It was only a matter of time before the Warriors made a move, and although this wasn’t quite a blockbuster, the team surprisingly agreed to trade Willie Cauley-Stein to the Dallas Mavericks on Friday afternoon.
The move was first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
To say that the 2019-20 season has been a disappointment for Golden State would be a bit of an understatement. Aside from losing Kevin Durant, the team saw mainstays Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston leave the franchise this past summer, as well. Klay Thompson was widely expected to miss the entire season while Stephen Curry, thus far, has made only four appearances.
As a result, the Warriors enter play on January 24 at 10-36 — the worst record in the league.
After signing Cauley-Stein to a two-year, $4.4 million deal this past summer, the club has opted to deal him to Dallas in exchange for a second-round pick in this year’s draft.
In 41 appearances for the Warriors this season, Cauley-Stein averaged 7.9 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.1 steals in 22.9 minutes per game. His addition to the Mavericks comes in the aftermath of the team losing Dwight Powell — an important member of their frontcourt — to a ruptured Achilles tendon.
There has been speculation that other members of the Warriors could be on the move, as well. The NBA’s 2020 trade deadline is 3:00 p.m. ET on February 6.
