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Are the Golden State Warriors Falling Behind?

By Greg Chin

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The Golden State Warriors have had a quiet offseason so far, limited by salary cap constraints and a fear of messing with team chemistry. They made just three major moves – resigning Draymond Green and Leandro Barbosa, and trading David Lee to the Boston Celtics for Gerald Wallace in a cap clearing move.

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While the old adage of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” rings true here, should the Warriors and their fanbase be worried as their Western Conference counterparts strengthen their rosters?

The San Antonio Spurs had one of the league’s best offseasons, re-signing key players Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan, while acquiring one of the best free agents on the market: LaMarcus Aldridge. The Los Angeles Clippers bolstered their wings by signing Paul Pierce and trading for Lance Stephenson, and managed to convince DeAndre Jordan to re-signing with them after initially committing to the Dallas Mavericks. The Oklahoma City Thunder were somewhat quiet, but they will be welcoming the return of former MVP Kevin Durant, who missed a large chunk of last season with injuries.

I write this with hesitation, because I am fully aware of the Warriors’ salary cap situation. By re-signing Draymond Green to a near-max contract, there was little money left for the organization to offer free agents. In fact, they were limited to the $3.3 million tax-payer mid-level exception as their payroll took them into the luxury cap. After whiffing with David West (who joined the Spurs), they used up $2.5 million of the exception on re-signing Barbosa, leaving them with close to $900 thousand left to spend.

Admittedly, the Warriors’ current roster is good enough that it doesn’t require a complete makeover, but should the front office have targeted a few role players to restock the team with?

The other thing hindering the Warriors from making a big splash in free agency is the fear of ruining their team chemistry. The 2011-2012 Dallas Mavericks, fresh off a championship, thought it would be a good move to cull half of their roster (albeit for financial reasons). They blew their title defense, losing in the first round of the playoffs. Admittedly, the Warriors’ current roster is good enough that it doesn’t require a complete makeover, but should the front office have targeted a few role players to restock the team with?

The Warriors will aim to defend their title next season, and should therefore take a leaf out of those who managed the feat before them. The 2013 Miami Heat added Ray Allen and Chris Andersen (midway through the season), and both players played key roles in defending their title. The 2010 Los Angeles Lakers signed Ron Artest, who became the team’s defensive stalwart.

Both defending champions realized the need to improve their rosters, and their new additions were key in their title defense.

Now, I’m not saying that the Warriors have already lost the title due to their lack of additions, but rather, that their lack of additions is starting to be worrying as we watch the rest of the West grow stronger. Their financial situation hasn’t helped, but with two roster spots left (assuming Gerald Wallace is waived), the Warriors need to hit gold with both.

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