The Warrior may be active on the trade market before the deadline, but they are not expected to complete a major deal until the offseason, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Two Western Conference executives who spoke with Youngmisuk believe Golden State will save its most valuable pieces for the summer in hopes of making a significant move.

For now is a more likely target Bulls center Nikola Vucevicwhich would provide a second reliable scorer to partner with Stephen Curry. Vucevic is making $20MM, and the Warriors are hoping they might be able to land him in exchange for outgoing offers. Both rival managers expect the team to continue exploring their options until closer to Feb. 6, rather than making a deal outright.

Youngmusik points out that Golden State’s top trade pieces are Andrew Wiggins‘ $26MM contract, along with young players Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski. More likely to be moved now are the expiring contracts too Gary Payton II ($9.13MM) and Kevon Looney ($8MM), along with three first round picks and two second round picks.

Youngmisuk reveals that CEO Joe Lacob met the director general Mike Dunleavy to discuss the team’s options following a Jan. 7 loss to Miami. A rival leader described the team as “frustrated” as it has fallen down the standings after a 12-3 start.

The executives also told Youngmisuk that if the Warriors aren’t in a better position at the trade deadline, they could consider some cost-cutting trades to reduce the size of their tax bill. Youngmisuk adds that Golden State is typically not active at the deadline, with only two significant trades during the Curry era.

Curry, who has played through thumb and knee soreness this season, said he can accept a relaxed deadline as long as he knows the front office is making an effort to improve the roster.

“(We’re) trying to be a realistic threat in a playoff series,” he said. “If Mike calls and says, ‘Hey, this is an opportunity to do X, Y, Z,’ I’m giving my opinion. My hope is that (if there’s no action at the deadline) it’s not for lack of effort . If we don’t have a chance to get better, my whole thing is I want to win, and whatever that means, all efforts point towards that, then I can kind of live with whatever happens.”

The Warriors tried to commit to big deals last summer and submitted bids Lauri Markkanen before re-signing with Utah and Paul George before opting out of his contract with the Clippers. Either way, that would have meant parting ways with Kuminga and perhaps Podziemski, which Golden State wasn’t ready to do.

They were one of the first teams to make a significant trade during the season and pick up Dennis Schroeder from Brooklyn in mid-December, but the veteran guard has struggled with his shooting and has been unable to halt the team’s long slump. It is possible that Schröder could be moved again before the deadline.

Curry, Draymond Green and trainers Steve Kerr have all recently made public statements warning of the dangers of a panic movement. They seem content to wait until the summer for a roster overhaul if needed, and in the meantime, they’re confident of their postseason chances no matter who they have to face.

“One hundred percent feel we can beat anybody in a playoff series because we’ve done that,” Curry said. “We have the knowledge, and we just want to be able to answer that question with how we play and not imagine. … We’ve been there. We know how to do it. It just feels like we can do it again.”