The NBA is a cut-throat business where front office's often have to remove emotion and make brutal roster decisions, many of which can often prove detrimental or cause frustration among fans.
The Golden State Warriors have been a team that's valued patience and continuity over the past decade, leading to immense success which has seen much less roster change than what other teams generally see.
That doesn't mean that the Warriors haven't made heart-breaking but necessary moves when the time has called for it, with some completely changing the dynamics of the franchise and even the way the sport of basketball is played across the world.
5 Players the Warriors gave up on at the right time
It would be easy to look at role players and lesser names that the Warriors have waived, traded or simply let walk in free agency, but let's have a look at big-name stars that they've controversially parted ways with at different points over the last 15 years.
1. Jordan Poole
What a difference a year can make. Jordan Poole was a huge piece to Golden State's 2022 championship team and was viewed as a potential future All-Star, only to be essentially salary dumped to the Washington Wizards by new general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. just over 12 months later.
The infamous Draymond Green punch in the training camp of 2022 was unfortunately the start of the end. By the end of the playoffs Poole was nearly unplayable thanks to his inefficient offense and mediocre defense, leaving the Warriors to regret the young guard's big new contract extension before it had even started.
Two years on and the Wizards basically traded Poole themselves this offseason in order to create cap room next year. As much as the young guard will always a hold a place in the hearts of Warrior fans, that's as good a sign as any that the franchise moved on at the right time.
2. David Lee
David Lee was an All-Star, All-NBA Third Team member and even received MVP votes in 2013, yet two years later only averaged eight minutes during Golden State's triumphant 2015 playoff run.
The veteran forward found himself injured at the start of that season, allowing Draymond Green to take a starting role and never look back. In just over 10 years since, Green has been a critical piece to four championships as a 4x All-Star and arguably the best defender of his generation.
Perhaps there was some luck involved with Lee's injury, but the Warriors were right to keep the power forward role in Green's hands which ultimately led to his veteran teammate departing in the 2015 offseason.
3. D'Angelo Russell
The Warriors made the most of Kevin Durant's departure in the 2019 offseason, preserving the salary slot by acquiring All-Star guard D'Angelo Russell from the Brooklyn Nets in a sign-and-trade.
Russell was always going to be an awkward fit for the Warriors, but the franchise made sure to move him quickly enough before that would ruin their leverage. The Minnesota Timberwolves had a fascination with pairing Russell with Karl-Anthony Towns, giving up Andrew Wiggins and a future first-round pick that became Jonathan Kuminga in a mid-season trade after the lefty guard had played just 31 games with Golden State.
Wiggins became an All-Star himself and the second-best player on a championship player in 2022, while Russell has never come close to reaching the same heights again having just joined his fourth team since leaving the Warriors.
4. Monta Ellis
Before the splash brothers of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, Golden State had another dynamic guard in Monta Ellis who had been a consistent 20-25 point scorer for years leading up to his departure from the franchise in early 2012.
Warrior fans were perplexed by the move, even booing new owner Joe Lacob at Oracle Arena a week after the trade. It ultimately worked for a variety of reasons, starting with Curry's ascension that now sees him as one of the top handful of players in league history.
Curry and Klay Thompson ushered in a new era in the entire NBA with their explosive 3-point shooting, while that pair worked incredibly well with starting center Andrew Bogut who Golden State got back in the Ellis trade.
Again, there's some luck involved given the Warriors actually wanted to trade Curry not Ellis, only for the Bucks to decline given the former's injury issues. But regardless, this was one of the most pivotal moves in franchise and NBA history.
5. Andrew Wiggins
Let's bring Wiggins up again after noting his arrival to Golden State earlier.
After five years with the franchise where he won a title and rebuilt his reputation, the Warriors moved on from Wiggins in order to acquire Jimmy Butler at this year's February trade deadline. It was initially a controversial deal, with many fans unsure as to why the front office would trade a beloved member of the team for a 35-year-old whose numbers had been on the decline.
Unfortunately for Wiggins, the team was going nowhere and needed a significant change, even if Butler wasn't their first target. Their fortunes changed immediately, with Golden State going 23-7 in 30 games with Butler after the trade. They subsequently went from the 11th-seed in the Western Conference up into a playoff spot, then took out the two-seed Houston Rockets in the first-round.
It was a gut-wrenching decision to trade Wiggins after everything he'd done and achieved, but the early signs are that the Warriors moved on at the right time.