The Week that Was:
With five games in a week and four games in five nights, the Warriors had quite the challenge despite a general lack of quality competition.
Losing against the Hawks was certainly disappointing but the overall week showed Golden State’s viability as the top team in the West for the regular season. They took four of five despite facing two back-to-backs and four road games. With a 3.5 game lead (as of this writing), that kind of performance would be more than enough to keep the one-seed even with some losses to the top teams.
The Soapbox: The Deadlines
The Warriors are in a substantially different position than they have ever experienced in the modern NBA. Beyond having a target on their backs as the only team with single-digit losses, more importantly they have a legitimate chance at winning a championship this season. As any basketball fan knows, a title window can be agonizingly short in some circumstances.
Analyzing these factors together illustrates the importance of the next few weeks. While some may focus on the February 19th trade deadline, I will be far more interested in how the roster looks on March 5th. The NBA has a waiver deadline of March 1st for playoff eligibility. That means that any player who wants to be bought out must do so by that point if they want to play in April and beyond.
Fans and the front office have to view the period from now until then as a whole because the options could shift over the course of that time. For example, a player like Kevin Garnett (on the short list of my favorite Warriors targets) could be available as a trade target and potentially shift to a waiver possibility if the Nets do not make a move. Golden State has a distinct disadvantage at the trade deadline because their logical trade pieces have multiple years left on their contracts but that could work to their advantage in the right circumstance.
One advantage of being such a great team is that the Warriors should have zero urgency to make a move. That comfort gives them a negotiating advantage with some teams because walking away must be considered a credible threat. Consider this the reverse of Cleveland’s negotiations with Denver for Timofey Mozgov. Bob Myers can just offer deals he would be happy to have and hope that someone else folds.
Early March could also be the first real test of Golden State’s new drawing power for talent. They will be offering exactly the same money as franchises in bigger markets (like the Clippers) but could offer a sure playoff spot and the potential for playing time depending on who they go after.
With two different timelines and so many possibilities, this should be an incredibly fun few weeks.
The Week to Come:
Thanks to the NBA giving players a full week off for All-Star weekend, the Warriors only play one game between now and the next Warriors Weekly: Wednesday in Minnesota. I fully expect the Dubs to win that one going away despite the weirdness against Philly.
Enjoy All-Star weekend, everyone!