The Uncertain Future of Golden State

As the news of Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler tearing his ACL spread across the NBA, it became clear that the Warriors no longer have the depth or system to maximize veteran point guard Stephen Curry’s twilight years. The Warriors need to shift their focus from building a team around Stephen Curry to building a team fit for years to come.

The days of the Warriors’ four championship dynasty seem to be over. Golden State currently sits at eighth in the Western Conference and seems far from a championship-caliber team. The team consists of an aging 37-year-old Curry; forward Draymond Green, whose disciplinary issues on the court have negatively impacted the team; and a relatively weaker young core of players like guard Brandin Podziemski and forward Jonathan Kuminga, who have both felt undervalued within the organization. 

When compared to their lineup just four years ago, the season they beat the Boston Celtics and became NBA champions, the difference is huge. The 2021/22 Warriors, beyond their big three of Curry, Green, and shooting guard Klay Thompson, possessed other extremely effective contributors who played their needed roles. Guard Jordan Poole was a vital weapon with explosive scoring performances and crucial shots. Forward Anthony Wiggins acted as a top-tier perimeter defender and a secondary scorer; he was even second in points behind Curry in the Finals series, averaging 18.3 points. Center Kevon Looney was a dependable interior defender and elite rebounder. Players like these, who can come off the bench and immediately impact the game, are what the current-day Warriors are missing. They do not seem to have the number of talented players they once did, and as a result are unable to consistently play at a high level.

One of the major issues for this Warriors team is their lack of height. Though historically, the Warriors have excelled at “small ball,” adding more emphasis on perimeter-shooting and speed, their lack of size and rim protection shows. In a recent game against the Dallas Mavericks, the Warriors were outrebounded 65-44. For context, the Mavericks average 55.6 rebounds a game (fifth in the league) to the Warriors’ 53.2 rebounds (15th in the league). Additionally, the Warriors rank 29th in interior points per game, with 43.8, further showing how ineffective they have been in terms of size and in the interior.

Another major concern is their reliance on an aging Stephen Curry to take the initiative and carry much of the offensive burden. The Warriors superstar averages 4.9 assists and 27.3 points on a true shooting percentage of 63.6 percent. The team struggles without his gravity and premier scoring ability. With Curry, the team holds a solid offensive rating of 119.9 and a record of 23-15, while without him, they have an offensive rating of 104.9 and a record of 4-7. While Curry has been operating at an elite level, it is hard to succeed on a team without a solid supporting cast that can be reliable both offensively and defensively, especially with Jimmy Butler gone. It raises the question of whether they are wasting Curry’s final years, when he could be contributing to a team that has the capability to win a championship.

Golden State is falling apart as a team, even with legendary Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr at the helm. Though Kerr managed to win four championships as the coach of the team, he has struggled to bring them out of this situation, and even plays a part in it. Much of a player’s development falls to the coach, and their ability to get the most out of their players. Kerr has been unable to develop his players effectively in recent years since new stars on the team have failed to emerge. His inability to enforce discipline has also hurt the team, with a high amount of turnovers—15.5 per game—making games harder to win.

As the NBA trade deadline approaches, news of power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo possibly leaving the Milwaukee Bucks has had Warriors fans excited about a possible acquisition, leading to them adopting a “win now” mentality. However, realistically, such a trade might not be as successful for the Warriors as it is hyped up to be. The chance Golden State has to receive Giannis is not high; they do not have many young players with incredible potential that would attract Milwaukee to engage in a trade, especially compared to teams such as the Atlanta Hawks or Miami Heat.

 If the trade does occur, the Warriors would have to sacrifice a large amount of draft capital and young players, which could seriously affect their future outside of the Curry era and force them to become a lottery team—teams with poorer records competing for a top spot in the NBA draft—for years to come. Furthermore, how well the Warriors would do even with Giannis remains a question. The pairing would obviously be entertaining, but with the lack of depth on the roster along with the players the organization would have to trade, it is unlikely that they could compete with teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder or the Denver Nuggets, who have significantly more talented players.

The best opportunity for Golden State to have long-term success is to accept that their veteran stars Green and Curry do not have many years left in them, and that it’s unlikely they will be able to build a championship-level team in that span. Their struggles with young players, lack of height, reliance on star players, and organizational and coaching difficulties are all factors of this harsh truth. Rather, the Warriors should direct their attention towards the future and begin a rebuild. They must be able to draft well, rather than miss on picks like they have in the past, and develop new, young players who can give Golden State another chance at an NBA championship.