The Golden State Warriors are straight tripping.
They continue to act as if they have all day to mount another championship run.
In reality, time is running out. Golden State’s championship biological clock is ticking so loud that they can’t sleep at night.
They are trying to mix the old with the new — win now and in the future.
The Warriors’ future is now.
There are no five-year plans anymore. Sports aren’t just about being good or relevant for a number of years. It’s about trying to give yourself a real chance to win a championship that season. You deal with the future when you get there.
You can’t waste the closing-window years of Steph Curry. You have to build a team for today, even if it means giving up potential of young players for proven production from veterans.
By now, many believed the Warriors would have secured another veteran star player to go with the team’s winning nucleus of Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
With training camp opening in less than a month, it doesn’t appear the Warriors are heading in that direction. It just makes no sense.
In fact, Golden State has been rumored to be looking at Philadelphia 76ers disgruntled star Ben Simmons. But it doesn’t seem likely at this point.
For sure, the Warriors shouldn’t turn over everything, including the kitchen sink, just to get a deal done. The 76ers are simply asking for way too much. Before the draft, Philly wanted Andrew Wiggins, James Wiseman, the seventh and 14th picks and two future first-rounders.
Even still, they are still looking for a king’s ransom.
And if not that deal, the Warriors should have targeted another star that would fit and give them a shot at yet another championship. Don’t forget, those last two championships only came along when they added all-world Kevin Durant to the Three Musketeers.
Now, the Warriors think they can survive the tough Western Conference with the same three players they had when they won their first of three championships back in 2015.
Stop it.
At the NBA draft, many thought the Warriors were going to make a huge splash.
Nope.
They didn’t trade their first-round pick, and instead took Jonathan Kuminga seventh overall. With the 14th pick in the first round, they took Moses Moody.
Nice, if your gameplay is about being good and rebuilding. It shouldn’t be.
And let’s face it: the last time we saw Curry, Thompson and Green in a championship, they choked down a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals to Cleveland. It was the first time a team blew a 3-1 lead in the championship in NBA history.
The Warriors can’t honestly believe that they have enough to compete for a title this season. It’s a pipe dream when you think of where their Big 3 is now.
Curry had a great season last year — was definitely in the MVP conversation — and the team didn’t even make the playoffs.
Thompson will be back. But he has missed the last two years with major injuries. Sure, you hope he can return to form. But there’s no guarantee at all.
And Green isn’t getting better. He’s aging and going the other way.
Another star just might have been able to elevate them in the conference against the senior-citizen Lakers, the Kawhi-less Clippers and the Suns, who went to the Finals, but revealed that they were fugazi.
LeBron James isn’t the best example of how you want your franchise to look after he bolts. It’s usually wrecked beyond repair.
But you have to give him credit that his goal is always about trying to win in the now.
So many times, James has demanded his front office trade away promising young players in an attempt to help him now. It’s smart. James doesn’t have time to let a young player develop and grow.
James, about to start his 19th season, needs an instant formula where you add water and stir.
Curry’s Warriors should be thinking the same way. Hoping and wishing that young players come through for them, as Curry’s career winds down, is a huge risk.
Shame on Golden State for not being all in.
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