Report: Warriors might trade for stretch big because of Speights' struggles

By foxsports
Published

Most of the Golden State Warriors have picked up where they left off last season, either playing just as well or better than they did during last year's championship run.

The one player who's dropped off considerably is Marreese Speights, and it might cause the Warriors to make a trade for a stretch big man to replace him, according to CSN Bay Area.

Last season, Speights was the bench's x-factor offensively. Some nights he would anchor the second-unit offense, providing a scoring punch few reserves could match. Overall, he averaged 10.4 points per game on 49.2 percent shooting and put up a 19.6 PER (third-highest on the team behind Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson).

This season, though, Speights is shooting only 34.7 percent to go along with a team-low 8.7 PER, and is quickly losing minutes to the emerging Festus Ezeli. Ezeli has become a quality two-way center who's capable of starting on a handful of teams (if not more). He's a rim protector and an impressive, athletic finisher around the rim. There are only so many big man minutes to go around on such a deep team, and Speights is the one suffering.

While he's transitioned from a stretch 5 to a stretch 4 alongside Ezeli, and the results have been less than ideal. So much so that his poor play might force the Warriors to make a trade for a bench shooter/scorer, most likely another big, according to CSN Bay Area:

The Warriors hope Speights finds his shot, because they’re lacking that bench scorer who can light up defenses. Ezeli can score but does not typically wreck a defense. Speights at his best scores in bunches, and his range makes him the harder matchup.

Warriors general manager Bob Myers, like most executives, doesn’t talk trade-possibility specifics. But he surely realizes that when Curry, Thompson and Green are off the floor, scoring comes with considerable toil and strife.

The front office is studying the trade market, because if Speights can’t find his form, and soon, the Warriors will seek out another stretch four, somebody Walton or Kerr can call when they need a scoring punch.

It's unclear who the Warriors would trade -- Speights' value around the league has plummeted -- and how much they'd be willing to give up to acquire a better bench scorer or shooter. It's not a dire problem per se, as the team is still 26-1 and looks darn near unbeatable on most nights, but it's a slight cause for concern -- and one that could become a legitimate concern if any one of the team's top eight players suffer a significant injury. 

(h/t ProBasketballTalk)