The Golden State Warriors didn’t make the big trade splash many of us were at expecting at the February 8 trade deadline. Instead, Cory Joseph was sent to the Indiana Pacers as Golden State’s only deal of the day. As such, the Warriors roster is now expected to turn their season around and begin surging up the Western Conference standings.
According to Marc Stein, who was reporting via his SteinLine newsletter, the Warriors did show significant interest in potentially trading for Alex Caruso of the Chicago Bulls. However, the deal failed to materialize, leaving the Warriors to shift their focus back to internal development.
“The Warriors’ exploration of a potential trade for LeBron James got last week’s headlines, but the more significant development truthfully was Golden State’s attempts to pry Alex Caruso away from Chicago,” Stein wrote. “The Bulls, league sources say, wound up giving real consideration to trading Caruso on Deadline Day after insisting for weeks that they wouldn’t. But Chicago’s talks with Golden State ultimately collapsed.”
Caruso would have been the ideal addition to Golden State’s roster. He can defend at an elite level. Offenisvley, his game is suited to thriving in an off-ball role. And most importantly, he plays a winning brand of basketball with a professional mindset.
Nevertheless, the opportunity to acquire Caruso came and went. Golden State likely feels confident with the continued growth of Brandin Podziemski and the inevitable return of Chris Paul. However, Caruso would have been the type of splash that got the fanbase excited. The only question left to ponder now is whether the Warriors will renew their interest during the summer.
