SAN FRANCISCO — With less than a week left before the trade deadline, Steve Kerr diplomatically summed up the Warriors’ position: They’re not good enough as currently constructed to do nothing, but if inaction ends up being the team’s course, he won’t be too upset.
Squaring those conflicting ideas is tough, but coaches rarely — if ever — publicly ask for reinforcements. To do so would be to doubt the players in his locker room.
“We’re not in a position where we can just say, ‘No, we’re good. Let’s stand pat,’ ” Kerr said Friday before Golden State’s game against the Suns. “That’s the reality of where we are. (General manager Mike Dunleavy) is doing his due diligence, doing his job. If there’s something that makes sense, he’s going to do it. And if not, I’m very comfortable going forward with this team because I know what we’re capable of and I believe in the guys.”
Kerr and general manager Mike Dunleavy talk daily about the team. The head coach is as influential in personnel decisions as just about anyone in his position. Earlier in the year, Kerr made clear that he, Steph Curry and Draymond Green are on the same page in regard to not wanting to make a reckless trade that would harm the organization in the future.
The Warriors, though, are incentivized to improve. They’re three games out of a true playoff spot and have Curry still playing at an All-Star level at 36 years old.
Golden State (24-23) started the season on a 12-3 blitz before going 12-20 across a disheartening two-month stretch. Jonathan Kuminga and Green are sidelined by injuries and the depth the franchise amassed has been less effective than a No. 2 star next to Curry would be.
“We’re in the business of winning and we’re a .500 team,” Kerr said. “None of us can sit here and say this is good enough. So that means we’re all vulnerable. That’s how the league works.”
The Warriors could improve by adding a stretch-center, more athleticism on the wing or with a consistent 20-point scorer to pair with Curry. Or, of course, all three.
Golden State, Kerr said, has shown that they have enough talent to compete at the playoff level, but not enough to separate themselves in a crowded Western Conference.
Among the Warriors’ trade assets are veterans on expiring contracts, like Gary Payton II and Kevon Looney. Both are champions with the Warriors and are valued in the locker room. They’ve helped build the culture.
Although Kerr said the trade deadline chatter hasn’t seeped into the locker room, that doesn’t mean the week leading up to the deadline is easy, either.
“I think the hardest thing for the players is that we ask them to be loyal and to give everything they have for the group, for the team,” Kerr said. “Because that’s the job. But then they might get shipped out. It’s a really hard thing to reconcile as a player.”
Results of the Warriors’ three games before the deadline won’t change the way they operate on deadline day. The franchise has enough data through 47 games to act on. Still, a win over Phoenix Friday night at home would give the Warriors their first winning streak since the 12-3 start – more than two months ago.
“We’ll hopefully try to capture a little momentum here,” Kerr said. “We have an opportunity for that. I think tonight’s a big game in that regard.”
Notable
– Kevon Looney fractured his right nasal bone and will play with a translucent face mask against the Suns.
– Quinten Post is starting his second straight game, as the Warriors run back the same starting five as Wednesday night. Post struggled in his first go, thrown into the fire against the best team in the league that plays a style designed to punish heavy-footed centers. The Suns matchup should be more favorable to him.
“We’re starting him again for a reason,” Kerr said. “We believe in him. A big part of becoming a productive, consistent player in this league is opportunity. So we’re going to keep giving him the opportunity. The more he plays, the better he’s going to get.”