Non-Mortem-2021-22: Golden State Warriors

[giberish]

A lot of things went right for Golden State to win this title. They had no major playoff injuries. Klay was back and at least moderately effective overall. Wiggins took another step up in the middle of his career. Poole continued to improve from his late-season run the year before. Both Porter and Payton were among the best min salary players in the league (it's hard to find guys who can be effective rotation players in late-round playoffs and GS got two of them for min salary additions).

So luck is the main factor according to your post?

Outside of health (which is a factor for every winning team) the rest is skill, good judgement, good player development (caused by effort from both the players and the team), along with a bit of luck.

[SinceGatlingWasARookie]

don't forget to Keep the refs.

Steph didn't shoot his first FT until there was about 1:30 left in the game; definitely don't want to keep those refs.

And the Curry freethrows came on desperation intentional fouls designed to stop the Warriors from running the clock out.

Warriors don’t want to keep these refs.

[Eric Bieniemy]

I think you have to still bring Wiseman along slowly ...

PG - Curry - Poole
SG - Payton - Lee
C - Green - Looney/Wiseman
PF - Wiggins - Kuminga
SF - Thompson - Moody

[Uncle Mxy]

Q.3 Performed worse than expected. = 1 vote.

What.

They didn't go 16-0 in the playoffs after an undefeated regular season... WAAAAH?

[Statlanta]

Keep
Keep
Above expectations
Treadmill

[CP War Hawks]

I swear if they add a Capela he'd look like a prime finesse version of Dwight with this team. They'll need to add talent at the 5 with the incoming battles with LAC and Den.

[The-Power]

Consolidate kuminga, moses, wiseman and 2024 and 2025 picks for a star and dominate for the next 2 years.

Keep them and contend the next two years and beyond....

But why would we do that when we could dominate like the Nets with such trades? Seriously, this is the same argument that people have used before the season in order to ‘make us contenders’. It's fascinating that not even a championship gave some of these people pause.

[R-DAWG]

Am I the only one who has 2011 Mavericks vibes with this Golden State team?

- Curry winning his first Finals MVP as a crowing moment in his mid-30's feels similar to Dirk getting his first championship
- Green/Thompson are playing roles similar to Marion/Kidd - former stars who fit in as role players who could still have star level impact at times

Sure, there are some differences with a guy like Wiggins becoming a star vs more veteran depth in Dallas with Terry/Chandler. But the vibe, especially how likable the group is, feels very similar.

Which is funny, because this time last week I was comparing this team to the 2008 Lakers - Kobe's first Finals without Shaq - comparing James Weisman being out to Andrew Bynum being out in 2008 (after Boston dominated the offensive glass and scored at will at the rim in Game 3).

Steph's game 4 performance turned the series and was the most important game of his career to date - and Wiggins really stepped up as a rebounder in game 4 and as a scorer when Steph had an off game in Game 5. Draymond was very good in Game 2 and Great in game 6. Klay hit some HUGE shots in game 5 when Boston took the lead to keep the game from getting out of hand. Poole gave them a spark plug at times. Looney and Otto Poter did their jobs. Bjelica looked like an NBA player 60% of his time on the floor, and less of an NBA player than Fake Klay the other 40%.

After Game 3, people were asking did Golden State make a mistake not pushing their chips in the middle of the table (Weisman, Kouminga, Moody, Future 1's) to maximize their window to win with an all-time great still in his prime. And those same questions should and will be asked this offseason. As good as Wiggins is, he isn't a #1 that can carry you through a season - and teams that win multiple championships in short timeframes tend to have 2 #1 options. Additionally, Klay/Draymond are fringe #3's (if that) at this point and are older with a ton of miles on them. Also, Curry will be 35 next year so you want to start thinking about taking the load off of him to preserve him for a long playoff run. In short, to turn this from a great final chapter of the dynasty to chapter 1 of the next run you need to bring in a running mate with Steph - ideally while also keeping Wiggins. The challenge is finding that player and not just making the first move. So let's assume that your holding onto your chips this summer to remain flexible, it's just about the margins.

1) I would consider a swap of James Weisman for Myles Turner. I think Turner's rim protection would be a welcome addition to the team and it's hard to get his combination of shooting/rim protection.
2) You kind of have to re-sign Jordan Poole. Outside of Steph and sometimes Wiggins he's the only other guy who can create offense
3) Ideally you keep Otto Porter around, although given his health concerns you might want to look elsewhere with the MLE
4) I'd strongly consider flipping my 1st rd pick for a future 1st, as I think that is a more valuable trade chip at next years deadline.

[Teen Girl Squad]

1) I would consider a swap of James Weisman for Myles Turner. I think Turner's rim protection would be a welcome addition to the team and it's hard to get his combination of shooting/rim protection.

Zach Lowe had an interesting nugget about this. The Warriors were thinking about a trade like this with Turner but figured he might not be a good fit scheme wise with how switchable they are defense and how they like to move on offense. Thats not to say they may not roll the dice in the offseason but they definitely kicked the can at the trade deadline.

