The Golden State Warriors need to finish the season with the future in mind

Stephen Curry is slated to return in early March, but the Golden State Warriors need to keep in mind how they want to finish this season out.

The Golden State Warriors are the worst team in the Western Conference. They are the second-worst team in the NBA. They’ll be seeing Stephen Curry return, and Klay Thompson may even return eventually as well.

However, it’s still doubtful that they make the playoffs.

It’s troubling to think that Curry and Thompson’s return coupled with a healthy D’Angelo Russell and Draymond Green could hoist the Warriors out of contention for the top pick of the 2020 NBA Draft.

That’s where the headline comes into play, and it’s something the Warriors’ management should be thinking of.

To counteract the team’s dominance, it’d be an interesting idea for head coach Steve Kerr to limit Curry and Thompson’s minutes, assuming they return without any restrictions.

That would also give players like Glenn Robinson III and Alec Burks another few months in the spotlight, showing teams that they deserve above a veteran’s minimum. Those two have helped lead the team so far and deserve to continue seeing heavy usage.

At the end of the day, if Curry and Thompson are on the court, the Warriors are a top-four team in the Western Conference.

With the eighth spot only a handful of games out of the question, the Warriors could make a late-season push, but it’d be unlikely that they could string together that many wins and a team like San Antonio would completely collapse.

With that in mind, the Warriors need to consider ways to maintain their draft position. While that doesn’t mean purposefully losing, it does mean that they should keep their priorities in mind as their stars are set to return.

It’s not like allowing Curry and Thompson to rest throughout games for next season would be the worst thing in the world either.