The Lakers took heat when they sent out two first-round picks and two first-round pick swaps to the Utah Jazz for Walker Kessler at the start of the month. Three weeks later, that deal looks a whole lot different, and not because Kessler suddenly became a star.
The bigger reason is what the Golden State Warriors have done since then: almost nothing.
Los Angeles at least made a move. It was a costly one, sure, but it showed real urgency in a roster overhaul built around Luka Doncic.
Golden State, by contrast, has spent free agency watching the board without making an external addition through trade or free agency. For a team that is supposed to be helping Stephen Curry right now, that’s a tough look.
The Warriors were among the teams hoping to benefit from Rob Pelinka’s reshaping of the Lakers’ roster. Instead, the Lakers were the ones willing to pay up for Kessler, handing him a four-year, $129.5 million contract even though the 25-year-old is still not a certified star and played just five games last season because of injury.
Golden State also made a run at LeBron James, who was a casualty - whether by his design or the franchise’s - of the Lakers’ remaking of the roster around Doncic. The Warriors pursued the 41-year-old and waited on his decision for weeks, only to see James sign with the Philadelphia 76ers in a surprise free agency move on Friday.
That left the Warriors with no headline addition and no sign of one coming soon. Nearly a month into free agency, they have not landed an outside player by trade or free agency.
And while the Lakers may have overpaid for Kessler, at least they were willing to take the swing. Golden State, for all its draft capital, has not made a move that comes close to matching that level of aggression.
The contrast is especially stark because the Warriors have not given up multiple first-round picks in a trade for any player in over a decade.
After the James news, Warriors insider Tim Kawakami reported that the franchise is focused on the post-Curry era. If that’s the direction, then the question becomes obvious: why not chase one of the notable restricted free agents in a sign-and-trade, whether that was Kessler, Jalen Duren or Peyton Watson?
Golden State did not have the cap space the Lakers had, but it did have the draft capital to at least get creative and enter the conversation. Outside of James, the Warriors have not been tied to any major free agent target.
The Lakers have made plenty of noise, and plenty of moves. It might not all work out, but it’s the kind of gamble that makes sense when you have a top 5-10 player in the league. The Warriors have their own superstar, but their far more cautious approach has left fans frustrated.
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