NBA trade deadline winners and losers: Lakers, Suns make their move
By Ian Levy
Loser: Golden State Warriors
Joe Lacob is a minor winner for saving himself something like $50 million off the Warriors’ luxury tax bill but they didn’t do much to improve their fortunes for the present or future. In a series of trades, the Warriors basically turned James Wiseman into Gary Payton II.
Payton II probably has more value to the Warriors in their championship chase this season but he’s also only been healthy enough to play 15 games for the Trail Blazer and he’s already 30. It’s hard to imagine that if the Warriors had been willing to hang onto Wiseman a little longer they might have been able to find a deal that preserved a little more future value for the team.
The only urgency here appears to be the tax bill and that’s how you end up with a marginal improvement for a team that really needed an upgrade and selling low on a former No. 2 pick (who they probably shouldn’t have even taken in the first place).