The Golden State Warriors lost in the 2019 NBA Finals, but that doesn’t mean the team isn’t ready to compete at the highest level this upcoming season.
In the 2019 NBA Finals, the Golden State Warriors saw two of their best players go down with career-altering injuries. Coincidently, both those players, five-time All-Star Klay Thompson and former MVP and four-time scoring champion Kevin Durant, will also be free agents this offseason.
While the team is reportedly expected to offer them both the max, what if they go in the complete other direction as some suggest? What if they trade Curry for numerous first-round picks, somewhat like New Orleans did with Davis, and deal Green as well?
You can sign a myriad of one-year contracts and have six extra first-round picks to worth within the next few seasons. You can even get back in the lottery where you drafted players like Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. You can even have three max contract slots.
Sounds great, right? Absolutely not.
How many Warrior fans were around for the 23-43 season that kicked off this dynasty. After that season, it was an uphill battle that only continues to draw both national attention and volume fans to the organization.
Without selecting a Hall of Famer with the No. 7 overall selection and then two more in back-to-back drafts, there are no three titles. There’s no annual championship parades or bandwagon fans on every street corner.
However, those fans that were there for the 23-win season would never take it this run back. This is their team and they pride themselves on both the team’s success and the prospect of a max capacity Chase Center.
To fill that arena, the Warriors need their stars.
While a blowout does seem to be the common thing after losing a Finals like the Cavaliers and Heat both did eventually, it’s not for Golden State, especially considering two-time MVP Steph Curry is under contract for a few more seasons.
Re-sign Klay, wait to max Dray and keep Steph happy while adding depth is the worst possible offseason scenario, or maybe even the best. We’ll just have to wait and see.