Getty Bob Myers and Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors.
The Golden State Warriors could face an important decision sometime very soon — whether to keep moving forward with the most expensive roster in league history, or dismantle it for the chance at a generational prospect.
Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle noted that with Steph Curry out for several weeks with a shoulder injury, the Warriors could quickly fall out of contention in the Western Conference with no clear path to improvement. While owner Joe Lacob has touted a “two timeline” path that keeps the Warriors in immediate title contention with a young core that can keep them a contender for years to come, Letourneau speculated that the Warriors could push all their chips to the second timeline and a chance to win the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes.
Warriors Facing Important Decision
As Letourneau noted, the Warriors were stumbling even before Curry’s injury. With Curry now out for several weeks, the situation could quickly become dire, he noted.
“As ESPN outlined Thursday, analytics suggest that the Warriors probably need at least 48 victories to avoid the play-in round,” he wrote. “Even if they maintain their current winning percentage until Curry’s anticipated return in mid-January, they would have to win about two-thirds of their remaining games to get there.”
Victor Wembanyama with a block then a side-step 3. This dude is unfair.
There is also no path for the Warriors to improve as they have no clear trade prospects, Letourneau added. Center James Wiseman has the chance to become a strong NBA player, but his potential alone won’t net a “proven” player in a trade. And any blockbuster deal would require Andrew Wiggins to match salaries, but the Warriors just made a major commitment to him with a contract extension.
That leaves another option — packing it in this season, shedding payroll, and tanking for one of the best prospects in a generation.
“If the Warriors pile up losses in Curry’s absence, Myers might have a hard time justifying a total payroll of $380 million for a team going nowhere,” Letourneau wrote. “The notion of tanking for Victor Wembanyama — the generational center who’s a lock to go No. 1 in June’s draft — at least would have to cross Myers’ mind.”
Wembanyama is a 7-foot-2 forward with deft ball skills and a strong outside shooting touch. As The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor noted, he is seen as the best prospect since LeBron James made the leap from high school to the NBA in 2003.
Moving Forward Without Curry
The Warriors will face a challenge over the coming weeks, facing the prospect of playing without both Curry and Wiggins, who remains out with an adductor injury. Head coach Steve Kerr said it will take smart play for everyone else to stay in striking distance of a playoff spot.
“With Steph out, I don’t think that anybody needs to try to do more. In fact, where we are now, everybody needs to do a bit less,” Kerr said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “What I mean by that is everybody is trying a little bit too hard. We’re having really good stretches of basketball, and then we take three difficult shots in a row instead of just moving the ball on or searching for a better one.
“I don’t think anybody’s role really changes, it’s more that our decision-making has to improve.”
But Kerr struck an optimistic tone, saying he believes the team’s young players have the capacity to improve.
“We’re getting close. I really love the guys on this team,” Kerr said. “They’re all so coachable. We’re close to breaking through. But the decision making has to improve. Basketball is a game of decisions. We’ve got to improve on our shot selection and ability to just make the easy play over and over again.”