Scripture tells us that joy cometh in the morning. Whoever wrote that clearly isn’t a Warriors fan. Last night, the Warriors ended their season, and maybe this era, not with a bang, but a whimper. No great team stays great forever and for the Warriors to return to the summit of the NBA some difficult decisions need to be made.
The saddest part of the Warrior’s decline is that Steph is still a top-5 player. Generally we associate the end of dynasties with the end of the best player’s career, but in the Warrior’s case that isn’t true. It’s the cast around Steph that’s dragged the franchise down to mediocrity.
Klay shows flashes of his former greatness but is inconsistent. He can still be an effective two-way player, but to stay with the Warriors he’ll need to take a dramatic pay cut. His performance against the Kings was painful not just because it was objectively awful, but because it felt like he was losing money with each missed shot.
Wiggins, himself, admitted that he did not play well this year and his availability is frankly a liability. It seems likely his name will be floated around for potential trades, but his contract isn’t cheap and given his proclivity to miss games due to personal reasons, it’s difficult to say if he’s worth the risk.
As for Draymond….who knows? The guy’s a genius, but like many geniuses, he’s unpredictable. Draymond missed 27 games this year, 17 via suspension, and in those games the Warriors were 13-14. If he hadn’t been suspended would the Warriors still be playing? Almost certainly. He plays a vital role on both sides of the floor and his absence was conspicuously felt.
His telepathic relationship with Steph makes them lethal offensively and he’s still an elite defender. But, it’s hard to imagine there’s a team willing to trade for him given all the baggage he brings, and besides, both he and management seem to want him to retire as a Warrior.
It’s not all doom and gloom, there’s plenty about this roster to be excited. The Warriors have good, young talent poised to take the next step. Podziemski and Jackson-Davis played terrific in their rookie seasons and will only get better. Kuminga clearly has the highest ceiling among the up-and-comers and for the Warriors to make another run at a title they need Kuminga to take over games the way Steph can and Klay used to.
The Warriors also need to add another shooter to the roster to make up for what Klay can no longer do consistently. The offense is predicated on movement, off ball screens, and open 3-pointers and without another knock down shooter it simply doesn’t work. Steph is going to turn 37 next season and they can’t expect him to score 30 points a night.
The gold has somewhat faded from Golden State and to return to El Dorado the Warriors need to consider making some painful changes. If that means trading Wiggins or Draymond for younger talent, or letting Klay sign elsewhere to save cap space, then that’s what needs to be done. It would truly be a shame to waste Steph’s last few good years on a team that can’t get past the Play In Tournament. It’s going to hurt, but championships don’t come easy.