Good news: Zach Lowe claims that the Warriors attempted to acquire Kelly Olynyk, Alex Caruso, and Wiyh through trades and that the team will lose without them.
The Golden State Warriors’ 2024 NBA trade deadline was incredibly cordial, despite a great deal of conjecture. Their only action was to send Cory Joseph and cash to the Indiana Pacers, who waived Joseph right away, in order to clear some tax money and create a roster spot, probably for Lester Quiñones.
However, there had been less talk about the players the Warriors were pursuing than about the players they chose not to trade away. However, there was a tiny nugget of information on Tuesday. ESPN’s Zach Lowe disclosed on his podcast, The Lowe Post, that the Warriors attempted to acquire guard Alex Caruso and big man Kelly Olynyk, two reliable veterans.
According to what I’ve heard, they were fairly active in terms of purchases at the trade deadline, as Lowe stated in an interview with Steve Jones Jr. of The Dunker Spot. They are functioning as a cohesive unit, with the mindset that “if we have Steph, we’re trying to win.
“They gave Olynyk a serious look, but I’m not entirely sure what was being discussed there. I have heard that Moses Moody wasn’t the one. You would think so, but I’m not positive. It was obviously not Podziemski or Kuminga. Kuminga was immediately and adamantly opposed. Caruso: I don’t think there was any common ground there, even though they would have loved to acquire Caruso from the Bulls. Those were the two names I frequently heard mentioned.
It makes sense to target those names. Without trading Jonathan Kuminga, Golden State was unlikely to acquire a player close to star status, and Lowe, who has always held Kuminga in high regard, made it clear that trading the third-year forward was not on the cards. So the best the Dubs could hope for were Olynyk and Caruso, both of whom have a track record as excellent rotation players.
Finding a significant trade partner was always unlikely, though, as the Warriors were unlikely to part with Kuminga and probably needed a ransom to bid farewell to Brandin Podziemski or Trayce Jackson-Davis. Rather, Otto Porter Jr., Kira Lewis Jr., and, most importantly, a first-round draft pick were acquired by the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji, who were traded from the Utah Jazz. It’s difficult to top that!
Caruso did not move, as the Chicago Bulls held onto the guard who prioritizes defense. Considering that Caruso is under contract through the 2024–25 season, his asking price was never likely to be within the Warriors’ budget. Hey, perhaps the Dubs will make a trade for him in February of next year!
