The Warriors made it clear during the 2024 offseason that they were not content being a fringe playoff contender in the Western Conference, targeting All-Stars such as Paul George and Lauri Markkanen via various trade scenarios.
While they struck out in pursuits of both stars, the Warriors have been predicted to again go big-name hunting before the February 6, 2025 NBA trade deadline.
In The Athletic’s “Bold Predictions” article previewing the 2024-25 season, Warriors beat writer Anthony Slater predicted that the team would make “a significant trade” at some point before the trade deadline.
“They’ll make a significant trade,” Slater wrote on October 7. “In a slightly upgraded form, the Warriors have the same problem as a season ago. They have plenty of rotation-level NBA talent but not enough top-end scoring or creation next to Stephen Curry. I imagine they’ll win enough games to stay in the playoff mix, tick off a couple of capable players who are buried in the rotation and then, once January or February nears, find a consolidation trade that better balances the roster and rotation.”
Will Warriors Trade for a Star?
Slater highlighted how the Warriors were loaded with assets, including young players such as Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody, and several tradeable first-round picks, to pull off a blockbuster trade for a superstar-level player.
Mike Dunleavy on the Warriors
“We’re probably as impatient as you can be as a franchise right now given our time horizon. But there’s a fine line between impatience and undisciplined.”
“There’s no point in going all in to be slightly above average.” pic.twitter.com/bH4VwpoZ65— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) September 26, 2024
“They have the first-rounders, flexible contracts and young talent to get a deal done,” Slater wrote. “They say they’ll be aggressive. Curry will exert some polite leverage if he knows there is an upgrade out there that is reasonably available. Another aspect to watch is Jonathan Kuminga’s contract talks. If he extends in October, collective bargaining agreement rules make him nearly impossible to trade until next summer. If he doesn’t (my current guess), he remains an obvious and appealing trade piece.”
To Slater’s point, Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. stressed several times before the 2024-25 season that his team was desperate to land a star to pair with Curry.
Warriors Are Admittedly Desperate
On media day ahead of training camp, Dunleavy said the Warriors were “as impatient” as any other franchise in the league to land a star player.
Mike Dunleavy on the Warriors
“We’re probably as impatient as you can be as a franchise right now given our time horizon. But there’s a fine line between impatience and undisciplined.”
“There’s no point in going all in to be slightly above average.”
“We’re probably as impatient as a franchise as you can be right now given our time horizon and all that,” Dunleavy said. “But there’s a fine line between impatience and undisciplined. I think I feel good about the discipline that we held this summer and the roster we built and the growth from within that we’re going to have.
“We’re in a good spot headed into this year. I know everybody is always looking for big headline breaking news and all that, but I really like this team.”
The Warriors lost Klay Thompson to free agency in the 2024 offseason but added a haul of interesting pieces such as Buddy Hield, Kyle Anderson and De’Anthony Melton to the roster. Melton, in particular, is expected to play a significant role right off the bat, as indicated by Warriors head coach Steve Kerr.
After their preseason opener against the Clippers on October 5, Kerr hinted that Melton would continue to be Curry’s backcourt partner in the starting unit.
“They look great together,” Kerr said of the Curry-Melton pairing. “I know Steph didn’t shoot well, but they look for each other. De’Anthony’s a really good shooter, but also a playmaker and gets in the mix on everything defensively. I’m a really big fan of De’Anthony and I really like the depth of our offense.”
The Warriors’ decision to trade Podziemski or Kuminga — two players who were heralded as “untouchables” by some insiders — could be amplified if their 2024-25 campaign doesn’t get off to the best of starts. Some believe the Bay Area franchise may play the duo for extended minutes to shore up their trade value.
Sai Mohan covers the NBA for Heavy.com. Based in Portugal, Sai is a seasoned sports writer with nearly two decades of publishing experience, including bylines at Yardbarker, FanSided's Hoops Habit, International Business Times, Hindustan Times and more. More about Sai Mohan
