Simply two years in the past, the Golden State Warriors gained their fourth NBA championship in eight seasons, and it was thought that they’d a minimum of have an actual shot at getting one other ring quickly afterward.
Along with their outdated guard of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Inexperienced, that they had new, youthful contributors comparable to Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole, Kevon Looney and Jonathan Kuminga.
However they’ve as a substitute progressively misplaced their mojo since, and this previous season, they missed the playoffs fully.
On Monday, in addition they misplaced Thompson to the Dallas Mavericks, which suggests the Warriors’ dynasty is now formally useless, and Nick Wright stated on Fox Sports activities 1’s “First Things First” that Golden State’s unwillingness to pay Thompson is an indication they’ve “turned the page.”
“The Warriors weren’t willing to give Klay Malik Monk money? … They are turning the page.”
— @getnickwright on why he views this as the top of the top for GSW: pic.twitter.com/m8lUhHTQfw
— First Issues First (@FTFonFS1) July 1, 2024
The truth is that Golden State had a particularly excessive payroll and that Thompson merely isn’t fairly as nice a participant as he was once.
He was once some of the deadly 3-point shooters within the league, regardless of the defensive protection he was dealing with, and he was additionally an above-average defender.
However ACL and Achilles accidents a couple of years in the past have rendered him a good-but-not-great and inconsistent shooter who’s now a mediocre, if not a poor, defender.
Apparently, the Warriors needed to trim their payroll, and now the problem for them is to replenish their roster with the intention to stay aggressive in Curry’s closing excellent seasons.
That won’t be straightforward, given the restricted choices out there in the marketplace.
