Despite the Golden State Warriors' recent poor performances, they still maintained the league's second-best record ahead of All-Star Weekend, a good result that not many people expected a season ago, but with the rapid improvement of third-year guard Jordan Poole and the continued performance of Draymond Green and Stephen Curry, the Warriors managed to dominate the first half of the season.
What is in front of them now is a few months of games, and then the real start of their season - the playoffs, although the Warriors are full of talent, their lineup depth is also very strong, this season has beaten the Suns, Jazz, Nets and Bulls and other top league teams, proving that they have the strength to compete for the championship, but no team dares to say that their lineup is perfect, the Warriors do have some small flaws, the most obvious problem is that the interior height is not enough, So they may still improve their lineup by buying out the market.
While that issue may be resolved with the return of second-year center James Wiseman, it remains unclear what level he will reach, and the problem is that Curry doesn't have a really reliable point guard behind him. Considering these two needs, the Warriors can completely seek help from the buyout market, and the following are the three major targets of the Warriors buyout market.
1 Dennis Schroeder (point guard, Houston Rockets)
While not many would believe That Schroeder would be a good addition to the Warriors, with Golan Dragic being signed by the Brooklyn Nets, he has become the best potential point guard in the buyout market. Schroeder was traded to the Rockets by the Boston Celtics in the middle of the season and will become a free agent this summer, and with his annual salary of less than $6 million this season, the buyout is extremely difficult, and it is widely believed that he will enter the buyout market in the coming weeks.
Schroeder trails Kevin Porter and Jaylen Green in the rockets' guard rotation order, both young guards who are the Rockets' future hopes, averaging more than 30 minutes per game. Although Schroeder's scoring average dropped to 14.2 points per game this season and shot 43.6 percent from the field, his second consecutive season was below 44 percent, but his scoring ability was strong, shooting more than 45 percent in two seasons with the Atlanta Hawks and more than 15 points per game in five seasons.
For the Warriors, what they need to find most is not a scorer, but a second-team field commander, and schroeder's ability to play this role is questionable, but despite this, the Warriors still need to pay enough attention to the best point guard in the buyout market.
2Robin Lopez (center, Orlando Magic)
Veteran center Lopez signed a one-year, $5 million contract with the Orlando Magic in the past offseason, the buyout is not very difficult, and the Magic already has young players like Wendell Carter Jr. and MoMba in the front court, and Lopez's departure is actually not much suspense.
Lopez has played 27 games for the Magic's starters this season, including nine starts, averaging 7.7 points per game and shooting 57 percent from the field. Considering that Lopez is a traditional center with a height of 2.13 meters, the Warriors should be in great need of him to improve the overall height of the team, Kevin Looney, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins, the three warriors' best defensive players, are less than 2.08 meters tall, and it is not known whether Wiseman has the ability to make meaningful contributions to the Warriors.
Potential playoff opponents like the Utah Jazz and Phoenix Suns can both crush the Warriors on the inside without adding any centers, and the Warriors desperately need a center like Lopez to join.
3 DeAndre Jordan (center, Los Angeles Lakers)
The Los Angeles Lakers are currently only ninth in the West, and they are bound to be the most active team in the buyout market by the trade deadline, and if a player like Gary Harris is bought out and chooses to join the Lakers, then Jordan Jr. will most likely be cut.
Although Jordan Jr. has a limited role in the Lakers, the Warriors still need his height very much. Jordan Jr. has played only 31 games for the Lakers this season, averaging just 4.2 points per game and shooting 67 percent from the field. However, the advantage is that Jordan Jr. does not have high requirements for playing time, only 12.9 minutes this season, is very accustomed to playing a limited role in the team, and he also has a veteran base salary, if he is bought out and chooses to join the Warriors, then it is definitely a win-win choice.