The Denver Nuggets were arguably the biggest disappointment from the first-round of the NBA playoffs, with their surprise elimination sending a clear warning to the Golden State Warriors before the offseason gets underway.
The Warriors have a clear issue to address at the wing/forward positions whether via free agency or the trade market, and that's only increased in importance after the Nuggets fell to an injury-hit Minnesota Timberwolves.
Nuggets downfall proves Warriors must address their biggest weakness
The Timberwolves emerged with a 4-2 series victory despite injuries to star guard Anthony Edwards and fellow backcourt teammates Donte DiVincenzo and Ayo Dosunmu. Speaking recently on The TK Show with former colleague Tim Kawakami, ESPN's Anthony Slater pointed to the Nuggets issues and why it's very relevant to the Warriors heading into the offseason.
"They just couldn't handle the athleticism of Minnesota, the youth of Minnesota because of their lack of length and strength and power and ball handling on the wing. And as it relates to the Warriors, I think that is like the glaring problem with them," Slater said.
Denver didn't get a single second from rising forward Peyton Watson during the series due to a hamstring injury, while Aaron Gordon appeared in only three games and was hampered by a calf issue.
Golden State's own forward options and overall athleticism became decimated as the season progressed, both through their own doing and some rotten injury luck that's also going to impact them moving forward.
The Warriors lost star forward Jimmy Butler to a torn ACL in January, traded former seventh overall pick Jonathan Kuminga to the Atlanta Hawks just weeks later, then saw Moses Moody go down with a gruesome torn patellar tendon late in the season.
It leaves Gui Santos as really the only forward on the current roster who's future isn't up the air this offseason, and who's not facing a delayed start to next season because of a major injury.
Warriors must add size and athleticism this offseason
At a time where the league has been trending back towards size, Golden State have remained relatively small by NBA standards in recent years. They addressed that to some degree by trading Kuminga for a 7'3" Kristaps Porzingis at the deadline, but size and athleticism at the wing remains just as, if not more important than simply having a giant big man.
The Warriors have to see what happened to the Nuggets and let that be a lesson. They have to acknowledge that simply going into next season with Santos and Draymond Green won't cut it, even if Butler and Moody return at some point later on.
With only six players currently contracted for next season, the good news is that Golden State have the room to go out and target specific players to address their biggest needs this offseason.
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