As Golden State Warriors fans come down from the disappointment (or relief) that the team didn’t land LeBron James, it seems the franchise is already in damage control after what has amounted to a failed offseason in the estimation of many fans.
Not only did the Warriors not lure James to the Bay Area, they failed to land their White Whale after the Miami Heat traded for Giannis Antetokounmpo following years in which it seemed like Golden State was saving its assets to make a run at the two-time MVP.
Many Warriors fans were also upset that the team was unable to land Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown after the Philadelphia 76ers got him for a fairly low price. Now we are hearing reports that the Celtics did not like any of the Warriors’ trade assets, which clearly seems to be leaked from the Warriors’ organization to try to defend against the claim that they didn’t push hard enough for Brown.
Missing out on James is just the icing on the cake and to make matters worse, agent Rich Paul said that LeBron had narrowed it down to the Warriors and 76ers in his decision, but obviously he felt like Philly gave him a better chance to win a title.
There were other options for the Warriors to appeal to James
It would not have necessarily taken a trade for Brown or Giannis to entice James. Maybe if the Warriors could’ve pulled off a trade for Trey Murphy III of the New Orleans Pelicans that would have made them a more enticing spot. They also could have tried to trade for Anthony Davis if they wanted his former championship teammate.
Ultimately, the Warriors now seem content to basically just run it back. There are some moves they could make to improve the team, but no matter what they do at this point of the offseason, it's going to be viewed as a failure by the majority of fans.
We already know that owner Joe Lacob is looking beyond the Stephen Curry era. He wants to prove that the Warriors can remain relevant without their star player. It's wishful thinking, but that seems to be the direction the organization is going.
Expect more reports to come out and “anonymous sources” who “had familiarity with discussions” to come out in the coming days and weeks to try to spin a narrative that the Warriors did everything they could. Maybe they did, but many fans aren’t going to believe it based on the way the team has operated in recent years.
Add us as a preferred source on Google