Quality vs. Quantity – How Golden State Warriors are affected

The Golden State Warriors have some real issues they need to address.

The battle of quality versus quantity is a question we face every day. Give me quality time with family over an abundance of time where we all sit around a couch glued to our phones. At the same time, give me a massive chicken parmigiana and side over a high-class, expensive meal that’s the size of a child’s palm.

In basketball, like in life, a combination of both is usually ideal. NBA owners want their high-earning players to be of high quality who play the majority of the season. At present, the Golden State Warriors face an issue on both sides that may prevent them from returning to championship contention.

The Golden State Warriors may face an issue with depth and quality of their supporting cast should their core remain the same.

The last two seasons they’ve had a high-quality player, who they’ve paid over a combined $70 million, play a grand total of zero games. There’s a reason rebuilding and development has been a major focus of the Warriors the past two seasons, it’s impossible to compete for a championship when a player on that salary is stuck in rehabilitation.

Is that Klay Thompson’s fault? Not at all. But at the same time, Warriors ownership would be nervous about the money they’ve committed to a player who tore their Achilles whilst undertaking simple basketball activities.

On the other end of the quality vs. quantity debate, Joe Lacob and Warriors ownership are paying Andrew Wiggins a figure that’s well renowned as overs for a player of his caliber. But although Wiggins’ quality to salary ratio may be often questioned, his quantity in terms of games played is quite incredible.

Of the top 30 highest-earning players in season 2020-21, Wiggins is the only one to have played in every game this season. That’s quite the achievement given the rigors of a high-velocity 72-game season. But also think of the number of players that have missed games through health and safety protocols, combined with the fact Wiggins welcomed a new child recently.

Although parenthood and the Covid pandemic may make Wiggins’ feat even more extraordinary this season, the 26-year-old has clearly shown an ability to stay healthy across the course of his career. In his seventh NBA season, this would be the fourth time Wiggins completes a full schedule should he not miss any of the Warriors’ remaining four games. His ability to turn up and actually take to the court is rare in a modern league that seems fascinated with ‘load management.

Moving forward to next season, the Warriors front office desperately needs to evaluate how they’ll return to title contention. Can Thompson return close enough to the high-quality, high quantity player he was pre-injuries? Does Joe Lacob look at Andrew Wiggins and think he can get better bang for the buck? Or is he content that his employee can be counted on to turn up to work every day/night? Either way, the Warriors roster and salary management will be fascinating moving forward.