Three things the Warriors need to do in the off season

The Warriors have been linked to some big name free agents, but they need to look at what they have first.

Although it is a very painful time for the Golden State Warriors right now, the off season is fast approaching and there are some things they need to do if they want to reclaim the championship title.

The good news for the Warriors is that, in terms of next season the Warriors have their top players under contract, but there are some other key issues that need to be dealt with. Also there is the long term future of players like Stephen Curry, who is only under contract through the 2016-2017 season, who will be looking for a big pay raise after his back-to-back MVP awards. Rumors have already surfaced about some free agents who could make Oakland their home, but here are three things the Warriors can do internally to maintain there championship aspirations.

1. Get Stephen Curry’s contract extended- The now two-time MVP, who is heading into his prime playing years, should obviously be a major concern to the Warriors. Curry has already established himself as one of, if not the most, prolific shooter in NBA history by shattering the NBA single season three pointers made mark with 402 this past season (Curry broke his own record of 286 that he set the previous season). There is no doubt that Curry has been the best player in basketball over the past two years and even with his struggles in the NBA Finals he is still a very essential part to Golden State’s success. This extension will almost certainly require a big time pay raise for Curry, who made under 12 million last season and less than both Andre Iguodala and Andrew Bogut.
2. Try and get Harrison Barnes back for at least one season- Barnes may not be one of the best Warriors players, but he is still very young at 24 years old and he played an integral part during this historic season. Barnes averaged a career high 11.7 points per game and rebounded a solid 4.9 per game (2nd highest total in his career behind last year when he averaged 5.5 per contest). Barnes has a player option this off season, but declined a four year contract extension (worth 64 million dollars) before this season began. Barnes is about 6’8” which allows him to play both small and power forward. The Warriors could use another season or two from this young, versatile forward who helped them achieve history with their single season win total.
3. Resign backup guard Leandro Barbosa for continuity and depth- This is not the first time I have written about Barbosa’s importance because although he’s obviously not one of the “big three” (Thompson, Curry, and Green) Barbosa played a pivotal role this season, and showed up in the Finals. With Barbosa the Warriors have a veteran guard who has experience in high pressure situations who will not cost much to resign. Barbosa averaged 6.4 points per game this season, but his real value was shown in the postseason where he shot an impressive .580 from the field. Barbosa also shined in the NBA Finals where he shot .607 from the field while averaging 8.2 points per game (sat out game 4). Some would argue that Barbosa even earned himself a slight pay raise this off season in a year where he made only 2.5 million. Even with a slight raise Barbosa would certainly be worth signing this off season with the veteran presence he brings as well as the depth he adds to the guard position.