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The NBA offseason is approaching as the playoffs wind down, which means the Golden State Warriors will begin putting the finishing touches on their 2020-21 roster over the next few months.
General manager Bob Myers has a few assets at his disposal, one of them being the $17.2 million trade exception from the Andre Iguodala deal.
Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes put together a list of trades each NBA team can make and suggested the Dubs go after Robert Covington of the Houston Rockets. Here is his deal:
The Trade: Golden State Warriors acquire Robert Covington from the Houston Rockets for $17.2 million TPE and an unprotected 2022 first-round pick.
Robert Covington can defend the rim as well as any 6’7” wing has a right to, switch across multiple positions, hit the open three and patrol the passing lanes as one of the handsiest and most intuitive off-ball defenders in the game.
The Rockets might be looking to rebuild after yet another playoff failure. Mike D’Antoni is gone, so Houston’s GM Daryl Morey could change the roster to fit the next head coach’s system.
Covington played in 22 regular season games with the Rockets after being traded from the Minnesota Timberwolves. The 29-year-old averaged 11.6 points and 8 rebounds with Houston but did struggle shooting the ball.
His field goal percentage was just 39.2%, and he shot 31.5% from the beyond-the-arc. But, Covington is a plus-defender. He had a net rating of 4.9, and the Rockets gave up 6.6 points per 100 possessions with Covington on the court, per NBA.com.
Covington would be a great fit with the Warriors. His skillset would give head coach Steve Kerr another wing who can guard multiple positions, especially when the Dubs go small and put Draymond Green at the 5.
If Myers can get Covington for future assets, he should absolutely pull the trigger. He is due just over $25 million over the next two seasons, which is pretty cheap for a player as effective as Covington.
What do you think of Hughes’ proposed deal?
On to some links:
We don’t know what Golden State will do with the No. 2 selection at this year’s NBA Draft. Patrick Murray of Forbes says analytics will play a huge role in what the Dubs will do with the pick.
Green struggled this past season, but there are multiple reasons for why he regressed. Fansided’s Nathan Beighle says the Warriors should be hopeful the former NBA Defensive Player of the Year will bounce back next season.
Speaking of Draymond, he’s been doing a great job as part of the NBA on TNT studio crew. Green was asked which championship meant the most to him and gave the expected answer.