Warriors may have fallen into huge stroke of luck stemming from offseason moves

If the Golden State Warriors had their way, All-Star forwards Paul George and Lauri Markkanen would each be repping their jerseys and playing in the Bay this season.

The Warriors had tried to acquire both George and Markkanen during the offseason -- the former prior to free agency in the final days of June, and the Finnish international throughout July and early August.

The audacious plan failed as neither the L.A Clippers or Utah Jazz were willing to execute a trade, leaving Mike Dunleavy Jr. and the Golden State front office to pivot into an entirely different direction.

Did the Warriors fall into major luck during the offseason?

The 2024 offseason could prove to be a major sliding doors moment for the organization. The Warriors are currently flying at 10-2, managing just fine with a roster of enormous depth rather than a second true star next to Stephen Curry.

Dunleavy is gaining huge credit for how he's built this roster, having brought in De'Anthony Melton, Kyle Anderson and Buddy Hield during free agency, and even Lindy Waters III prior in a smart and underrated draft day move.

Melton was quickly becoming a valuable starter prior to Tuesday's unfortunate ACL sprain against the Dallas Mavericks, Anderson has proven every bit the versatile forward fans expected, and Hield has been one of the biggest surprises in the league.

Yet it's easy to forget that the Warriors likely wouldn't have any of those three players had the Clippers been willing to trade George rather than let him walk to the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency. It would have required far more financial commitment from Golden State, leaving them unable to sign Melton and it far more difficult to execute the six-team sign-and-trade for Hield and Anderson.

The individual form of George and Markkanen has left a lot to be desired too, with both having had some injury issues. George is averaging 16.5 points on less 40% shooting from the floor and 31.1% from 3-point range, while Markkanen is at 17.2 points per game on 42.5% shooting. As a result, their respective teams have a combined 5-19 record so far this season.

Hield himself is averaging more points than both on far greater efficiency. The veteran sharpshooter is on a four-year, $37.8 million contract, while both George ($49.2 million) and Markkanen ($42.2 million) are making in excess of that just this season alone.

Dunleavy is garnering plenty of praise for his offseason moves, but was it a case of falling into a massive stroke of luck more than anything? There is certainly a mix of good management and good fortune -- the Warrior GM certainly deserves recognition for the state of this current roster, while also acknowledging that part of it only came about because of the decisions of rival GM's. In fairness, that's always the case when it comes to roster building.