where the Warriors' strengths lie.
But if the Warriors want to sign again, not only does the question of money need to be considered, they also face another difficult trade-off: the Warriors currently have 15 guarantee contracts, and if they want to sign a new signing, they must first cut one in the existing lineup. This candidate, at best, will be made between Bjelica, Damian Lee and Toscano Anderson.
Obviously, each of the above three potential layoff targets has reasons for the team to not bear to give up. But if they really feel the need to sign another player to replace them, then who they ultimately cut may have something to do with the player they decide to sign.
There's another possibility here that the Warriors could replace one of their two two-way contract players, Chris Chioza or Kundari Witherspoon. But two-way contract players don't qualify for the playoffs, so they can barely save the day, but they don't help much in competing for championships. Therefore, the possibility of such an operation is not high.
Why did the Warriors chase Down Lately?
In recent days, there have indeed been a lot of rumors about the Warriors in the buyout market, but most of them are aimed at veteran Goran Dragic.
Dragic was traded by the Raptors to the Spurs before the deadline and subsequently cut, and several teams, including the Lakers, Clippers, Bucks, Bulls, Nets, Mavericks, are reportedly interested in the experienced veteran, and the Warriors are among them.
Dragic helped the Heat reach the Finals in 2020, but after being sent to Toronto last offseason as a bargaining chip for Kyle Lowry, he has only played five games in total, and there are questions about how he is in shape. What puzzles some Warriors fans even more is that Dragic can't solve the Warriors' height problem.
In fact, the reason why the Warriors are interested in Dragic is simple, because their more urgent need than adding an interior lineman is to find a substitute for Stephen Curry.
The Warriors currently have only one No. 1 player besides Curry, And it's clear that organizing the offense is not Payton's specialty. Recently, the Warriors have been using Jordan Poole as a cameo point guard, taking charge of the ball organization after Curry went off. Poole himself is a pure scorer, and in his new role, he occasionally shines, but overall, he is still learning. Using him as a point guard is only a stopgap measure.
Compared with Payton and Poole, Dragic is a pure point guard, although he is 35 years old and his form is not what he used to be, but as the number one substitute, he is still more than enough.
What's more, there was a connection between Dragic and Kerr, who was their general manager when the Suns completed a deal with the Spurs on draft day and got dragic's signing rights. At the time, Kerr even thought Dragic was the best point guard of the class besides Derrick Rose.
If Dragic agrees to join the Warriors, his organizational talent, scoring ability, including smart basketball brains, and rich playoff experience, will have a positive impact on the team.
Are the Warriors going to reinforce the Fifth position?
The Warriors lacked interior, especially when Draymond Green and James Wiseman were unable to play due to injury. We know this, and the Warriors themselves certainly know it.
After losing 17 rebounds to the Jazz on Thursday, Kerr also admitted it himself. "Tonight, our squad really looks too small." He said.
Among the players who can currently play in the Warriors, only Kevin Rooney is a seven-foot long man, and this configuration is indeed difficult to compete with big men like Big White And Jokic. But the Warriors still have reasons to stick to the current frontcourt configuration, believing that as Green and Wiseman return from injury, their defensive problems in the box will be properly resolved.
"We believe the two of them can help us more than any other player in the market right now." This is Myers's statement, and it doesn't sound like there's anything wrong with it.
In fact, the Warriors have conceded 43.4 points per game in the penalty area this season, and their defensive performance on the inside can rank fifth in the league. Before Green was injured, they averaged just 41 points per game in the penalty area, the second fewest in the league and only higher than the Heat. However, after Green's injury, their penalty area defense collapsed, and they conceded an average of 47.5 points per game, ranking 14th in the league in the same period, dragging down the season average.
That said, under healthy conditions, even if we don't consider the progress Wiseman may make, the Warriors' defense in the box is still at the top of the league, far from being as bad as we think.
What's more, even if the Warriors want to sign another center in the buyout market, who can they find? News broke earlier today that the Pacers would lay off Tristan Thompson, who would opt in to the Bulls after regaining freedom. In addition, the Magic's Robin López may also seek a buyout, but at least so far, he still has a contract.
It's clear now that the Warriors have the idea of reinforcing the lineup by buying out the market, but their preference is a backup point guard over another center.
If their desired target is robbed, they may of course adjust their plans, but rather than solving the internal problem by buying out the market, their more realistic expectation is that Green and Wiseman will recover soon.