The Golden State Warriors don’t need major moves to remain a championship contender

The Golden State Warriors are less than a year removed from securing the franchise’s seventh NBA championship last June, but this season yielded unfortunate results. As a result, fans have already begun dreaming up trade ideas that would bring another star to the Bay.

Even though the Golden State Warriors failed to reach the Conference Finals, the team’s foundational pieces are still intact (for now), and Golden State should have more than enough to return to the top of the Western Conference.

While the end results were disappointing, it is important to remember the inconsistencies that plagued the Warriors in the early stages of the season. Andrew Wiggins and Steph Curry each missed significant chunks of the year due to injury, and a futile effort to develop their young players even saw the Warriors trade their former second-overall draft pick, James Wiseman, to the Detroit Pistons during February’s deadline.

Management was intent on nurturing its budding talent while pursuing a title defense, but the task proved tougher than expected, resulting in a slow start for the defending champs. That said, Golden State boasted the 2nd best net rating in the entire NBA post-All-Star break, trailing only the Boston Celtics. As Wiggins and Gary Payton II were re-inserted into the lineup the Warriors rounded into form, looking like the legitimate title threat that they’ve been for the better part of a decade.

A second-round exit feels premature for Warrior fans who’ve enjoyed six Finals appearances in the last eight years. Still, there is no shame in losing a closely contested six-game battle with the Los Angeles Lakers – who had an equally as talented bunch captained by Lebron James and Anthony Davis.

By the time Game 6 rolled around, the Warriors looked like a team that had ran out of gas. But Golden State was just a few solid Klay Thompson shooting performances shy of extending the series to a Game 7, in which they would’ve been home favorites.

In his season-ending press conference, Steve Kerr was asked about the team’s many ups and downs, but suggested that team chemistry was the major roadblock. The Dubs simply never recovered from a dramatic preseason that saw Draymond Green punch teammate Jordan Poole during training camp.

"“There’s no hiding from it — the incident with Draymond and Jordan at the beginning of the year played a role in [losing in the second round]”, Kerr said. “It’s hard for that not to impact a team. Anytime some trust is lost, then it makes the process much more difficult, and there was some trust lost. That’s as blunt as I can be. We have to get back to what has made us really successful, which is a really trusting environment and a group that relies on one another and makes each other better.”"

That will be the key to a successful offseason for the Golden State Warriors. Behind the scenes, there will be some shake ups, and the Warriors almost certainly won’t look like the same team next season. But for the most part, they will, and players and coaches must do their part to restore a winning environment in which everyone knows their role.