Warriors Mailbag: Is the NBA out to get Steph Curry, Golden State?

It’s been a while since we went to the mailbag, so let’s not delay any further because it was filled to the brink after another calamitous week for the Dubs:

With the whole salary cap apron system in place, which seemingly was designed to crush the Warriors, is there anything they can do in trades that would make a difference? Or is the NBA just working as designed?

— Sharon R.

The system is working, that’s for sure. You can see it in the NBA’s trade market. Three player-for-player trades have been made this season, as so many teams in the league are hamstrung by the league’s new rules, which created legitimate hard caps and limited salary aggregation.

And don’t forget, this past offseason, the Warriors lost a $30 million chunk of salary when they jettisoned Chris Paul strictly for luxury tax avoidance.

The NBA owners wanted a system that brought big-market, big-spending teams like the Warriors to heel, and they received it.

But the Warriors’ struggles aren’t to be blamed on the new luxury tax rules—the Dubs had ample opportunity before and after the changes to make fundamental roster shifts. They could have landed a No. 2 for Steph Curry at last year’s trade deadline, this past offseason, or at some point this season.

They haven’t done it, and there’s no plan to fix the team’s No. 1 issue.

However, there are possible trades that can make a difference for the Warriors, who are three games back of the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference standings as of Thursday morning.

Acquiring Nikola Vučević from the Bulls would be one such move. A half-measure? Perhaps. But it’s a measure, and that means something.

The sweet-shooting, rebounding big would fit nicely next to both Draymond Green and/or Jonathan Kuminga (the two cannot play together unless Green is at center), which is a rarity in the league. He can be the hub of the offense when Steph Curry is off the floor, and while I doubt he’d close every game because of his lax defense, I don’t think he’d cost more than Gary Payton II, Kyle Anderson, and Kevon Looney — three other non-closing players.

Toss in a super-protected first-round draft pick (I’m thinking top-20 protection on next year’s first) and take on super-depth point guard Jevon Carter in the deal, and the Warriors, I believe, would be a step or two better.

Robert Williams would be a stellar pickup from the Blazers and give the Warriors a true rim protector. Ancillary players can be picked up as part of a three-, four-, or five-team trade.

There are countless scenarios. Suffice it to say something can and should be done to add quality players to this team.

One thing about which you haven’t written is their incredible INABILITY to score when, usually in the second half, the opposing team decides to play zone defense.

— Kit K.

Dec. 4’s column was 14 losses ago, as of Wednesday night, for the Warriors. I’ll forgive you for forgetting that I went in on the Dubs’ late-game struggles — which brought about a five-game losing streak the team never really recovered from — back then.

This has been an issue for the Dubs for a long time. Without a viable shot creator next to Curry, a 6-foot-3 guard has to do it all on offense. I don’t care who it is — that doesn’t play in the modern game, where teams are expected to put 30 points on the board every quarter.

Wednesday’s game with the Kings was merely the latest transgression — the Dubs were leading by 4 with four minutes to play.

Subsequently, the Kings outscored them 14-4, as Golden State shot 2-of-9 from the field and fouled five times.

It was the kind of late-game bungle that would have any other fan base losing their minds. Warriors fans, I suspect, expected it was going to happen.

The Celtics [were] just too big, across the board, for the Warriors to compete, both offensively and defensively. This is something I’ve noticed for a while, and I think the need for a competent big at 5 would open up opportunities for more scoring. That said, I would not trade [Jonathan Kuminga] as part of a trade package (although I don’t think they have much to offer otherwise). He’s the future of the team.

— Marc P.

Let’s explore that Kuminga comment, because I hear it a lot:

Kuminga is the future of the team so far as he is young and is talented. Both of those characteristics are undeniable.

But he is a secondary piece on a winning team in the future — at best. And he’s a difficult one to manage at that.

I’m not impugning his character here, but I ask, three years and more than 5,300 minutes into his NBA career, what he great at?

He can run the floor and jump higher than anyone. It’s a nice skill set to have, so long as it comes with refinement. So far, it hasn’t. He doesn’t shoot the 3-pointer well, he doesn’t really rebound or pass, he doesn’t protect the rim, and his on-ball defense is limited to certain types of wings.

I get it, he’s 22, drafted in 2021. But don’t say it’s too early to make at least some determination on Kuminga. We can make them on his peers Cade Cunningham (All-Star), Franz Wagner (was making that turn), Scottie Barnes (All-Star), and Evan Mobley (elite defender and soaring offensive player). Meanwhile, Josh Giddey and Davion Mitchell — other Kuminga peers in the 2021 draft lottery — have already been jettisoned, as their original teams knew they made a mistake in taking them.

This is why I said Kuminga is the kind of player that eats up bad front offices. His talent is undeniable and tantalizing. But talent only gets you into the league — knowing your role keeps you in it.

And this dude isn’t Paolo Banchero (22 years old) or Jalen Williams (23), despite what he might think.

If the Warriors keep Kuminga past the trade deadline, they have two options this summer: extend him as part of restricted free agency or extend him a qualifying offer, which is a one-year deal ending in unrestricted free agency.

The Warriors will balk at the risk and do the former. Meanwhile, I expect his trade value to be lower — his talent might not change, but he’ll be a year older, with a larger sample size of play that won’t help his cause.

A Kuminga extension would make him the centerpiece of the team’s future by default. As such, the rebuilding post-Steph Warriors will likely be building around a player who isn’t good enough to be a No. 2 today but will, supposedly, be a No. 1 in due time; a player who doesn’t particularly excel at anything in either half-court, but is just talented enough for you to think a breakout is imminent.

Congrats. You’re now building around Keldon Johnson or Harrison Barnes, the former No. 7 overall pick in the draft.

When I ask, “What future?” this is what I mean.

There is, of course, a chance for Kuminga to buck the trends and prove me wrong. But what’s the best-case scenario here — he becomes a markedly better rebounder, defender, and passer, making him the next Pascal Siakam?

That’s not the kind of player you build around, unless your goal isn’t to win games.