Additional scouting time
This last point is two-fold.
Over the past few seasons, the Golden State Warriors have had little time to scout. However, the reason they haven’t had much time to fully scout their prospects is that head coach Steve Kerr has been busy winning NBA Championships.
Kerr can now place his undistracted attention on prospects, free agents and how to improve this roster into a title contender once again.
With Curry and Thompson on the team, it won’t take much, but the right NBA-ready rookie could make all the difference as the margin for error at the top of the West is slim to none.
This extra time should benefit Golden State as they’ll likely have a top-three pick and could, at the same time, be listening to deals for said pick.
The involvement that Kerr has with the scouting during the playoffs seems like it’d be minute so this time should allow Kerr and general manager Bob Myers to get on the same page as far as the future of the organization goes.
Additional scouting time, a longer rest period and a diminished risk of injury is all that not being included in this final stretch of the regular season will mean for Golden State.