Even Steph Curry is ready to fire up the trade machine

Still no Green, Moody (calf) is out too

I’m not generally a fan of road trips. Maybe a motorcycle tour, or somewhere with an amazing destination at the end of it; that’s fine. But trudging up some long flat road for hours to get somewhere like Bakersfield isn’t awesome.

The Golden State Warriors are heading out on the road after what turned out to be a disastrous homestand. Chris Paul broke his hand, Moses Moody strained his calf, and two consecutive ugly losses have put Dub Nation on high alert.

Thankfully, many of the Warriors’ faithful have been through worse, but something smells bad in the van and this is likely to be a rough road trip for everyone.

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GAME DETAILS

WHO: Golden State Warriors (17-20) at Chicago Bulls (18-21)

WHEN: Friday, January 12,th, 2024; 5pm PST

WATCH: NBCSBA

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The Definition of Insanity: Curry has seen enough!

The Warriors are frustrated. They just finished a brutal stretch that saw them go 2-5 during this homestand, with four double-digit losses. Thales (one of the most famous pre-Socratic philosphers) said that “the most difficult to thing in life is to know yourself.” It may have taken some longer than others to figure it out, but I think the consensus is clear at this point: this Warriors team isn’t good.

Bob Myers knew. He cited general fatigue, but anyone with ears could tell that he was sick of facing down the impossible problems. The truth is finally out though, and it’s something that many have suspected to be true for a long time. Other than Curry, everyone on the roster is expendable.

You aren’t going to fix this with marginal moves. Sure, Draymond Green will be back soon. Likewise Gary Payton and Moses Moody. None of it moves the needle enough. An aging core in a musty old coaches system that the league has evolved beyond. Young athletic talent that is so hungry to prove themselves that they can’t smoothly mesh into the Steph-centric orbits.

After last game’s blowout loss, Curry didn’t mince words.

"We have a standard that's pretty evident that if things stay the same, that's the definition of insanity, right? Keep doing the same thing expecting a different result."

“Describe it however you want.”

Klay Thompson had also seen enough, quipping that he wasn’t going to lose sleep over the fact that the crowd had been booing our beloved Warriors in two consecutive home games - but you could feel the anger seething off of him.

Reportedly (well, the line between a report and a rumor is especially hazy in the NBA, and even more so as we apprach the trade deadline next month), anyone not named Curry is on the trade block right now. But what are the real options here?

Minor tooling has been attempted perhaps one too many times. It’s impossible to argue that the likes of Jordan Poole or James Wiseman would be able to save this franchise - unless the goal is to tank. Along the same lines, a major trade haul like Kevin Durant is way out of reach. The Warriors know themselves at least that well.

So what then? Apparently the team is exploring all options, even those formerly off the table.

Andrew Wiggins is only 28 years old, and presumably still well within his prime. But there’s something off about his game this season. Even worse, he’s due to be paid a hefty $109 million or so over the next four years. After resurecting his perceived contract value with the Warriors, his tenure arch may have come full circle and will be hard to move now.

Kuminga is reportedly off the table. But it’s rumors, so let’s assume that the asking price is relatively high compared to current performance rather than getting bogged down in semantics. The trade targets would have to be relatively humble. Pascal Siakam has been the name I’ve seen most frequently. As confirmed by the trustworthy insider, Anthony Slater, the Warriors and Raptors have talked about a deal “in recent weeks.”

But when it comes down to root cause analysis, I don’t think Wiggins, or Kuminga, or Moody are the problem. After all, this entire universe is built around the orbit of the Warriors’ core. If it’s really time to pivot, they might have to break up the core. More importantly, they might all be more ready to do so than ever before.

Curry was right. Golden State can’t keep doing the same thing and expecting different results. But man, doing something major here is going to be a big deal. This ride has been so rough though, it’s getting harder and harder to imagine doing anything else.

Prediction

More status quo. A sucky road trip.

Music Friday!

My buddies make fun of me a lot for the amount of punk I listen to. But like Bubba on shrimp, I really enjoy all the different little flavors. This one is something that has been knocking around in my head all day while thinking about the messy current status of the Warriors.

Hey, at least it’s Friday! Please enjoy some crust punk: