Getty Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors runs off the court after being ejected.
The fallout from Draymond Green’s indefinite suspension was already felt on Thursday, December 14, when the Golden State Warriors dropped their third straight game.
Not even Steve Kerr’s starting lineup tweak and Klay Thompson‘s vintage performance could save them from dropping their straight game.
So the question that begs for an answer is “What’s next for the Warriors?”
Their new general manager Mike Dunleavy, Jr. is still holding out some hope that this Golden State roster he assembled can still turn things around.
“I want to evaluate,” Dunleavy told reporters before the Warriors lost to the Clippers, “get an opportunity to see some of these other guys play some more.”
“Look this team was built around great depth. We’ve got really good depth that’s enabled us to stay in and be really competitive in a lot of these games when we’ve missed guys. We’ll continue to lean into that and we’ll see how it goes,” he added.
That depth is also driving Kerr nuts as he continually shuffles the lineup searching for the right mix on the floor in between injuries to key players, Green’s erratic behavior and their traditional starting unit’s struggles.
Stephen Curry Needs Help
Only their 35-year-old superstar Stephen Curry has been consistent from Day One.
“The overarching view is there are two things I feel are certain: Steph’s still elite and we’ve got great depth and from there I think we just kicked some games away. You guys have seen it whether it’s late game execution, things like that,” Dunleavy said.
“We’re not getting blown out by 25 points. I think that’d be a different thing, a different feeling if we were. Look, I think we’re right there but at some point, our record is going to have to change. We’re going to have to creep past .500 and start winning some games and if not then we got to re-evaluate.”
Dunleavy said their record does not speak how good their team is. He pointed out their close losses, and blown leads. To him, it’s just a matter of cleaning up some of their late-game executions.
But without Green, their most versatile defender and a dynamic playmaker, the Warriors face a tougher challenge to right the ship that is starting to sink.
Draymond Green in Limbo?
Dunleavy adamantly said Green is still a big part of the Warriors’ future. He said the same thing before he traded Jordan Poole last summer.
“We’re committed to him,” Dunleavy said of Green. “He’s been here for a long time. He’s hung a ton of banners and means so much to this organization. Like I said before, I think this is about turning this thing into a positive and getting better and so I think if that happens we feel really good.”
That “if” part is a volatile variable as Green will be playing with a bull’s eye target on his back whenever he returns. Opposing teams will test his temperament. His absence looms large on the Warriors season.
“The bigger impact will be the next 15-20 games and that’ll probably determine where we go,” Dunleavy said. “More than this specific incident or this time away for [Green], the reality of the situation is if you’re evaluating Draymond, his ability this year has been great. His availability is not and so we need him to be more available because when he plays he’s really good, we’re really good and that’s the main thing.”
Green is on the first year of a $100 million, four-year extension he signed in the offseason.
Can the Warriors Get Better?
The Warriors are teetering as they are now four games below .500 and three games outside the play-in tournament. It is unacceptable for a team that has the league’s highest payroll that could reach a record $400 million, including luxury taxes.
Eleven of their next 20 games will be against teams with winning records.
“As always the case with Joe Lacob and this ownership group, it’s always about being better,” Dunleavy said. “There’s clearly a willingness to spend. They are always okay with that and so for us it’s finding a way to make the team better specifically this year.”
The rookie GM has his work cut out for him.