On Wednesday the Golden State Warriors reportedly traded Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson III to the Philadelphia 76ers for three second-round picks.
The move is one of those ones that only serious NBA fans will think about for more than a few seconds, and even then, it will be thinking about how Burks and Robinson can give Philly a bit of scoring help off the bench. Maybe true Sixers diehards will consider the roster implications, or Warriors fans will ponder what the team will do with all the draft picks they’ve acquired.
For most of us, though, this trade is one of those — huh, yep. Makes sense for both teams.
Part of modern sports appreciation, especially in the post-Moneyball era, is to think about athletes merely as assets. Players can be reduced down to stats and salary figures, and judged accordingly. GMs need to move these assets around as they fit into either short or long-term plans. We even use the language of stock traders — assets, buying and selling, cutting bait, etc.
Especially this year, with this Warriors team, it’s easy to fall victim to this. Thanks to an injury to Klay Thompson and the departure of Kevin Durant to the Nets, the Warriors essentially shut down this season. No one expects the roster this year to look much like it will next year, as the team is clearly gearing up for the future and has no chance of making a run at a title.
Even D’Angelo Russell, a great player on a max contract, is viewed as expendable. So when Robinson and Burks got moved, it was viewed as something to shrug at.
Last night, however, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr gave an interview which put the entire thing in perspective.
“Tough night to go out and play,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr said before the trade was announced. “Two of our leaders, elder statesmen, guys who are really beloved in the locker room. For the team to find out those two guys are most likely going to be traded is pretty tough. … Not a good way to prepare for a game when something like that happens.”
A simple comment, but one that — for me at least — was a stark reminder. While this Warriors season may seem like a throwaway one to us, to these players — it’s not. They still have to suit up and play every night. They have to practice, and go on road trips. They bond and work hard, and then one night, their colleagues and friends are shipped out across the country.
It’s moments like these I feel kind of gross as a sports fan, these stark reminders that these are not assets to be bought and sold. They are people. Well-paid people, surely, who get to play basketball for a living. But still, people. People who were told on a Wednesday night they’d been traded, and would have to uproot their lives, leave their friends, and go make a new life … quickly. On a human level, that’s what a trade is.
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