The Golden State Warriors were at one point widely expected to make a big swing at this year’s trade deadline, but a recent report from Anthony Slater of The Athletic revealed that such a deal has grown less expected.

This only further shoved the Warriors into what appears to be a trade deadline trap of circumstance without a clear path for upward or downward mobility,” Slater wrote after explaining the impact of Pascal Siakam landing with the Indiana Pacers.

They’re in NBA no-man’s-land. The odds and internal expectations of a trade that meaningfully moves the needle has steadily decreased over the last month, team sources not authorized to speak publicly tell The Athletic.” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr recently joined 95.7 The Game’s “Willard & Dibs” show, and made comments that seemed to corroborate Slater’s reporting.

“Yeah, we’re not going to find better players than those guys in a trade,” Kerr said of Chris Paul and Gary Payton II. “It’s exceedingly rare where you can make a deal where you can upgrade to that level. I’m excited about getting those guys back, Moses [Moody] too. We’ve been shorthanded these last couple of weeks, but all three of those guys can really help us for sure.”

Kerr continued, saying, “I think a deal almost always is unlikely, but that doesn’t mean a deal won’t happen. That’s Mike [Dunleavy Jr.’s] job, it’s really not anything I concern myself with.

Mike will obviously call me and keep me in the loop if something’s going on, but the fact is most trade deadlines not much happens.” While a Warriors trade remains possible, it doesn’t sound like something Kerr expects.

At Grizzlies, Warriors aim for first rematch win of season

One team that has been terrible at exacting revenge duels another that hasn’t been great at preventing it when the Golden State Warriors visit the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night.

The pairing is a rematch from a 116-107 Grizzlies home win over the Warriors last month in a game Memphis won from the free-throw line and 3-point arc. The Grizzlies prevailed despite making 12 fewer field goals than the visitors, including 22 fewer from inside the 3-point line.

Memphis made just 12 two-point shots, but didn’t need any more thanks to 20 3-pointers in 54 attempts and 32 successful foul shots in 40 tries.

So, for the sixth time this season, the Grizzlies will get an opportunity to face a team they’ve beaten in the previous meeting. They’ve gone just 2-3 in those contests.

To add insult to several injuries, Memphis finds itself trying to double up on Golden State on the second night of a back-to-back. The Grizzlies burned four starters upward of 30 minutes in a 108-101 home loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night.

Jaren Jackson Jr. was among the busiest Grizzlies in the defeat, firing up 23 shots while also finding time for five rebounds, five assists, three blocks and a steal. He was the game’s co-leading scorer with 25 points in 34 minutes.

The loss was Memphis’ third straight, all by single-digit margins. They also came up agonizingly short against the Indiana Pacers (116-110) and Sacramento Kings (103-94) in their previous two games.

Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins noted after Thursday’s loss it would be a mistake to blame late-game failures as the chief cause of the defeats.

“There’s a ton of things we can do better over the course of the game,” he said. “A loose ball, an offensive rebound … gotta have that defensive rebound. They’re all important in close games.”

Meanwhile, the Warriors have had the last two nights off in preparation for a five-game trip. They will be opening a back-to-back sequence, with a quick turnaround Saturday in Atlanta.