4 huge trades Warriors could make to shake up the roster

The Golden State Warriors, as of this writing, sit at 16-17, outside of the Play-In Tournament. Outside of Stephen Curry, the team hasn't had a consistent source of offense, as he and Klay Thompson are the only players averaging over 15 points per game. On defense, all season they've struggled, ranking among the bottom ten in defensive rating.

It's not to say they haven't tried, because to this point they've had 11 different starting lineups this season and recently have had Andrew Wiggins and Kevon Looney come off the bench. Curry himself has admitted that the team is still searching for their best lineup.

Considering how great Curry is playing, how big their luxury tax bill is, and the age of their main three guys (Curry, Thompson, Draymond Green), they should still strive to compete for a chance to make the playoffs this year, and retool to make a stronger push next season. They can still be that team that a lot of contenders wouldn't want to see in the playoffs, but seeing them get to the second round as presently constructed is tough. The Timberwolves and Thunder are in a different league, the Nuggets are the defending champions, the Clippers have figured it out with James Harden, and the rest of the competitive teams have played better and have better rosters.

Internal development is a nice bet in theory, but in practice, the results have left a lot to be desired. So, the alternative is to speed up the process by making trades. Which ones exactly? Parsing through the many choices they have, here are four moves they could make.

4. Acquire Pascal Siakam from the Toronto Raptors

Yes, I know, a huge shocker. Outside of OG Anunoby and John Collins, Pascal Siakam has been the most rumored star to be dealt, and one of the top destinations has always been the Warriors. It's with good reason.

Siakam is a seamless fit with Golden State. Though many have criticized his perimeter defense in the last couple of years, it's easy to forget he was a great defender when he wasn't tasked with being the No. 1 option on offense and could defend multiple positions. That was no small part of the Raptors' title run in 2019.

I wouldn't go as far as to say he would be the defensive stopper Andrew Wiggins was at his peak with Golden State, but he would be above average. On offense, he could be a pick-and-pop menace, attack closeouts and create offense in the post or perimeter while Curry is off-ball or on the bench.

It would be a simple deal, swapping Siakam for Andrew Wiggins, while adding Jonathan Kuminga and someone else (I would suggest Gary Payton II) for salary cap purposes and draft capital to make it enticing for Toronto. Wiggins hasn't had the best start to his season, and a reset could be good for him. The change of scenery specifically to his home country could be even better, like it has the potential to be for the recently traded RJ Barrett. He'll play for fans he's played for before, and with no pressure to compete for a championship in the immediate future.

Siakam, like Thompson, is a pending free agent, so that trade is a huge bet on going all-in this season. Re-signing both of them would be challenging unless either of them takes a paycut, which I don't expect. Siakam is younger and could be cheaper, so maybe this trade of getting him on the roster and seeing how he fits with Curry and the other young guys before making a bid to keep him in the offseason.

With the obvious one out of the way, let's get to some ideas that are a bit more fresh.