All season long, Warriors fans (myself included) have been confused about the direction of the organization, and we all have a right to be. At the beginning of the season, Joe Lacob seemed like he was balls-to-the-wall on board to win, as he rebuked the mere thought of tanking after Klay Thompson’s injury: “'We're not tanking. If anyone's even thinking that, get it off your mind. Forget it. Give me options. What can we do to make this team as good as we can make it?"

So, what happened? Lacob and Myers chose to trade for Kelly Oubre Jr. to work to replace the loss of Thompson, which resulted in a massive $68M luxury tax bill to put the Warriors organization in an even deeper spending hole. No biggie, right? If Lacob’s on board to win, we should all be on board to win. Plus, a fully-healthy Steph, Draymond, Oubre, Wiggins and Wiseman was a lineup to be excited for.

Fast forward to now. We’re two-thirds of the way into the season, and this is what Golden State has done to “make this team as good as we can make it”:

Steve Kerr, with all due respect, can be summed up by two words: vibes only.

Steph Curry has visually yelled at his teammates for the first time in his career.

The team has suffered numerous 20+ point blowouts on national TV.

The coaching staff gave Brad Wanamaker significant minutes in the rotation.

James Wiseman has started, been benched, started, and then was benched again.

Jordan Poole and Nico Mannion were sent to the G-League, were recalled 2 weeks later, and now Nico Mannion is the full-time backup point guard.

The beloved Marquese Chriss was traded for draft rights to Cady Lalanne (?).

Kelly Oubre Jr., on the last year of his deal, heading into a pricey free agency period, wasn’t flipped for guaranteed help.

Yesterday, after Bob Myers said that the front office would “be aggressive” during the trade deadline, it seemed like the exact opposite happened. Brad Wanamaker was offloaded for cash, and Marquese Chriss and cash were traded for a player that hasn’t played in the NBA since 2015. Now, I guess you could say those were “trades,” but those were just about the least aggressive trade moves the Warriors could’ve made.

To be fair, though, the success of this year’s trade deadline won’t really be known until the buyout market has closed and we find out what Kelly Oubre Jr.’s long term intentions are. If Golden State were to use their trade exception money to nab a useful vet that will help push them into playoff contention, great. If Oubre Jr. takes a pay cut to keep the luxury tax down and signs with the Warriors during the off season, fabulous! But, let’s be honest, both of those options seem unlikely.

To me, the Warriors seem like a team stuck between a rock and a hard place. As a fanbase, we know that the front office ultimately wants the championship glory again, but we have also recently seen that the front office is unadaptable, which is contradictory to how they’ve been perceived in the past.

To make matters worse, Warriors fans have salivated over watching Anthony Edwards and Lamelo Ball play freely, while simultaneously shielding their eyes when watching an equally talented James Wiseman beat himself up after every negative run for a team that prides itself in playing with “joy.”

Something’s gotta give. Maybe that means the Warriors front office and coaching staff finally has to wake up and smell the roses, or maybe it means that us, the fanbase, should trust that the organization we all love so dearly isn’t ready to give up yet—that they are planning on maximizing Curry’s prime, transforming James Wiseman from the colt to the stallion that he can be, turning Jordan Poole into one of the league’s best sixth men, and ultimately raising yet another Larry O’Brien trophy. A championship that, this time, can’t be debated among butt-hurt analysts and doubters. A championship that immortalizes Curry, Thompson and Green, the three best-drafted players in Warriors history. A championship that closes an old chapter, yet opens the page to a new, thriving story of excellently-developed young players.

I believe the Warriors can figure this out, lame trade deadline and all. I encourage you to do the same.