There’s a lot to like, and a lot to fear.
Two years ago, the Golden State Warriors were riding high into training camp. They were just a few months removed from shocking the NBA landscape with their fourth championship in eight years, and had retained the core that had led them there.
Klay Thompson was fully back from his catastrophic injuries. Andrew Wiggins was a newly-minted All-Star. Jordan Poole looked like he soon would be, too. Everything was golden.
And then it all fell apart. By the time the season began, the tension was thick following contentious practices that had ultimately led to Draymond Green punching Poole. Wiggins’ play took a step backwards as he missed more than half the season due to injuries and personal reasons. Thompson didn’t build on his triumphant return, and Poole took a massive step backwards. The Warriors won nine fewer games than in their championship campaign, and were fairly easily dismissed in the Western Conference Semifinals.
A year ago, the Warriors weren’t riding so high, but there was reason for optimism. With a full season under his belt, many expected Thompson to return to his All-Star ways. Presumably Wiggins wouldn’t miss 47 games again, and would play closer to his All-Star ways. Poole’s struggles had been swapped for the Hall of Fame resumé of Chris Paul, which figured to dramatically improve the locker room chemistry, as well. Jonathan Kuminga looked poised for a breakout season.
The Warriors did go on to improve their win total, but it sure didn’t feel like it. Thompson struggled through much of the year, and tension mounted. Paul was a good fit, but not the difference-maker the team envisioned. Wiggins indeed played most of the year, but that proved a bad thing given how much he struggled. The Dubs snuck into the final Play-In Tournament spot, and were embarrassed by the Sacramento Kings upon their arrival there.
Hindsight is 20/20. It’s easy to look back on those offseasons and predict the issues that would arise for the Warriors in the respective upcoming seasons. We don’t know what issues will pop up this year; all we know is how the team looks now.
So is it in a better position? It’s hard to argue that they’re in a better position than two years ago, pre-punch. But it’s hard to argue that they’re in a worse position than two years ago, post-punch. The sentimentality of last year’s optimism is harder to find now, as any hopes for a Thompson bounce-back means tuning into Dallas Mavericks games.
But still, the Warriors are in a place where excitement is warranted. Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis are coming off stellar rookie campaigns, while Kuminga is building on a third year that at times looked like an All-Star campaign. The Dubs have distanced themselves from the disappointments of the last few years, and reloaded with trusty, intelligent, and talented veterans in Kyle Anderson, Buddy Hield, and De’Anthony Melton. Steph Curry and Steve Kerr seem rejuvenated by their Olympics experience, rather than worn down by it.
They look less like the team that dominated the NBA landscape than they did a year or two ago; but they also look more like what a standard contending NBA team looks like, and that’s probably a good thing.
In a year, hindsight will still be 20/20, and we can answer this question better. But for now, it’s worth considering that the Warriors might be in a better spot than they were the last few offseasons.