The Warriors Will Return to the Top

One of the questions that have lingered over the offseason is what are the Warriors going to do to maximize these final few years of Steph Curry's prime? This year he played at an MVP level but the supporting cast wasn't good enough to get the Warriors back into the postseason.  

They had a particularly difficult March, though Curry’s record-setting April gave them some hope for a playoff bid. Ultimately, they were undone by the defending champion Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies during the play-in round because no one on the roster could assume some of the shot creation responsibilities that Steph carried throughout the year. Addressing that is now the club’s top priority.

The expectation is that Klay Thompson’s return to the lineup should put Golden State back in the top half of the conference once next season. But with the Splash Brothers and Draymond Green all in their 30s, there’s a dilemma: can they support their core with young talent, or should they push all their chips in for an All-Star caliber veteran?

If James Wiseman didn’t look so lost at times last season or (if LaMelo Ball didn’t look like a prodigy for the Hornets), maybe those of us following the Warriors would not be so anxious about this offseason.

Maybe if the team had simply decided to win now OR develop young talent instead of trying and failing to do both, there would be some measure of trust about their ability to return to the top of the league. Bob Myers’ record as General Manager since the KD signing in 2016 has been iffy at best.

None of the players they’ve drafted have found a way to stick around long outside of Kevon Looney. The offseason acquisitions going back to the championship run haven’t been good enough when it really matters either (Omri Casspi, Jonas Jerebko, DeMarcus Cousins, etc.).

There’s a strong reason to believe that the departures of Jerry West and Travis Schlenk after the 2017 season left them exposed. If Myers cannot deliver a title contender this year or a future starting-caliber player via the draft, it’s fair to wonder if Golden State should retain his services.

But Myers can redeem himself with a strong showing this offseason, starting with tonight’s draft. The players that are available to Dubs at 7 are intriguing in a lot of ways.

Jonathan Kuminga was a consensus top 5 pick up until the last month or so when teams became enamored with Scottie Barnes. Kuminga is definitely a project; his play tailed off in the G League Bubble after a solid start, but if the Warriors want to acquire a prospect with a high ceiling for internal development or possible trade bait, Kuminga may be the best choice at 7.

UConn’s James Bouknight is another player that the Warriors would be happy to land. Bouknight is a pure scorer and could give the Dubs an immediate boost as a heat check guy off the bench. He would arguably be one of the most athletic players on the roster from day one as well.

There are questions about his shooting and defensive ability, but the same goes for almost every wing in this draft. If the Thunder pass on him at 6, the Warriors would be wise to snatch him up.   

Finally, Franz Wagner out of Michigan has moved up the board to become one of the Dubs’ top options. If you watched any of Michigan Basketball the last year or two, it’s easy to see how Wagner could be the best fit for the Dubs with his playmaking ability and defensive prowess. Wagner’s swiss army knife skillset would be a boon to the Dubs on both sides of the ball.

My biggest concern would be that he disappeared offensively for the Wolverines and that he doesn’t have a clear elite skill that would vault him over a guy like Kuminga or Bouknight. There is no denying his feel for the game, however. Given how much the Warriors value high IQ players, Wagner being in play at 7 makes a lot of sense.

There are other players that could be in play as well like Australia’s Josh Giddey, Arkansas’ Moses Moody, and Baylor’s Davion Mitchell. All of these guys run the gamut of players with high upside (Kuminga, Giddey) or players that could contribute right away (Mitchell, Wagner, Bouknight).

The Warriors could potentially add one of these guys with their second first-rounder at 14 or come away with a more NBA-ready prospect like Oregon’s Chris Duarte.

Despite the promise that these prospects have, you get the sense that the Warriors would have loved to be able to package these picks for an All-Star to win now. Bradley Beal sits at the top of the team’s wish list. He’s the NBA’s 2nd league scorer coming off of a scoring title in the pandemic shortened 2019-2020 season.

He would immediately help relieve the shot creation pressures that Curry had to deal with, and would benefit from the spacing afforded by having the healthy Splash brothers flanking him. But Beal has not demanded a trade and Washington has not shown a willingness to move him just yet.

With the draft tonight, it’s unlikely anything comes to fruition in the next few hours. If there’s a deal to be made, it will be consummated sometime between the regular season tip-off and the trade deadline.

Beyond Beal, the options available to the Warriors were always going to be few and far between. Swing players like Jrue Holiday and Aaron Gordon have already been moved. Giannis was a pipe dream that will now likely never happen.

Damian Lilliard probably isn’t going anywhere since the Blazers are allegedly on the market and cannot afford to lose their most valuable asset at this juncture. That leaves guys like Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner neither of whom would turn the Warriors into a title contender tomorrow.

Zach Lavine is another possible name to watch, but if they have to give up Wiggins, their best perimeter defender, to get something done, I cannot see it happening.

So the Warriors have to play the hand they’ve been dealt and draft the best players available to them at 7 and 14. If they came away with two of Kuminga, Bouknight, Wagner, Mitchell, and Duarte, it will be hard to not feel good.

The reshuffling of the coaching staff should increase confidence in their ability to develop their younger players. The rumors about Beal will linger throughout the summer, but the front office will need to get free agency right for the first time in a long time.

If Kelly Oubre is not interested in a 6th man role or the Warriors are unwilling to pay him $20M a year he might command on the market, they have to round out the roster with vets who fit in with how they like to play. Rudy Gay, Nick Batum, Derrick Rose, Kelly Olynyk, and Otto Porter should all be considered for the team’s mid-level exception.

From there, getting Klay Thompson healthy and James Wiseman up to speed will be the priority. Strong bounce-back seasons from both and some new blood could vault the Warriors back to the mountaintop and reduce a lot of the anxiety around the way this franchise moves.