2019-20 Golden State Warriors

2018-19: 57-25 (NBA Runner-up)
Draft picks: 28, 58

Signed for next season ($120.9m): Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant (player option), Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, Damian Jones, Jacob Evans, Alfonzo McKinnie
Man, I don't know where this team goes--they went from one of the great dynasties of all time to massively bloated and dangerously teetering into tank territory in two games!
So the buzz all year was that Durant would be ignoring his $30.1m player option and heading to NYK. But once he blew out his Achilles' who knows what'll happen? If I were KD, I'd take the option, heal up in Golden State for the year, cheer on the team, then bounce to NYK next summer; that said, he could go to NYK anyway and sit out next year there, but is that how he wants to start off his Knicks tenure: in a walking boat at the end of the bench for a whole frickin' year while the team stinks? That don't sound good. But if he stays, that will cost the $30m they were going to give Klay. But when Klay blew out his ACL, now they might end up paying $60m for no production! Now Iguodala becomes a trade chip, now Livingston probably has to get cut, now there's absolutely no way they can bring back Cousins since he's hurt too and now you're asking Curry to do everything--which will make him more likely for a crippling injury too!--and next year they gotta pay Draymond. Oh, and they lost the championship and they're moving into a new arena next year. Suddenly the best team ever looks like the most expensive white elephant of all time (the '27 Yankees becomes the Spruce Goose).
If Durant wants to stay, the Warriors just live with it, whether he's staying long term or not. Frankly they should pay him whatever he wants for as long as he wants, but losing KD and Klay (and Cousins) simultaneously hurts bad. Bad! I dunno what they do or how this works out but the Warriors will not win the 2020 championship--no way, no how, not possible.


This summer's free agents: Klay Thompson, DeMarcus Cousins, Andrew Bogut, Jonas Jerebko, Kevon Looney, Quinn Cook, Jordan Bell
Gotta bring back Klay no matter what it costs. Just pay the man.
When Cousins got hurt at the beginning of the playoffs it looked like a Groundhog Day scenario: suddenly rather than jetting off to big time money, Cousins would probably be repeating his MLE stint with the Warriors--maybe with the Warriors. But with the other injuries they've sustained, I don't see how that's remotely possible (and probably was never likely anyway). I think Cousins ends up being NYK's next big thing.
Bogut was good for some stability against the Clippers and Blazers but was not good against the Rockets and pretty terrible against the Raptors. Nice to see him out there again but I'm confident that's the last we'll ever see of Bogut.
Jerebko is a cult-like figure in the NBA, the kind of guy that will get big money from somebody but it won't be the Warriors. I can see him with Nuggets, Clippers, Rockets, Knicks, Nets, Magic, Heat, Hornets, Cavs, Spurs, Grizzlies--seriously Princeton could use a guy like Jerebko. He'll be somewhere but I doubt it'll be Golden State.
For all the talk of the heroes playing hurt, more could've been made of Looney playing in constant pain--and playing pretty well at times. He became a reliable and increasingly necessary part of their offense throughout the playoffs. I'm sure they'd love to keep him but he might command more than they'd be able to give right now. Sorry, kid, I think he's moving on.
Cook and Bell both had nice moments and they are low cost enough for Golden State to continue using them, so I can see both those guys coming back.


For the first time in years, the Warriors might need this draft pick to actually contribute right away. (Hmmm, suppose the Hawks would take a nice reliable vet PG like Livingston and #28 for #17? Gives the Warriors a slightly better chance of getting an impact player) At #28 it looks like they might have a shot at KZ Okpala (Stanford), a guy I'm guessing they'd go for him if he was there. At #58 they might be more proactive than usual about their European scouting or see if they can score Brian Bowen (Louisville) for a wild card.


Next year's lineup:
PG Curry, SG McKinnie, SF Iguodala, PF Draymond, C Jones with Evans and Livingston off the bench.

Ouch! That lack of depth in the playoffs looms even larger when the small coterie gets even smaller. I just don't see how the Warriors are anything other than bad next year. Curry and Draymond and no one else is not gonna get it done--not with the Lakers, Mavs, Kings and Clippers on the move. I don't see how this team will be any good, they're gonna be scouting NCAA for the first time in years.