The Golden State Warriors are currently a middling team 5 games into the season. With a new and younger roster, growing pains are bound to happen. However, Stephen Curry is 32, and the time to wait could be over. The Warriors will want to compete while Curry is still in his prime. One of the issues with the Warriors is the lack of consistent perimeter scoring. While Andrew Wiggins is a passable shooter and an elite slasher to the rim, no one is going to confuse him for Klay Thompson.
The Warriors could make a trade to bolster their perimeter creation. One player who could help their offensive woes would be Buddy Hield of the Sacramento Kings. Buddy Hield can create his own shot, but also is an elite shooter off the catch. Buddy Hield could be the jolt that the Warriors need to ignite their offense. Here is what a potential trade could look like.
Golden State Warriors Receive: Buddy Hield
Sacramento Kings Receive: Kelly Oubre Jr., Kevon Looney, Jordan Poole
The Sacramento Kings Focus On A Two-Way Prospect
One may wonder, whether anyone wants to trade for Kelly Oubre Jr., after his awful start to the year. His numbers for 2020-21 are not appealing. He is shooting 27.4% from the field and 4.0% from 3PT range. While those numbers are generally considered awful, consider the fact that Oubre Jr. averaged 18.7 PPG on 45.2% from the field and 35.2% from 3PT range during the 2019-20 season. His defense and effort on the perimeter are still elite. It’s not like Oubre Jr. just randomly lost his basketball ability. The numbers for the season will get better, simply due to the fact that he can’t stay cold forever. When at his full ability, Oubre Jr. is a two-way force. The Sacramento Kings could improve their defense and get a solid scorer (when not cold).
Kevon Looney and Jordan Poole are both role players who bring with them experience in playing for a well-run franchise. Kevon Looney is still 24 and is a solid defensive center. While those players are useful to the team, the appeal here is still the two-way potential of Oubre Jr. In a role where he is played far less off-ball, Oubre Jr. could thrive. He needs to slash to the rim more, instead of curling off screens like in the Warriors system. A move to the Sacramento Kings could help him succeed as a two-way force. An underrated sidenote is that Hield is 28, while Oubre Jr. is 25; he fits the timeline of Sacramento’s young prospects in De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton.
The Golden State Warriors Bring In An Elite Shooter
Buddy Hield seems like a dream fit on a shooting team like the Warriors. During the peak of their dynasty, the Warriors were known to be an elite shooting team with their splash brother duo of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. While Hield doesn’t have the two-way prowess of Thompson, he can certainly emulate the high volume outside shooting that Thompson brings on the offensive end. He has won a 3PT contest before and shot 39.4% from 3PT range last year, and 42.7% the year before that. If he wanted to compete with Stephen Curry, then perhaps the Sacramento Kings could grant his request.
Buddy Hield would provide the second off-ball threat that the Warriors need. As a shooter, he knows how to move on the court very well, and that could be a boon for the struggling Warriors. It’s hard to deviate from a championship-winning system: perhaps, if they acquired players who are a better fit they could tread water while developing into a dangerous playoffs team. No-one is under any delusion of the Warriors winning another championship this year: but with this trade, they could at least contend. Oubre Jr. is a good player, but perhaps the constant ball movement isn’t best for a player like him, who likes to score himself at the basket. This trade would create a better fit for both teams, and let the Warriors compete against the heavyweights of the Western Conference.
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