The Golden State Warriors’ contending days with Stephen Curry taking the lead may be gone as we know it.
The Dubs missed the playoffs entirely in 2024 after falling short in the 9/10 play-in tournament game, and many lingering questions remain regarding what’s next for an accomplished veteran team that’s on the downturn. With Klay Thompson set to enter free agency, 2024 may truly mark the end of an era for the Warriors dynasty.
However, the Warriors appear intent to run it back and make the good times last for as long as possible with their core players nearing the end of their Hall of Fame careers. Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report wrote that “Golden State will ultimately relent and keep the core of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Thompson together” through the 2026-27 campaign. Curry will be 38, Green 36, and Thompson 36, so this will most likely mean that their historic trio will be retiring together.
Alas, nothing is guaranteed in the NBA. Klay Thompson appears to be angling for one last big payday; despite his decline, he still offers top-tier marksmanship from beyond the arc, which will always have a prominent place in an NBA rotation. Pincus brought up the Philadelphia 76ers as a team that could potentially snag Thompson from the Warriors, but he mentioned that the 76ers “may prefer” Paul George, who is a better defender at this point of their careers.
As frustrating as Thompson was to watch for a considerable portion of the 2023-24 season, he is still part of the Warriors’ DNA through and through. Another jersey will simply look wrong on Thompson. But anything can happen in the NBA, especially given the other roster-building problems the Warriors are facing.
Warriors, hard-stuck in the middle?
2022 was the perfect storm for the Warriors. Stephen Curry was at the top of his game, like always, but the Warriors surrounded him with two-way players and enough shot-creators/shot-makers that they ended up winning it all. The blueprint was there for the Dubs to continue contending in a post-Curry world; Jordan Poole looked like he was going to take the mantle of lead guard sooner than later.
Alas, the Warriors quickly figured out that straddling two timelines was as difficult of an undertaking as it can get. The Warriors soured on Poole not too long after winning the championship, they admitted that the James Wiseman draft pick in 2020 was a mistake, while Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody weren’t exactly ready to fill the shoes of a declining Klay Thompson.
Meanwhile, Andrew Wiggins’ play has declined over the past two seasons, as he looks like a shell of the version of himself that was at his two-way best during their run to the championship in 2022.
At this point, it’s looking like the Warriors’ upside is capped. As long as Stephen Curry is playing at an All-NBA level, the Dubs will be an above .500 team. But it’ll be interesting to see if there are any moves available to the Warriors that can make them a championship-caliber team once more in the final few years of Curry’s career.
Klay Thompson and Draymond Green struggled this past season
One of the main reasons the Warriors missed the playoffs during the 2023-24 season was the lackluster play of Klay Thompson and Draymond Green relative to their established standards. Thompson’s decline has been especially rough to watch. He has always been a jump-shooter first, but his decline in athleticism has made him more inconsistent than ever.
It got to the point where the Warriors decided that bringing Thompson off the bench was the best move they could make after how damaging his off-nights have become. Thompson is resilient, as he bounced back to finish the year strong, but in the play-in game, he proceeded to have the worst game of his career, going scoreless on 10 shot attempts in 32 minutes of play.
Meanwhile, Draymond Green was his usual self on the court, basketball-wise. He averaged 9-7-6 while anchoring the Warriors’ defense, and he was also launching threes with more confidence, finishing the season with a 39.5 three-point percentage — the best of his career. However, his antics made him a huge distraction all season long — costing the Warriors in the process.
Green couldn’t control his emotions, and it led to a few questionable actions on the court that literally hurt his opponents. The league had no choice but to suspend Green due to his history. The Warriors went 13-14 without Green in the lineup compared to 33-22 with him — a drop of around 12 percentage points in win rate.
Simply put, the Warriors will need these two Hall of Famers to turn back the clock for them to contend next season, and that’s if they manage to bring back Klay Thompson in free agency.
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