For more than a decade and a half, the Warriors’ Steph Curry’s greatness has dazzled players, coaches, and fans alike. Anyone lucky enough to be alive during this time and tune in to a Golden State Warriors game has been treated to countless showstopping performances from the greatest shooter of all time. Now, with the living legend turning 38 years old last month, the finish line may not exactly be imminent, but it is in sight.
Even though Curry is still performing at an extremely high level, his body will likely betray him before his skills do. He was limited to just 43 games during the regular season, his fewest since the 2019-20 season. The team obviously struggled as a result, and not to mention, Jimmy Butler was lost for the season with a torn ACL. While it is a lot to ask of a team to be successful when its two best players miss massive amounts of time, the problem is that they weren’t overly impressive when both guys were healthy.
A Calamity Of Errors
When the Warriors won their fourth title in the Curry era in June 2022, it seemed like reports of the dynasty’s death had been greatly exaggerated. Steph dominated the finals and was clearly still at the top of his game. Klay Thompson and Draymond Green proved they were still championship-level contributors. Jordan Poole appeared to be an emerging star, and Andrew Wiggins looked like the player he was billed as coming out of Kansas.
With Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, and James Wiseman waiting in the wings, the Warriors were in position to enjoy another period of prolonged success. Fast forward to the present, and Curry, Green, and Moody are the only ones still on the team, and they haven’t been past the second round of the playoffs since.
There is blame to share in terms of whose fault it is that this secondary championship window has been squandered so far. The front office wanted to take a two-timeline approach to building the team and developing the young players while also competing for championships. This sounds like a great idea on paper, but the problem is that the game is played on hardwood. There’s a reason why this approach doesn’t work in the NBA, and it’s because one or both timelines will crumble. In the Warriors’ situation, it was both of them.
Steve Kerr has a track record of preferring to work with predominantly veteran players over young ones. As an experienced, championship-winning coach, he knows what it takes to win. That being said, he had a hand in stunting the development of guys like Kuminga and Wiseman. The real issue, though, was the disconnect between Kerr and the front office. If he didn’t want to rely on the young players, then they should have been traded for win-now type players while their values were still high. The Poole situation was a much more complex and sad one, but Kuminga, Wiseman, and he all ended up being shipped out for pennies on the dollar anyway. The Warriors missed their opportunity to get Curry legitimate running mates when they had the chance, and they’ve been playing from behind ever since.
Warriors Steph Curry’s Greatness Should Be Maximized
To the front office’s credit, they have made efforts to put big-name talent around Curry in recent years. The addition of Butler last season definitely revitalized the team and made them dangerous in the playoffs. Unfortunately, the problem is that they were eliminated by the Timberwolves in the second round once Curry was out with an injury, and then this year, both went down with significant injuries. Therefore, the true full potential of a Curry and Butler partnership is not completely known, and neither one of them has time to waste figuring out the answer.
The rumors this past trade deadline linking the Warriors to Giannis Antetokounmpo gave fans some semblance of hope that they could be real contenders. Much to Golden State’s chagrin, the underperforming Milwaukee Bucks ultimately decided to postpone a decision for the offseason. This is likely to hinder the Warriors’ ability to land the Greek Freak in a trade, as other teams will now have more assets to throw at Milwaukee than they did at the deadline.
The Dubs’ main avenue to getting a deal done remains the same with their future draft picks. It remains to be seen if Giannis would even be interested in joining the Warriors, which is important because his contract only runs through next season. For that reason, it is unlikely a team would commit to trading the massive haul it will take to acquire him unless they were given some assurance he would sign a long-term deal.
The point being made here is that the dark days are coming soon for the Warriors, whether they want to admit it or not. This large portion of last season without Curry was a glimpse into what the future could look like for The Bay’s team. With so much uncertainty looming around the team, including whether or not Kerr will return next season, one thing is for certain: Curry needs more help. The eventual rebuild is going to be ugly, whether the Warriors keep their picks or not. Push all the chips to the middle for the last few years of Curry’s career and give him a legitimate opportunity to compete for one more ring.
