Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors have completely changed the way basketball is played over the past decade.
Using lineups without elite centers as well as embracing small-ball, they have succeeded more than anyone believed, but as Father Time catches up to Curry, they may need to change their approach to the game.
Sports Illustrated’s Derek Parker has the Dubs trading one of their elite three-pointers and a former lottery pick, in exchange for a 6’11 center who has averaged over seven rebounds in each of the past three seasons.
“In this theoretical deal, the Golden State Warriors land one of the top potentially available big men on the trade market in Nicolas Claxton,” Parker said Sunday.
The details of the trade would have the Warriors acquiring Nic Claxton, and the Brooklyn Nets receiving Buddy Hield and Moses Moody.
“Taken with the No. 14 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Moody’s seen a decent early career stint, most recently averaging 9.8 points on 37% 3-point shooting on the wing. Hield is added to make money work, though in a real deal, Golden State would likely have to find a way around offloading the sharpshooter to keep its 3-point shooting edge.”
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Claxton doesn’t fit with Brooklyn’s timeline and could be a valuable piece to a team like the Warriors, who are searching for a big man to pair with Curry.
The Nets will continue to search for their main guy, and bringing in Moody to compete for that spot should be a no-brainer.
This win-win trade has the Warriors finally getting someone worthy of the starting center spot, and it benefits Brooklyn by giving them one more young piece to experiment with.
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