Despite falling short of a proven impact player, the Warriors are still viewed as a bounce back team by several experts.
Barring a last-minute surprise, it seems like the Golden State Warriors are done making major moves this offseason. Despite the departure of Klay Thompson, the Dubs added several proven veteran contributors at positions of need, like Buddy Hield, De’Anthony Melton, and Kyle Anderson. Still, despite taking some swings at acquiring Paul George and Lauri Markkanen, Golden State was unable to corral a star to team up with Steph Curry and Draymond Green.
Given the Warriors stretch of mediocrity over the past two seasons, it seems reasonable to expect that to continue in 2024-25 without a major upgrade. The departure of Thompson only adds fuel to that fire. However, a pair of articles from major media outlets suggest that those in and around the league are optimistic about Golden State’s chances to take a step forward.
“The Warriors believe they improved this summer, team sources emphasized, basing that partially on internal number models that gave a positive-value thumbs-up to the additions of Melton, Anderson and Hield,” Anthony Slater of The Athletic wrote in a recent piece. “A few analytics-driven employees from around the league agree. One rival’s metric model had Golden State fourth in the conference. The Warriors’ 46 wins a season ago through turbulence stood only five back of the fifth spot (Clippers, 51 wins).”
Slater’s article was not the only evidence that experts are bullish on Golden State’s chances of taking a step forward this season. A recent survey of ESPN NBA Experts asked them to vote on which teams they expected to take a “major leap” this season. The Warriors received the third-most points (ESPN used a weighted-vote ranking), only trailing the Spurs and Grizzlies. Given the fact that the Warriors are coming off a 46-win campaign, while neither the Spurs nor Grizzlies won 28, it suggests that several experts think Golden State is on the verge of vaulting to the top of the league.