The Golden State Warriors’ activity on the trade market shouldn’t end with the acquisition of Dennis Schröder.
The franchise could strengthen its frontcourt by acquiring a risk-free former Toronto Raptors star.
“The Golden State Warriors are looking into a dynamic scoring center who could provide them with frontcourt help ahead of the Feb. 6 NBA trade deadline,” Empire Sports Media’s Matthew Legros wrote Thursday.
“According to Forbes’s Evan Sidery, the Warriors have joined the short list of Western Conference teams that ‘have recently shown trade interest’ in Wizards big man Jonas Valanciunas.”
“Golden State stands next to the Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns.”
“The Warriors’ interior offense has not been up to snuff this season. They rank No. 19 in the NBA scoring 46.9 points in the paint per game.”
“Golden State is converting all of their two-pointers at a 51.1% clip, which places them at No. 28 league-wide.”
“While they are an exceptional rebounding team that ranks No. 2 in offensive boards (13.2 offensive rebounds) and No. 7 on the defensive side (34.2 defensive rebounds), they are allowing opponents to corral 34.9 defensive rebounds and 45.8 total nightly rebounds, both of which only three teams allow more than.”
“Valanciunas is just the guy who could remedy their scoring woes and fine-tune their rebounding discrepancy.”
The Wizards are challenging to take seriously this season. The Brian O’Keefe-led Eastern Conference squad boasts a miserable 6-26 record and plays a shameful brand of basketball.
Still, Valanciunas is attempting to nail his auditions for various franchises during the trade season.
The fundamentally sound center nearly averages a double-double in limited minutes and efficiently finds the bottom of the net in the lane.
At age 32, it’s reasonable to assume the former Raptors fan favorite wants to compete with a contender this season and beyond.
While the Warriors would love to land a franchise-elevating superstar to pair with Steph Curry, they may settle for Valanciunas before the trade season concludes.
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