During the offseason, the Golden State Warriors were prominently embroiled in trade rumors, particularly in relation to Utah Jazz player Lauri Markkanen and nine-time All-Star Paul George.
There’s a lot of curiosity about what the Warriors might do with their deep roster—which seems to be in need of a consolidation deal before the mid-season deadline—now that they were unable to acquire either player.
DeMar DeRozan was apparently of interest to the Warriors.
There was a lot of talk about Golden State’s interest in George, then Markkanen, but much less about their pursuit of DeMar DeRozan, another All-Star. Sam Amick and Anthony Slater of The Athletic have reported that the Warriors shown interest in signing DeRozan, out of a possible five teams.
“DeMar DeRozan, who league sources say explored scenarios with the Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs and Warriors in search of a market value deal, had grown more fond of the Sacramento idea as time went on,” Amick and Slater stated.
DeRozan subsequently signed a three-year, $73.9 million contract with the Pacific rival Sacramento Kings after participating in a three-team sign-and-trade that transferred Harrison Barnes, a former Warrior, to the San Antonio Spurs.
It’s intriguing to consider how the Warriors might have added DeRozan artificially. Maybe they would have sought to acquire DeRozan as part of a different Klay Thompson sign-and-trade, or maybe it would have included 2022 All-Star Andrew Wiggins, who makes a comparable contract. In a six-team sign-and-trade, Golden State transformed their franchise superstar into two valuable rotation players in Kyle Anderson and Buddy Hield. However, if the 35-year-old had been willing, maybe DeRozan might have been an option.
It’s intriguing to consider how DeRozan would have fit in as a Warrior as well. His disciplined mid-range shooting doesn’t always fit Steve Kerr’s offensive scheme, but he would have certainly filled the hole left by having another offensive weapon behind Curry.
In addition to averaging at least 24 points per game during his three seasons with the Chicago Bulls, DeRozan has shown himself to be one of the league’s most resilient players, appearing in at least 68 games in eight of the previous nine years. DeRozan showed a higher propensity to take threes last season, finishing with 2.8 per game, his highest total in six seasons, despite his poor 33.3% three-point shooting percentage.
If you take that into account along with his recent much-improved playmaking, it’s possible that DeRozan might have fit in with the Warriors more than initially believed. The Warriors will take against DeRozan and the Kings for the first time at Chase Center on January 5, making the 15-year veteran their direct opponent.
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry has continued to be one of the league’s most powerful players and biggest stars after taking home back-to-back MVP awards in 2015 and 2016.
Curry is still playing at a high level despite starting his 16th season and turning 37 in March, largely because of his exceptional work ethic and unrivaled three-point shooting ability.
In the NBA today, where is Stephen Curry ranked?
Even though Curry isn’t competing for regular season MVP awards anymore, he is unquestionably still among the league’s best 10 players. Numerous media sources have published lists of their top 100 players as the Warriors get ready to meet the Portland Trail Blazers in their opening game of the regular season next week.
Four of the publications—ESPN, The Ringer, CBS Sports, and Action Network—agree on Curry in a sensible manner. This is Curry’s ranking along with the people that came right before and behind him.
In terms of present status, Jayson Tatum, the star of the Boston Celtics and the most recent NBA champion, is the player that stands beside Curry. In all four categories, the five-time All-Star is ranked either first or second to Curry; yet, Tatum is still arguably on the rise, while Curry may be slightly on the decline.
In addition to earning a spot on the All-NBA Third Team and an All-Star berth, Curry’s 40.8% three-point shooting average from the previous season helped him win the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year title. This summer in Paris, the four-time NBA champion also captured his first Olympic Gold Medal after putting on back-to-back incredible performances in the semifinals and final.
Golden State will be hopeful that Curry can stay among the top 10 players in the NBA this season and that these rankings hold true. In a competitive Western Conference, the Warriors are unlikely to leave much of an impression if they do anything less.
Moses Moody Kuminga’s improved jump shot has been one of the main stories of Golden State’s preseason thus far. The former seventh overall choice is currently 10-of-18 (55.6%) from three-point range. The Warriors should give him a contract extension first priority.
A season has many hours. Is it really so unrealistic to think that Moody will be playing 25 minutes a game in 7–8 months and that a rival team may approach him in restricted free agency with a contract that is more in line with $18–20 million annually? Golden State could pull off a steal in the next week if they can sign Moody to a new contract that is in the range of $30–40 million for three years. What are the drawbacks? The 6’6″ wing would still get interest from teams even if he is unable to break into the Warrior rotation
The Warriors would be better off closing a trade now rather than risk missing out on a breakout campaign. Given the difficulty of delivering a poison pill contract, it would also lessen mid-season trade rumors for Moody, who has seen little stability in his career over the first three seasons.