3 last-chance trade ideas to save the Warriors 

Last-chance Warriors trade idea No. 2: Luke Kennard

The Warriors may employ the Splash Brothers, but they’re not actually a good 3-point shooting team outside of Curry. Their 37.3 percent 3-point shooting is dragged up by Curry’s 41 percent shooting on 11.8 attempts per game. If you subtract Curry’s threes, the Warriors are shooting 35.8 percent, which would have them tied with the Toronto Raptors for 21st in the NBA. Just to hammer home the point, the Warriors’ best non-Splash Brother 3-point shooter this season has been Dario Saric. 

If the Warriors continue to have a bottom-third defense, they’re going to need to score their way out of jams. Luke Kennard of the Grizzlies is certainly available and is one of the best 3-point shooters in the league, not just the market. This season, Kennard is shooting 44.3 percent on 6.1 3-point attempts per game, and since 2020-21, he has shot 45.9 percent on 3s. 

Any lineup with Curry, Kennard, and Thompson has the potential to melt the scoreboard down, and adding one additional shooter will allow the Warriors to get more run out of the Draymond Green and Jonathan Kuminga pairing. Kennard isn’t without his deficiencies. He’s a poor defender, but the Warriors need to make the playoffs before they can worry about whether or not someone can survive in the playoffs. 

Kennard is owed $14.7 million this season and has a team option for the same amount next season. The Warriors could send the Grizzlies Gary Payton II and Kevon Looney and likely not have to sacrifice any draft assets. After trading Steven Adams, the Grizzlies are light at the center position, and Looney’s excellent rebounding makes him a decent facsimile of Adams. Payton has struggled with injuries recently, but when healthy, he’s an excellent defender. The Grizzlies have long been an excellent defensive team, and Payton could make them that much more dangerous.