Speculation on who the Warriors could or should trade, and trade for, are nearly constant, especially online. It's part of the clickbait noise, the sports shows whipping up business. But the chances that the Warriors might actually be seeking a major trade jumped dramatically in just the past week. The reasons are several and related.
After wobbling through the season nearly even, winning and mostly losing close games, adapting to injuries and suspensions, the Warriors collapsed in shocking fashion to end the homestand that was supposed to save their season. They lost two home games in a row by big margins to inferior opponents, and lost them early. I doubt this has ever happened before when Steph Curry was on the court.
More to the point, the Warriors were so apparently listless, ineffective and demoralized that they got booed by members of the home crowd. That's been reported, though I have no idea how widespread it was. Also people in the stands noticeably left early. The next step is that they don't show up at all. Ownership notices something like that.
Another big element is a particular remark by Steph Curry, quoting the definition of insanity that President Obama often used, to the effect that doing the same thing and expecting a different result is crazy. That's not exactly the franchise player saying his teammates ought to be traded away. But an executive on the edge could interpret it as something like that--at the very least, permission.
So the rumors last week that the Warriors were resisting trading Jonathan Kuminga, probably their best trading asset besides Curry, have transformed this week into rumors that everybody is on the table except Curry. Grain of salt of course.
The reality is that the trading deadline is less than a month away, and deals may or may not get done. How desperate should the general manager be? The recent woes on defense could possibly be overcome by Draymond's return, eventually. But how patient can management be in the Internet age? If other teams sense desperation, the Warriors could induce trauma without getting much back.
And at this point, trauma is a likely result to the breaking up of a dynastic team, which means trading away Klay and/or Draymond. Fans like quick fixes, but there are none. The current team, with maybe some tweaking, may snap out of it to make a playoff run. A new team probably means this season is lost, and there will be empty seats.
If the core, if the heart and soul of this team is broken, it seems to me less likely that Steve Kerr will be bothering about a new contract. He's likely to stay the year, if he's not fired as part of a major sweep, but less likely to return next year.
The pressure to change at all costs could get even more intense, if for example the Warriors get blown out again by a lesser team in Chicago. These young hungry teams now know just how to do it--take it to them from the start with energy and aggression and daring. The Internet age is especially prone to hysteria. This may be a test of character for Warrior front office leadership as much as for players and coaches. The hounds are baying for them to do something. To make changes.
In football: right now major storms and very low temperatures are forecast to hit the Midwest and the Northeast this weekend, just in time for the NFL wildcard games. Three of the games, in Buffalo, Detroit and Kansas City, are within the zone of dangerous weather. So far, thanks apparently to the greed of the NFL and the host cities and their teams, no games have been postponed or moved. If that continues in the face of more specific forecasts, no good will come of this, for players or fans or others. It's tragedy waiting to happen. Let's get priorities in order.
