Stephen Curry and Yaxel Lendeborg have exceeded the expectations fans had of the Warriors this season. The veteran superstar and the rookie have led the Dubs to an 8-3 record in the West, landing them in fourth place in the conference standings.

This opens the possibility for the Warriors’ front office to prioritize winning now over building for the future, and Warriors owner Joe Lacob appears open to that possibility.

Warriors Owner Hints at a Possible ‘Aggressive’ Move Amid Stephen Curry and Yaxel Lendeborg’s Strong Performances

On an episode of “The TK Show,” Lacob was asked about the Warriors’ chances of making an aggressive move before the NBA trade deadline to put the franchise in a win-now situation. The Warriors owner shifted responsibility to the team’s general manager, Mike Dunleavy Jr., rather than providing a concrete answer.

“Look, this is Mike [Dunleavy’s] job, and Mike and Kirk [Lacob] have said all along that it’s nice to have the optionality we do have going forward,” he said.

Lacob added, “We obviously have a lot of expiring contracts, should it make sense, and we have all our draft capital pretty much going forward. So we have optionality. Depending on the situation, depending on what’s available, you never really know what’s going to be available.”

Later, he praised Lendeborg’s performance in his rookie year.

“There’s a lot of very interesting things happening. I was watching the game tonight [against the Pelicans], and I was particularly impressed, not only yet again with Yaxel, but [Charles] Bassey and [Graham] Ike, both playing darn well at a position we really needed that help at. Al Horford can obviously still come in there; he can’t play 30 or 40 minutes, but he’s very good at that position. Draymond plays center, so I don’t know.”

At the end of the segment, the Warriors owner said the front office is evaluating its options and that the upcoming five-game road trip will play a role in the decision.

“I think we still need to continue evaluating. We got a tough road trip against some really good teams. Let’s see how we do, and we’ll address it at the appropriate time, see if there’s something that makes sense. We certainly can be aggressive if we decide that’s the right thing to do for the right player,” Lacob said.

Lendeborg made headlines at the start of the season for talking trash to Luka Doncic during the Dubs’ 127-105 season-opening loss to the Lakers on Oct. 21. He has backed up the talk in the following weeks with two 30+ point games in the last eight matchups. He is averaging 21.4 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game on 52.3% shooting.

Curry, meanwhile, appears to have entered a second prime. The 12-time All-Star is averaging 30.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.3 assists on 50.3% shooting. The Warriors look to be in a good state right now, and a blockbuster trade now for a strong interior or frontcourt player would elevate them to possible contender status.

On Friday, Kristaps Porziņģis announced that he is stepping away from basketball to prioritize his health. He remains on Golden State’s roster while he and the organization determine the next step. So for now, fans can wait and hope that none of the players get injured and that the front office makes a win-now trade.