Warriors stay quiet at NBA trade deadline: Here’s why
Golden State wasn't alone among top Western Conference contenders in
staying quiet at the trade deadline
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 3: Golden State Warriors’ Juan
Toscano-Anderson (95) and Golden State Warriors’ Jordan Poole (3)
celebrate against Sacramento Kings in the third quarter at the Chase
Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022. (Shae
Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 3: Golden State Warriors’ Juan
Toscano-Anderson (95) and Golden State Warriors’ Jordan Poole (3)
celebrate against Sacramento Kings in the third quarter at the Chase
Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022. (Shae
Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
By EVAN WEBECK | ewebeck@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: February 10, 2022 at 12:06 p.m. | UPDATED: February 10, 2022
at 12:20 p.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/02/10/warriors-stay-quiet-at-nba-trade-deadline-heres-why/

SAN FRANCISCO — The days leading up to the NBA trade deadline were no
different for Juan Toscano-Anderson than any other player, with few
exceptions: stressful. With every anxiety-inducing notification from the
ESPN app on his iPhone — duh-nuh-nuh, duh-nuh-nuh — he wondered, Have I
been traded?

When Thursday’s noon PT deadline came and passed, it turned out those
concerns were misplaced. As expected, the Warriors stood pat, confident
in the roster that has propelled them to the second-best record in the
NBA with possible reinforcements on the horizon.

While other teams made major moves — most notably the blockbuster
between Brooklyn and Philadelphia that swapped James Harden for Ben
Simmons (and other pieces, including Steph Curry’s younger brother,
Seth) — the Warriors weren’t alone among Western Conference contenders
in staying quiet. First-place Phoenix barely altered its roster; the
biggest trade in the West came a day earlier, when Sacramento acquired
Damontas Sabonis in an attempt to will its way into playoffs for the
first time in 15 years — not exactly the team in the West the Warriors
are worried about.

In the days leading up to the deadline, Curry said he hadn’t heard from
general manager Bob Myers, as would be the case if the team was
anticipating being active at the deadline. Like the rest of the Warriors
roster and apparently their front office, Curry was confident in the
group they had assembled.

“Second in the West, we have a really good record,” Curry said. “We’ve
had some bad nights and some things we need to get better at and we
understand we’re not playing championship basketball every night. But we
have shown and demonstrated that.”

Nonetheless, coach Steve Kerr reminded reporters gathered in Salt Lake
City after a 111-85 loss to the fourth-place Jazz, who did make a couple
minor moves, not to rule anything out.

“You never say never,” Kerr said. “I’ve been around long enough to know
that things can happen.”

When things are going well for Golden State under the current regime,
however, midseason moves have been a rarity. The acquisition of Andrew
Wiggins came amidst the worst season of the Kerr era.

Absent a 7-footer, or any true center besides Kevon Looney, though,
there was some speculation the Warriors could target front court depth —
a weakness that was exposed on their recent two-game swing through
Oklahoma City and Utah. Golden State, despite its surprise success on
the glass early this season, was dominated on the boards in both games.

After the loss at Utah, Kerr admitted as much.

“We did look small out there tonight,” he said.

If the Warriors want to add a big man, there are expected to be options
available on the buyout market, though if they were expecting to make a
move there, it would have made sense to offload an end-of-the-roster
player — such as Toscano-Anderson, perhaps — in a trade rather than eat
his salary.

However, with Draymond Green and possibly James Wiseman due back in the
coming weeks, the Warriors — who are plenty confident playing small,
regardless — believe they will act as the necessary front court
reinforcements.

“We think those two can help us out more than anyone else on the
market,” Myers said.

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- Trade deadline wrap

Recapping the most significant moves around the NBA (check back for updates)

- Brooklyn sent James Harden and Paul Millsap to Philadelphia for Ben
Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummand and two first-round picks (2022
unprotected, 2027 protected), according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Dallas sent Kristaps Porzingis to Washington in exchange for Spencer
Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans, according to Wojnarowski.
-Sacramento acquired Domantas Sabonis from Indiana for a package
headlined by Tyrese Haliburton, and Donte DiVencenzo from Milwaukee in a
multi-team deal that included Marvin Bagley III, according to
Wojnarowski. The Kings also got Josh Jackson and Trey Lyles from the
Pistons in the deal, per Wojnarowski.
-In the same four-team trade, the Clippers sent Serge Ibaka to
Milwaukee, per Wojnarowski.
-Utah traded injured Joe Ingles in a three-team trade that brought back
Nickeil Alexander-Walker from Portland and Juancho Hernangomez from San
Antonio.
-Portland also dealt CJ McCollum to New Orleans for Josh Hart, Nickeil
Alexander-Walker, Tomas Satoransky and future draft picks, according to
The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
-Phoenix made a couple minor moves: re-acquiring Torrey Craig from
Indiana for Jalen Smith and a future second-round pick, per Wojnarowski,
and Aaron Holliday from Washington, according to Charania.
-Houston acquired Enes Freedom, Bruno Fernando and Dennis Schroder from
Boston in a package for Daniel Theis, per Wojanarowski. Wojnarowski also
added that the Rockets are waiving Freedom.
-San Antonio was busy, making four separate trades: Thad Young, Drew
Eubanks and a 2022 second-round pick for Toronto’s Goran Dragic, who
they are reportedly expected to buy out, and a protected first-round
pick, per Charania.

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Evan Webeck | Reporter
Evan Webeck covers high-school sports on the field and beyond — and a
little bit of everything else — for the Bay Area News Group. A Pacific
Northwest native and graduate of Arizona State, Evan has previously
worked for The Seattle Times, MLB.com and Sports Illustrated.