Matthew Theodros
5/24/21
The Golden State Warriors had a very interesting season full of highs and lows. Steph Curry went on an absolute rampage, having another MVP season, while leading the league in scoring. Draymond Green did Draymond things, becoming the first player to finish a season having more rebounds and assists then points, while being a Defensive Player of the Year candidate. Andrew Wiggins did not have his best scoring season, but as an all around player it was definitely his best due to his more efficient shooting and much improved defense, which allowed him to give struggles to superstar players such as Kawhi Leonard. They got good production and improvement from their young players including Jordan Poole and Juan Toscano Anderson. Additionally they had the #2 Pick James Wiseman, however he was ruled out for the season with a torn meniscus. All of that did not matter at the end of the day. The Golden State Warriors season was put to an end last Friday in a 117-112 O.T loss to the Grizzlies where you could see the glaring issues. This is a very important offseason for the Warriors where they can really fix this team and propel them back to title contention.
Keeping the Big Three
Steph, Klay and Draymond built this team and their success they have had for the good part of this decade. The mix of shooting, playmaking, defense makes these three so deadly and not having Klay this season was very detrimental and we could see that with the amount of double teams Curry was getting this season due to the lack of shooting. No one could have expected that Klay would get injured again before the season started, but now after two years of rehab Klay should be ready to go for next season. If Klay can maintain his All-Star play from his previous years, the team can potentially replicate their early success. His defense might not be on the same level as it was before, but you've seen with Kevin Durant that players are able to return from horrible injuries and be successful. Draymond is a player that box score watchers won't notice his impact that he is on the court. Being an elite playmaker and his ability to get Curry open is special and is something that will be elevated next year with Klay being back on the court. And of course, extending Curry is the biggest thing the Warriors need to do this offseason. Curry is on the last year of his deal and is able to extend his contract and become the first player in NBA history to receive multiple 200+ dollar contract. We saw this last year with Giannis where the drama and narratives were building up by the day until he signed his extension. Their will be fear in the hearts of Warriors fans until he does sign that extension because if he doesn't despite him being as loyal as it gets, in this league anything can happen.
Choosing which Young Players are part of their Future
The 2019-2020 season for the Warriors was desolate and we all remember watching the Warriors play Draymond, D-Lo and G-Leaguers for the whole year. However it was a time for the Warriors to play their young players and see which ones could compete for them the next year. Klay ended up getting injured so their was more opportunity for them to play. During meaningful games throughout the season, we saw the young crew step up. Jordan Poole had a great second year especially after his stay in the G-League where he became a key contributor and was taking big time shots in big time games. He finished the season averaging 12.0PPG on 43.2% shooting. Juan Toscano Anderson was a great hustle player for the Warriors, putting his body on the line, while providing a little bit of everything. Toscano averaged 5.7PPG, 4.4RPG, 2.8APG on 57.9% shooting from the field. Eric Paschall's minutes dropped by 10, despite having a great rookie season and that's to having a very inconsistent season due to injuries. At times you can see their inexperience, such as a crucial last minute turnover by Jordan Poole in the Grizzlies down three with 25 seconds left. The Warriors need to continue growing these young players because they will be very helpful in the now and in the futures. But the question is, which ones? The Warriors roster is full with young talent, but some of them just don't fit and I believe they will need to trade some of them. The major one is Kelly Oubre Jr. who just didn't fit on the team and was playing his unnatural position the whole season. “I'm growing, I'm honing in on my skills in this league and I can offer a lot more than coming off the bench". This was a quote directly after being asked about coming of the bench and with Klay coming back, while Wiggins has the 3 position locked, I think it would be best to trade him. He is a free agent, if able to do a sign-in trade that would be the best option. I've also heard people saying that Wiseman should get traded and I don't believe that is the best option for the team. He is still very young and only had three games of college and no preseason and was put right into a team wanting to make the playoffs. Hopefully he has a safe and quick recovery so that he can be a key contributor.
Free Agency and Draft
An underrated addition in the D'Angelo Russell and Andrew Wiggins swap was the 2021 first round pick the Warriors received from the Timberwolves. The pick was a Top 4 protected pick which means if landed in the top 3 it will go back to Minnesota while the Warriors get a 2022 Unprotected Pick. If not the pick go to the Warriors and the Timberwolves keep their 2022 pick. Early on and throughout the All Star game it looked like the Timberwolves were the worst team in the league, however when their roster got healthy they started winning games and it's looking like they are going to loss their first round pick to the Warriors. For both teams standpoint, I think this is the best option because the Timberwolves don't need this pick and it could help the Warriors now. While the Warriors would not need a Minnesota pick from next year because they will be better. It's expected to be around 5-7 so the Warriors can get a great player for the bench such as Scottie Barnes. They also have their own first round pick which they can draft a future piece. Free Agency is also big for the Warriors this year because they need veterans that can come of the bench and also a big man to start for the time Wiseman is gone. Resigning Kent Bazemore on a minimum should be one of the first things they do. If they can bring bigs such as Daniel Theis, Robin Lopez, Cody Zeller, etc. would be great for them.
This offseason is important for them to really contend and I wonder what they will do to make it back to where they were. Thank you for reading and please share and comment.
Thank you for reading!!