F This: Grading what Warriors did at the NBA Trade Deadline

The Warriors season is circling the drain but while your favorite team may have followed conventional wisdom and made a big trade, the Warriors went their own way.
Golden State Warriors v Brooklyn Nets
Golden State Warriors v Brooklyn Nets / Al Bello/GettyImages
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The Warriors are below 0.500. They're 11th in the Western Conference. They're 13th in offensive efficiency and 20th in defensive efficiency. Their biggest offseason addition, 38-year-old Chris Paul, has played just 32 games and is out for at least two more weeks with a hand injury.

Their core dynastic core is all moving into their mid-30s. The losses are piling up. The shots aren't falling. The vibes are ... whatever the opposite of immaculate is. Andrew Wiggins is shooting jumpers like Andris Biedrins. Their rookies have already had to start 15 games. Their pets' heads are falling off. Probably.

Klay Thompson is confident his team can still make a deep playoff run, but on paper, this is a team crying out for a big trade. A swing for the fences move to salvage any chance of competing for a championship before the Steph Curry era is completely over because, all due respect to Thompson, this roster doesn't seem to have enough.

And with all of that weighing on them at the NBA Trade Deadline, the Warriors went out and ... traded Cory Joseph to the Pacers for a second-round pick. That's it. That's the whole ball of yarn. Turning a lightly used, break-in-case-of-emergency, backup point guard into a future asset of middling value.

Why didn't the Golden State Warriors do anything at the NBA Trade Deadline?

It's true that the Warriors didn't have a lot of options. The market for Paul and Wiggins was understandably barren and they were probably right to refuse to attach Jonathan Kuminga to entice anyone. But the Mavericks turned Richaun Holmes and a second-round pick into Daniel Gafford. The 76ers turned Marcus Morris, Furkan Korkmaz and three second-round picks into Buddy Hield. The Pacers got Doug McDermott for a second-round pick. The Suns got Royce O'Neale for three second-round picks. Patrick Beverley, Xavier Tillman, Monte Morris and Simone Fontecchio were all basically acquired for second-round picks and matching salary.

None of those players is a game-changer for the Warriors but any of them would have helped and it's clear that Gary Payton II's contract and some second-round picks could have gotten them something. The fact that they decided to trust what they have and didn't even make a move at the margins, didn't do anything to signal an understanding that Steph, Klay and Draymond needed more help, is a problem.

So, grading their trade deadline moves — it's a giant F.

Next. NBA Trade Grades and expert details for every deadline day deal so far. NBA Trade Grades and expert details for every deal. dark