Big swing needed to get back in title race
Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob’s body language did not suggest another offseason of dabbling at the edges.
Lacob sat courtside Tuesday night in Sacramento, where he squirmed and simmered throughout his team’s inglorious play-in departure. He alternately crossed his arms and stared forlornly at the ground, a portrait of frustration.
The Warriors got whacked, emphatically and embarrassingly. They looked light years behind the competition, not ahead of it.
Their 118-94 loss to the Kings should have made it clear to Lacob: This is the time to take a big swing. This is the moment to boldly try to reshape Golden State’s roster, before Stephen Curry shimmies off into the sunset.
Let’s be honest — the Warriors were not close to championship contenders this season. They stitched together a strong second half, absolutely, but they also went 2-13 against the top four teams (Oklahoma City, Denver, Minnesota and the Los Angeles Clippers) in the turbocharged Western Conference.
Widen the scope to include Dallas and Phoenix, the two other West teams to earn a playoff spot ahead of the play-in round, and the Warriors were 4-19 against those six teams. They feasted on the bottom half of the conference, going 22-7 against the other eight teams.
“We came up way short,” general manager Mike Dunleavy said at one point during his end-of-season news conference Thursday. Later, he added, “We know clearly what this team was. It wasn’t good enough.”
The complicated chore of
fixing this falls on Dunleavy, with Lacob’s involvement and checkbook. Lacob craves splashy, audacious moves, as he showed by signing Kevin Durant in 2016 and (reportedly) inquiring about LeBron James in February.
So what does splashy and audacious look like this summer? Giannis Antetokounmpo probably isn’t available, but maybe the Warriors make a run at Karl-Anthony Towns, long a target of their affection, if the Timberwolves flame out in their firstround playoff series against the Suns.
Minnesota hasn’t reached the conference semifinals in 20 years; if the T-Wolves fall short with a 56-win team, might they rethink their roster and consider dealing Towns? Towns would address Golden State’s need for size (he’s a 7footer), more outside shooting (39.8% career from 3-point land, including 41.6% this season) and relative youth (28).
Or maybe the Warriors call Atlanta and make a pitch for Dejounte Murray. The Hawks have regressed each of the past three seasons, so perhaps they’d be open to a trade. Murray, 27, offers the type of bouncy player the Warriors sorely lack outside of Jonathan Kuminga — whom they might need to relinquish to acquire an established player.
Portland forward Jerami Grant, who was linked to the Warriors in trade rumors at the deadline? Indiana’s Pascal Siakam, an unrestricted free agentto-be? New Orleans’ Brandon Ingram, entering the final year of his contract?
We’re just thinking out loud here, completely understanding that these players might not be available at a reasonable cost. But the wider point is still relevant: The Warriors need to become bold if they want to seriously contend for a fifth championship in the Curry Era.
Asked how realistic it is to acquire a marquee player this offseason, Dunleavy offered a predictably measured response.
“That’s what we have to look at, for sure,” he said. “We’ve also got to be mindful of the player, who it is, the age of the player, the skill set — it’s all got to fit to put the chips on the table to make a move.
“Those are the things we’ll kind of look at and evaluate. There are multiple ways to get better, and that’s certainly one of them.”
The Warriors made a logical effort to strengthen Curry’s supporting cast last summer. They unloaded Jordan Poole for Chris Paul, an upgrade in the short term. They added a secondary piece in Dario Saric, who was solid in the season’s first half and then faded. They connected in the draft with Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis.
By most barometers, they were a better team this season than last. Yet they lost ground in the conference — sixth seed in 2023, 10th seed this year — and started their offseason April 17.
Plus, the West will not get easier anytime soon.
“We have to think about where we are in relation to the rest of the conference,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “It’s way harder now than it was nine years ago to succeed in this conference. So this summer there’s a lot of self-reflection — we have to figure out what we’re going to do roster-wise.”
That quest begins with resolving Klay Thompson’s future, but everyone not named Curry should be in play. Draymond Green suggested his return is not assured, twice mentioning that (unprompted) in his postgame news conference Tuesday. Andrew Wiggins remains a logical trade option after his rocky season.
The Warriors had a transcendent run from 2015 through ’19, winning three championships and reaching the Finals all five seasons. The five years since then: one title, two playoff berths and three seasons without any playoff games. That’s a big step backward.
Now it’s time for a big swing.