Public statements from Mike Dunleavy Jr. haven’t been worth a lot from the moment he became general manager of the Golden State Warriors, having traded Jordan Poole just days after claiming the dynamic guard would be around for “four more years at least.”

Dunleavy’s latest trade remarks also aren’t difficult to see through either, with the 45-year-old suggesting that fans shouldn’t bank on a big move and that Golden State’s improvement will instead come primarily internally.

Mike Dunleavy Jr. taking Warriors fans for fools with latest trade remarks

Speaking to NBC Sports Bay Area prior to Monday’s win over the Orlando Magic, Dunleavy doesn’t believe the Warriors are set to see another blockbuster trade after acquiring Jimmy Butler last season.

“We’ll look to do stuff that makes our team better,” Dunleavy said. “But I wouldn’t bank on that type of move. To get a guy like Jimmy Butler, to have the improvement that we did … that’d be pretty unrealistic.”

This is nothing but posturing from a general manager who is looking to not only temper expectations among fans, but also retain leverage in discussions with rival teams. The reality is that even if the player coming back isn’t the same stature as Butler, Golden State will be making a fairly significant trade before the deadline.

Is there a world in which Jonathan Kuminga is on this team beyond the deadline? That’s incredibly unlikely. Combine that with the growing probability of Buddy Hield being moved after recently falling out of Steve Kerr’s rotation, and that’s already over $30 million in salary that could very well be transacted in the coming weeks.

There’s been multiple reports of Golden State’s interest in Trey Murphy III since the offseason, something that would require multiple first-round picks and therefore be viewed as a blockbuster deal. Obviously there would be no more blockbuster trade than acquiring Giannis Antetokounmpo, with the Warriors too linked to the 2x MVP as his future remains uncertain at the Milwaukee Bucks.

Even if it isn’t Antetokounmpo or Murphy, there appears no shortage of notable players who could be on Dunleavy’s radar ahead of the deadline, not to mention there shouldn’t be one untouchable player on the Golden State roster outside Stephen Curry.

Dunleavy is right in suggesting the Warriors can improve internally and be far better than their current 15-15 record suggests, but even he would have to admit this team isn’t a championship contender without another sizeable move.