After an exciting win in Minnesota on Wednesday night, the Golden State Warriors are back to a .500 record. That hardly seems to be something to cheer about, particularly given the franchise had the league and their fans believing earlier this season that they could contend for another title.
They Warriors got off to a blisteringly hot start and looked like the ball-movement and defensively dominant Golden State of old. Now at 20-20, they sit at the 10th seed and are tied in losses with the 11th and 12th seeds.
Stephen Curry and Draymond Green have recently commented on the team's state, and their response has been surprising. The Draymond and Curry comments implied that the aging stars aren’t hugely worried about competing for a championship this season -- at least not if it means mortgaging the Warriors' future.
Curry's comments came after the Warriors recent loss in Toronto, with the 2x MVP speaking on whether the front office should be doing more to sacrifice the future and prioritize the remainder of his prime.
"Nobody wants to be stale or be in a situation where you're passing up opportunities. But it doesn't mean that you're desperate, just flinging assets all around the place just because you want to do something...Desperate trades or desperate moves that deplete the future, there is a responsibility on allowing or keeping the franchise in a good space and good spot when it comes to where we leave this thing when we're done," Curry said.
As the Warriors are presently constructed, they are not going to be contending for an NBA championship. Curry’s comments about not wanting to be “desperate” surely means he is comfortable with the team not making any trades before this deadline, and that he therefore may be looking to next season and beyond to contend rather than this year. This could mean more rested games and taking a bit more of a backseat while some of the younger assets develop.
Green had similar comments when asked about the Warriors' trade opportunities, stating last week in Detroit that he, Curry and Steve Kerr "all disagree with mortgaging off the future of this organization."
So Green and Curry don’t seem too worried. Their lack of desperation to get better can mean a lot of things. Maybe they didn’t like their chances of contending with the available trade options. Perhaps they are happy with what they’ve done and don’t want to finish their career depleting the organization of assets while not winning.
Regardless, don’t sleep on these two and the Warriors to scheme up something big when the opportunity arises. It doesn’t, however, look like that is happening prior to the February 6 deadline.