(REUTERS) - The Golden State Warriors acquired guards Jordan Crawford and MarShon Brooks from the Boston Celtics on Wednesday as part of a three-team deal involving the defending NBA champion Miami Heat.

The Warriors shipped guard Toney Douglas to the Heat, who in turn sent centre Joel Anthony and two draft picks to the Celtics.

The deal addresses what many critics had considered a lack of depth at the guard position for a Warriors team that has won 11 of its last 12 games and sits in sixth place in the Western Conference approaching the midway point of the 2013-14 season.

Crawford was Boston's third-leading scorer this season with an average of 13.7 points per game while Brooks came off the bench to score an average of 3.1 points in 10 games.

Douglas, a former first round draft pick in 2009, was averaging 3.7 points a game off the bench for the Warriors, well below his career average of 8.1 points per game.

Trading Anthony, a seldom-used center who won NBA titles in each of the last two seasons with Miami, is expected to save Miami a reported US$6.4 million (S$8.1 million) in luxury taxes and remaining salary this season.

"This trade gives us great flexibility moving forward in our journey to win an NBA championship," Heat President Pat Riley said in a statement.