The rapid emergence of rookie Jordan Bell has thrown a wrench into the Warriors’ center rotation. Bell got a surprise start on Christmas Day against the Cavaliers, despite Zaza Pachulia being healthy enough to play. Head coach Steve Kerr said that Bell was a better matchup against Cleveland, but the writing is on the wall that Bell is now at least the number two behind Pachulia in Golden State’s center rotation.
With David West cemented as the team’s second unit center, this leaves JaVale McGee, who is already unhappy with his playing time, on the outside looking in. According to Marcus Thompson of The Athletic, the Warriors have discussed a trade with the Milwaukee Bucks for one of their centers, with both McGee and Pachulia’s name coming up.
Multiple sources confirmed the Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks have discussed a trade. Nothing is imminent, but the Bucks are on the market for a center and the Warriors are overstocked. The on-and-off conversations between the teams have included the Bucks inquiring about Pachulia and McGee. No doubt, they’ve asked about Bell but that conversation ended quickly.
Pachulia, who formerly played with Milwaukee, is going to be hard to pry from the Warriors. Kerr feels comfortable with him and Pachulia is the Warriors’ best defensive center against big men. He has value that is hard to replace — as evidenced by him negating Tristan Thompson in the Finals.
McGee hasn’t been happy with his minutes. This is on top of not being happy the Warriors only offered him a minimum contract back in the offseason and told him the starting role wasn’t on the table. McGee isn’t causing problems at all, but it only makes sense to consider moving him if another team is interested. McGee has value, but it is generally the same as what Bell provides.
Pachulia isn’t exactly the explosive force that Bell is, but he has been very effective in his limited role this year, ranking seventh among all centers in real-plus minus, and third in defensive real-plus minus. Depending on the matchup, Pachulia still has value as a defensive stopper and passer, something McGee does not provide, and likely a reason why the Warriors would much prefer to hold on to Zaza over McGee at this point.
McGee is averaging a career low 8.1 minutes per game this season.
