Bob Myers is in a strange predicament. He's the shot caller for the Warriors, but for how long? His contract is about to expire, and there's no guarantee a new one will be offered, or at least not one with which he will be satisfied.
So here Myers was, making a critical decision at the trade deadline to preserve the future of an organization he may be about to leave behind. We're talking about an OG Anunoby deal that was reportedly there for the taking.
According to CJ Holmes of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Warriors pushed for Anunoby but in the end Toronto was asking for too much. That "too much" is a matter of opinion. According to Holmes, Toronto wanted Jonathan Kuminga as the headliner of a package that also included future draft picks.
The specifics on the picks weren't reported, but the Warriors would've been able to trade two first-rounders in non-consecutive years beginning in 2026. The Raptors were reported to be asking for three first-rounders for Anunoby in talks with multiple teams leading up to the deadline. Connecting the dots, it would appear the Raptors wanted Kuminga in place of the third pick, and that's where the Warriors drew the line.
Perhaps Golden State was willing to give up one pick and Kuminga, or two picks and no Kuminga. Which would beg the question: Will that extra pick, or Kuminga, end up being worth passing on Anunoby, who is, or would have been, a needle-moving acquisition in terms of Golden State's title chances?
The only reason you don't do it, if you're Myers and the Warriors, is you believe in Kuminga's trajectory as an All-Star. If you think he's going to tap out as something less than that, well, that's what Anunoby is -- only he's already there, which obviously means more for Golden State's immediate prospects.
As it stands, Kuminga might be the last guy in Golden State's nine-man playoff rotation, with Jordan Poole, Donte DiVincenzo and old pal Gary Payton II, whom Myers did trade for at the deadline, slotting as the first three off the bench.
That's a small crew. Anunoby is a top-shelf, 6-foot-7 defender who can shoot the 3. Put a closing lineup out there with Anunoby, Andrew Wiggins and Draymond Green, and that's tough defensively. With Steph Curry and Klay Thompson rounding out the five, you have spacing aplenty, minimizing Green's drag while freeing him up as a heavily armed facilitator.
It's pretty darn tempting to think about. The Warriors finally cut bait with James Wiseman on Thursday, and it's understandable that they didn't want to totally scrap the two-timeline plan by moving off Kuminga, too. But championships cost. They cost money. They cost assets.
The Phoenix Suns just added Kevin Durant. Do the Warriors think they can keep up with a team like that without a major addition, or were they simply not willing to compromise all this youth that they've fought fiercely to preserve for a maybe?
It was probably a little bit of both, and I think it was a mistake. I think the Warriors should've moved off Wiseman a long time ago, back when perhaps he might've had some actual value. Kuminga is good. There's little doubt he has terrific potential and often shows flashes of it coming together rather quickly. Anunoby would've legitimately upped their title chances, however. There's no debate about that.
Perhaps the Warriors find a way to compete for a title anyway. They did it last year when plenty of people believed they missed their shot to upgrade off the young guys. They doubled down on that on Thursday. Wiseman had to go. But Kuminga was a tougher call. The Warriors stuck with their guy, and it could cost them.
