In the new season, outsiders and peers no longer consider the Golden State Warriors as championship contenders; instead, they are now seen more as a curiosity.
Recently, a head coach of another team mentioned in an interview: “Lately, I’ve only been thinking about one thing. The current Warriors are like those rock bands that can still go on tour. They still have their lead singer, and the lead singer is performing excellently, but this band is not what it used to be because they haven’t had a hit song in years.”
“So, the championship the Warriors won against Boston now seems more like a lifetime achievement award. At that time, they were able to win the title relying on experience and professionalism, while the Celtics were clearly not ready to handle these challenges.”
The current question is how the Golden State Warriors will respond to their slide into mediocrity.
The Warriors Are Still Striving to Land a ‘Big Fish’
The general feeling among opponents is that the sign-and-trade of Klay Thompson did not provide them with enough assets to rejoin the championship race. There’s still much work to be done on their roster, but general managers are unsure if they have the tools to complete the task.
“From some conversations we’ve had with them, it sounds like they want to make a big move,” said an insider from the league. “But they also don’t want to disrupt their existing lineup too much. Trading Klay was a big move for them, but perhaps not as significant as they imagined. They want to strengthen around Stephen (Curry) and Draymond (Green), but it’s proving difficult to do so.”
“They’ve been trying for quite some time to improve their current lineup—like last year at the trade deadline, they tried to push for something. I mean, they’ve always acted like they want to make significant changes, but I don’t know if they’ll really achieve it.”
Regarding the Warriors’ plans, the insider said: “They’re trying to add one or two new players to stay competitive. But after understanding their negotiation process, I don’t think they can truly get any game-changing players. However, they are indeed making efforts to upgrade their team roster to maximize Curry’s current stage.”
“They’re trying to make changes through some trades, even getting involved in complex trades involving multiple teams. These are all complicated operations they failed to pull off. I think the Klay trade wasn’t their initial plan.”
The Challenging Task Facing Dunleavy
The new season marks Dunleavy’s second year as the Warriors’ general manager, but he has actually worked in various roles within the organization for six years, initially as a pro scout, then as assistant general manager and vice president of basketball operations, taking over as general manager after Bob Myers stepped down. The rebuilding task he faces is undoubtedly arduous. Meanwhile, Myers appears quite relaxed on ESPN’s studio show.
“He left at the right time,” said a former colleague from the East. “I think his role there would become tiring. You know, when you have a strong owner like Joe Lacob who is so deeply involved, along with his two kids working for the team, I can understand how exhausting it could be. But together they did a great job and maintained their peak for a long time.”
“In this league, staying great is hard, and they’ve lasted longer than most teams. It’s hard to see them coming together again and being competitive, especially with strong teams like the Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Dallas Mavericks around, but it will certainly be interesting.”