An array of offseason changes has generated plenty of discussion on what the Golden State Warriors can do next season, particularly following the departure of franchise legend Klay Thompson.
Thompson's defection to the Dallas Mavericks strikes an intriguing balance of how much the Warriors identity will be compromised by his absence, and how much they'll miss his on-court skillset which had quite clearly waned understandably following two serious leg injuries.
John Hollinger believes a pair of Golden State Warriors additions could each prove more effective than Klay Thompson would have next season
Many assert that the Warriors are better in the wake of their offseason moves, including John Hollinger of The Athletic during an article earlier this week. The 53-year-old states that Golden State made lemonade out of Thompson's departure, and that giving the 5x All-Star an inflated contract could have proved a lemon.
"Rather than overpay a declining player for the vibes, the Warriors parlayed him into two different players (Buddy Hield and Kyle Anderson) who combined will make less money than Thompson and a random minimum-contract guy", Hollinger wrote. "There’s a good chance each individually will matter more to the Warriors than Thompson would have too."
There's a strong, commonly-held belief that the totality of the Warriors offseason -- perhaps best quantified as Hield, Anderson and De'Anthony Melton in for Thompson, Chris Paul and Dario Saric -- makes them a better team entering next season.
Yet Hollinger's idea that Hield and Anderson will each be better for the franchise than Thompson is a far more bold and noteworthy take. His argument that Hield is a defensive upgrade from Thompson is particularly interesting given the former has never recorded a positive defensive box plus-minus in any of his eight seasons, while his career-high in defensive win shares is 1.6. For context, no less than nine Golden State players, including Thompson, recorded at least 1.6 defensive win shares last season.
The Warriors will be hoping that Hollinger's proven correct, with all three of their major offseason additions set to play important roles in Steve Kerr's rotation. Will it be enough to not only erase Thompson's departure but make the team significantly better? Only time will tell.