Warriors already enjoying major silver lining from 2024 playoff absence

No NBA team has tasted more success over the past decade than the Golden State Warriors, and yet that success has sometimes been a detriment to the start of the following season.

The further you go in the NBA playoffs, the more miles on the legs and the less offseason you have to unwind and recover. It's only natural then that the Warriors haven't always started seasons with a full bill of health -- that's difficult for any team let alone one coming off a deep playoff run.

After coming off a second-round exit in 2023, Draymond Green was limited and missed the first two games of last season due to injury, before returning on a minutes restriction. Following the triumphant championship in 2022, Golden State were cautious with Klay Thompson who wasn't involved in scrimmages during training camp, only played in one preseason game, and played much of the first period of the regular season on a minutes restriction. Before that he'd entered the 2019, 2020 and 2021 training camps on the sidelines recovering from major injuries.

The Warriors are already benefiting from their playoff absence

While the Warriors exit in the Play-In Tournament last season was nothing short of disappointing, the one silver lining was always that it gave them a full offseason to reset, recover, and be in the best shape possible to attack their next campaign.

Fortunately that appears to have come to fruition, with general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. telling reporters on Thursday that the team is at full health entering training camp in Hawaii starting next week.

There is enough storylines leading into training camp without adding injury issues to the equation, so this is a welcome change for Golden State and assuredly a rare circumstance across the league. That doesn't mean their won't be a close focus on a few players from a health standpoint throughout the preseason, starting with two of the team's best defenders.

Gary Payton II is the obvious one, having played in just 66 of a possible 164 regular season games over the past two years due to a variety of issues. While Dunleavy may have pointed to full health during his press conference on Thursday, there's still some conjecture on exactly how fit Payton is heading into the season.

Monte Poole of NBC Sports reported on Wednesday that one source said "he looks good," while another was more reserved in saying "so far, so good." Poole also asked Payton's father, 9x All-Star Gary Sr., who wasn't shy in suggesting he's not quite at 100%.

“He’s doing good. Just a few nicks here and there. A little thing with his elbow, but nothing he can’t play through," Payton said. "His conditioning is good. I believe he’ll be ready (for training camp).”

Amid the array of players the Warriors have brought in this offseason, Payton has become somewhat of a forgotten piece due to his unavailiblity across the past two seasons. However, it's not as if the 31-year-old has lost his positive impact when on the floor, with Golden State a +7.5 net rating in his minutes last season, compared to +1.7 when he was off the floor.

One of those players the Warriors have brought in, De'Anthony Melton, also figures to be a major watch in preseason after a back injury limited the 26-year-old to just 38 games with the Philadelphia 76ers last season.

But if it's more about seeing how players are moving on the court rather than not seeing them at all, then that's a great sign for Golden State entering the season. Furthermore it will only strengthen the battle for roles and minutes during training camp, something Steve Kerr has already alluded to on multiple occasions.

Remember, the last time the Warriors missed the playoffs and got a full offseason, they started the following year 18-2 which ultimately propelled them to championship glory later that season.