Five years ago, the Stephen Curry led Golden State Warriors won a fourth title together over the Boston Celtics. Steve Kerr, Draymond Green, and Curry are all still in place, and yet these Warriors are perhaps as far off as they’ve ever been from their championship winning days. Father time is undefeated, and often times the end of an era can be a bit unceremonious. The Warriors are a dying dynasty at best, or in reality, a dynasty that’d been dead for a few seasons now. As they look to what’s next,
can they give the Curry era an ending that it deserves?
Golden State Warriors: Over/Under 36.5 regular season wins (-110/-115)
To win Pacific Division: +430
To win Western Conference: 35/1
To win NBA Finals: 75/1
Last season: 37-45, lost in second play in game
Key additions: Yaxel Lendeborg (12th pick in Draft), Brandon Williams (Dallas)
Key losses: Jonathan Kuminga (Minnesota), Quentin Post (Memphis), Pat Spencer (Phoenix)
The Warriors have pretty clearly reached the place that no NBA franchise wants to be. They are stuck in the middle, with a clear ceiling and a floor that make you wonder exactly what the plan is here. Jimmy Butler is still working his way back from a knee injury he suffered last year, and Steph, Draymond and Al Horford aren’t getting younger. Beyond that, Kristaps Porzingis still has a mystery illness, apparently.
When you look at the roster to try and find the next generation of guys who will try and get the Warriors back to making deep runs in the playoff, they’re banking on Yaxel Lendeborg being that guy. Of course, Lendeborg won a national title at Michigan with Dusty May, Morez Johnson Jr. and the rest of their group, so he knows how to be a part of winning basketball. I just wonder what the long term path is here. I get giving Curry all the tools he deserves to give it an earnest shot, but there is very little in the way of future assets to build around. In the immediate, the Warriors figure to be around the same as they were last year. But in the long term, there’s many reasons to be concerned about the long term viability of this franchise.
