Reports: To improve bench strength, Warriors inquire about Avery Bradley
What's the story?
The defending champs Golden State Warriors reportedly inquired about guard Avery Bradley from the Los Angeles Clippers.
In case you didn't know...
The Los Angeles Clippers acquired Avery Bradley from the Detroit Pistons in the trade that involved Blake Griffin being sent to the Detroit Pistons.
The heart of the matter...
The Golden State Warriors might be the closest thing there is to a dynasty in today’s NBA, but they are still looking to improve their bench as they reached out to the Los Angeles Clippers to inquire about Avery Bradley. On Monday, Zach Lowe of ESPN.com reported: “the Warriors are trying to beef up their bench given wobbly play from Andre Iguodala, Patrick McCaw, Omri Casspi and Nick Young,”. However, they “got nowhere”, Zach added.
Lowe wasn’t surprised that the Warriors were unsuccessful in landing Bradley since it has “little to deal beyond minimum-salaried players, second-round picks starting on 2020 and first-rounders they obviously won’t flip for bench guys.”
The Warriors’ bench is first in the league in offensive rating and 9th in the league in defensive rating, per NBA.com. The players coming off their bench obviously aren’t the same caliber as that of a Kevin Durant or Stephen Curry, but they have done their job for stretches this season.
Head Coach Steve Kerr told Chris Haynes of ESPN.com that there is some mental fatigue and that the “guys are dying to get to the All-Star break. Adding another piece to the bench like Bradley would help take off some minutes in the middle portion of the season.
Bradley averaged 15 points and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 38.1 percent from beyond the arc in the 40 appearances he made for the Detroit Pistons.
What's next?
Since the decision of Kevin Durant to leave OKC and join the Warriors, the two teams have formed a rivalry. The last time these two met, the Thunder blew away the defending champs. We can expect another high-drama competition between these two as the Warriors host the Thunder on Tuesday.
Author's take
The Warriors don’t have enough pieces to trade for a player like Avery Bradley and therefore a trade seems highly unlikely. They will have to rely on the current bench that has performed well for them.