Here we are at the end of August.  The NBA is being played in a bubble in an altered season which was close to being cancelled due to an ongoing global pandemic.  The Warriors, along with 7 other teams, have had their season cut short.  The NBA playoffs were nearly cancelled due to protest of yet another horrific incident involving police brutality.  All in the wake of the tragic passing of Kobe Bryant.  If someone had told me on New Years Eve that all of the above mentioned things would take place in the coming months I would have laughed at how outrageous it sounded.  But here we are. Life has somehow continued to go on in the midst of all the madness that has been 2020 thus far and it will continue to go on for the Golden State Warriors as well. 

I’ve been asked many times what my thoughts are on the upcoming GSW season via my social channels so I figured I’d jot some notes down here as to how I can see things playing out.  

Securing the number 2 pick in the NBA Draft by way of a perfectly executed tank job has really opened up many options for the Warriors.  It allows them to potentially select one of the top prospects in the draft.  Or, they could trade down in the draft and secure more assets.  Or, they could trade the pick all together for something of interest. Or, they could package the pick along with some other pieces (i.e. Pick + Wiggins + ?, etc).

My gut tells me that the Golden State front office will not entertain any transactions that will involve building for the future.  

Anything which involved or resembled future development took place this season.  And many good things came of the rebuilding year that could help the Warriors contend next season.  The play of Eric Paschall and Marquese Chriss were very well received and somewhat unexpected.  The addition of Andrew Wiggins via D’Angelo Russell/Kevin Durant sign-and-trade was spectacular especially given the fact that KD was a free agent and the Warriors could have easily lost KD and received nothing in return. So the rebuilding has happened quickly and the remaining core players should be very well rested and ready to contend for another championship by the start of next season, whenever that is.

It’s clear that the window for another few years of championship contention is open right now given the core players of Curry, Thompson and Green all being in their physical + mental prime.  

With that said I can see Warriors’ front office doing whatever it takes to bring in another big name.  By now we’ve all heard rumblings of superstar names such as the Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo, or the Sixers’ Joel Embiid being used in the same sentence as the Golden State Warriors.  

For one of the above mentioned guys to end up in a Warriors uniform would mean two things would need to happen.  First, it would mean that one of the said players would be looking to get shopped. Maybe due to being unhappy with their current situation with their team.  For Giannis and Embiid this would likely mean an early exit from the playoffs.  Embiid has already qualified for this part.  Secondly, at least for a Giannis deal to happen, it would likely mean that Golden State would have to give up one of their core guys (Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, or Draymond Green) in a trade situation.

For the Warriors to part ways with one of those guys it would take someone more impactful than Embiid and closer to a player of Giannis’ caliber.  The only player on the Warriors that can be considered untouchable for Golden State in a trade situation would be Curry for obvious reasons.  For Embiid however, I can see the Warriors willing to part ways with Andrew Wiggins + Pick #2 + another piece.  For Giannis the package would need to look more like Andrew Wiggins + Pick #2 + Klay Thompson/Draymond Green.  The tricky part here for Golden State is that a deal would all but already need to be done with the Bucks for this to happen without anything leaking out to the public or to said players on the trading block.  The last thing the Warriors would want is for Thompson or Green to get wind of a trade rumor and have it negatively impact chemistry if a potential Giannis deal doesn’t go through.

Golden State will need to tread lightly but I think if there is any sign that Giannis may be interested in playing for Golden State a very strong trade offer will be sent the Bucks’ way. 

If a trade for the Bucks’ superstar doesn’t pan out I can see Golden State setting their sights on Embiid while also attempting to keep their core together. 

Aside from the blockbuster off-season moves I think Golden State will look to bolster their defense as the glaring void from Andre Iguodala and Durant no longer leading the defensive charge is something that needs to be addressed.  

I’m clearly no expert in the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement however I do believe the Warriors have a taxpayer mid-level exception worth about $6M and a traded player exception worth around $17M.  I’d assume the GSWs’ front office tries to make the most of these and brings in some savvy veteran free agents that are known to be high IQ players with excellent defensive acumen and who can drill an open 3. Just google ‘2021 free agents’ and sort out all the players who match my description.

Lastly, if the Warriors miss on any big name trades I still think they make good use of their TPE and MLE to provide more defensive support for the team.  By adding more defensive presence to the team the Warriors will still be in title contention.  I would never count a team that has Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green all health out of being competitive at the highest level.

The one thing that I have become confident about in the Joe Lacob era is that Golden State is not afraid to spend money and they never leave any stone unturned.  I have no doubt that they will do anything in their power help set up Curry and company to be in the best possible position to bring home some more hardware. 

With all that said, I miss Warriors basketball.