Since the start of the 2014-15 NBA season, the Golden State Warriors have been one of the most dominant franchises in the NBA, winning three titles in five years, but they have missed the playoffs each of the last two seasons and have been dealing with a lot of issues.
Not only have they not had a lot of depth over the last few years with Kevin Durant gone, but injuries have really hurt this team’s chances to be successful. Klay Thompson has not played since the 2019 NBA Finals, James Wiseman has been sidelined because of knee injuries, Steph Curry missed almost the entire 2019-20 season due to a hand injury and even Draymond Green has missed some time over the last few seasons with numerous injuries.
Adding depth was the main goal of GM Bob Myers and the Warriors’ front-office this past offseason and they did just that, adding veterans Andre Iguodala, Nemanja Bjelica and Otto Porter Jr. to this roster. With young players like Juan Toscano-Anderson, Gary Payton II and Jordan Poole also stepping up, this Warriors team has begun the year 20-4 and they look like the best team in the league.
Steph Curry is doing Steph Curry things, making it almost impossible for his opponents to stop him on the offensive-end of the floor and the Warriors are finding all of this success on the court without All-Star Klay Thompson and dynamic, young big man James Wiseman, who are both getting ready to return to the court from separate injuries.
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Kerr thinks this team can win a title, the players believe they can win a title and with Klay Thompson almost ready to get back on the court, this team can definitely win another title. However, just because they are finding a lot of success right now does not mean that Golden State will not look for ways to improve their chances of winning a title this season ahead of the NBA trade deadline.
Golden State is a taxpaying team and they are roughly $40M over the tax line for the season, so making any significant move could be very hard for them to do, but addressing their frontcourt and adding another high-level talent could make them unstoppable.
The Indiana Pacers have struggled to begin the 2021-22 season, as they are just 10-16, and while there have been no signs of them wanting to tear apart their roster, a rebuild is definitely on the horizon. There has been indication the Pacers are willing to part with Caris LeVert along with Myles Turner or Domantas Sabonis — based on reporting from The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Multiple sources said that the Pacers are receptive in trade dialogue with rival teams centered on potentially moving guard Caris LeVert and either two-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis or center Myles Turner. All three players have frequently garnered significant interest from rival teams. Pacers officials have received frequent calls on both of their big men over the past several seasons, but new head coach Rick Carlisle wanted an opportunity to spend time with Sabonis and Turner and grow with the roster. Even still, Carlisle has remained interested in seeing the frontcourt duo together.
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Now in his 6th season with the Pacers, Sabonis has turned himself into a multi-time All-Star and is a guy who could be another elite-level offensive threat for the Warriors. If Indiana were to make a trade involving him, Golden State has been floated as a logical landing spot.
While unlikely to happen, let’s take a look at a blockbuster trade scenario put together by ESPN’s Andre’ Snellings that would involve the Indiana Pacers giving up their one and only All-Star for an abundance of young talent from the Golden State Warriors.
