The Golden State Warriors’ recent disappointing 91-90 defeat at the hands of the Houston Rockets in the NBA Cup Quarter-Final Wednesday night dropped their record to 14-10 as they maintain the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference.
This most recent loss was eye-opening for several reasons, one being that Golden State’s offense struggled mightily against Houston’s No. 2 ranked defensive unit boasting a 105.1 defensive rating.
The Warriors’ four-time NBA champion Stephen Curry struggled, finishing with 19 points and five assists.
In the aftermath of the loss, it became apparent that Golden State could heavily benefit from more offensive firepower from their reserve guards and size at the center position.
Brandin Podziemski’s 7.9 points on an atrocious 46.4% true shooting percentage has been a far cry from the potential development as a scorer that his front office envisioned prior to the season.
Pairing this issue with Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr’s proclivity to not give ample minutes to their promising young center Trayce Jackson-Davis creates several roadblocks to the team’s path to contention.
As a result of Podziemski’s efficiency issues and De’Anthony Melton missing the rest of the season due to an ACL injury, a drastic change could be made.
In the wake of these developments, the Warriors’ general manager Mike Dunleavy may be tempted to pick up the phone and contact the Detroit Pistons to land budding star guard Jaden Ivey and rising dominant center Jalen Duren in an unprecedented trade.
In a potential deal that would remedy both their bench scoring and size issues, Golden State’s acquisition of Ivey and Duren could be instrumental to extending the championship window for Curry and Green.
In 25 appearances for Detroit, Ivey’s contributed a career-best 17.6 points with an improved 50.3% effective field goal percentage while Duren’s 8.9 points on 67.5% true shooting accuracy and 1.3 blocked shots positions the 21-year-old to become the Warriors’ center of the future.
Pairing the 22-year-old Ivey next to Curry in the backcourt would be extremely effective, as Ivey’s improved scoring also comes with a career-best 116 defensive rating.
As for the 6-foot-10 Duren, his athleticism for his position and pure strength make up for any height deficiencies.
To acquire the pair, Golden State would likely have to include Podziemski and Jackson-Davis in the deal along with another prospect like forward Moses Moody and draft compensation.
More NBA: Spurs predicted to cut ties with 12-time All-Star in trade for Magic guard