[dc]

1) I would consider a swap of James Weisman for Myles Turner. I think Turner's rim protection would be a welcome addition to the team and it's hard to get his combination of shooting/rim protection.

Zach Lowe had an interesting nugget about this. The Warriors were thinking about a trade like this with Turner but figured he might not be a good fit scheme wise with how switchable they are defense and how they like to move on offense. Thats not to say they may not roll the dice in the offseason but they definitely kicked the can at the trade deadline.

Turner’s contract situation was also a factor. He’s going to be asking for a lot of money moving forward. Not to mention Indy was likely asking for a king’s ransom (more than just Wiseman) because they knew Turner was a still young vet with in demand skills.

In the end, the Warriors didn’t go all in because they didn’t want to mortgage the future. They had just privately financed a $1.5B arena and they need to keep that building filled with fans. They didn’t want to risk going all in, fail to win and then have to tank for a 3-4 year stretch where they would lose large amounts of attendance and interest.

It the end, it somehow worked out. They won it all while keeping all their young assets (which they could still move if they want to).

[TrueFan420]

The video of Poole and Wiggins saying that they both gonna get the bag was a little unsettling. Poole I get, he’s getting his first contract. Wiggins got max money already and he isn’t a max player. Guess we will see what their really after soon enough.

[watch1958]

In the Kerr era, they have been to the playoffs 6 times. They played 24 post season series in that stretch.

They won 22 of those 24 series.

[Jerry Maine]

The video of Poole and Wiggins saying that they both gonna get the bag was a little unsettling. Poole I get, he’s getting his first contract. Wiggins got max money already and he isn’t a max player. Guess we will see what their really after soon enough.

I think they meant a bag off Montrezl

[Dubnation]

The video of Poole and Wiggins saying that they both gonna get the bag was a little unsettling. Poole I get, he’s getting his first contract. Wiggins got max money already and he isn’t a max player. Guess we will see what their really after soon enough.

Watch on YouTube

Hopefully the bag they're talking about is playoff / finals $$$$.

[Samurai]

Bob Myers has stated all along that the team is pursuing two different but (he believes) complementary tracks: compete now (goal accomplished!) and build a strong nucleus for when Steph, Klay and Dray are enjoying their retirement. Unlike many, who believe that the hunter who chases two rabbits catches neither one, Myers believes both can be achieved. Winning the 22 chip obviously means he was successful in competing now and that he did not need to trade our future for a star to win now. The hope is that the young kids (Poole, Kuminga, Moody, Wiseman) can develop and form the nucleus of the "new" Warriors when our core players are gone. Whether we can remain competitive while our core ages and plays fewer, and less effective, minutes will depend on how quickly the young kids develop.

[HiRez]

Hope the lotto picks develop and GS develops a dynasty. Good drafting and an owner who is willing to spend while you have a super star.

4 championships in 8 seasons, same core but completely different peripheral players, I think you can argue they already have a dynasty.

[SinceGatlingWasARookie]

I swear if they add a Capela he'd look like a prime finesse version of Dwight with this team. They'll need to add talent at the 5 with the incoming battles with LAC and Den.

Looney played pretty damn well but I want Bjelica to be the 3rd string center not the 2nd string center.
We Warriors fans spent all year waiting for Wiseman to remove our worries about the center position.
Wiseman is still in our thinking at center.

Other Warrior fans ridicule me for liking Tacko Fall but I sign Tacko Fall for the minimum and then wait for Wiseman to grow into a star. Thankfully Looney makes waiting for Wiseman acceptable.

[Optms]

Light years

[FNQ]

We are a > the sum of our parts team, and thats what's defined us the past 8 years. In addition, we dont care about height, we care about talent, which has devalued the C position in our system. We take guys who are not thought of at a certain position, and play them there. OPJ played C for us for a while this year, Looney came into the league listed as a SF/PF, Bjelica was a SF/PF for a while, GP2 was pushed as a defense only guard instead of an undersized forward... etc etc

You can do that when you have an excellent defensive system with a good on-court leader (Dray)

To that end, the Celtics have more talent and I think if Ime Udoka is a good coach, he'll iron out the bugs. For all their talent, they werent defensively cohesive a lot. They still need a PG. But their talent level is huge, and I think better than ours. And I dont see a ton of help on the horizon either from our youth, so this year and next is likely the beginning of the end. All depends on how long Curry and Dray can keep doing what they do, but adding Wiggins as an elite perimeter defender has given us a much better chance than we would have guessed 2.5 years ago

[dc]

Bob Myers has stated all along that the team is pursuing two different but (he believes) complementary tracks: compete now (goal accomplished!) and build a strong nucleus for when Steph, Klay and Dray are enjoying their retirement. Unlike many, who believe that the hunter who chases two rabbits catches neither one, Myers believes both can be achieved. Winning the 22 chip obviously means he was successful in competing now and that he did not need to trade our future for a star to win now. The hope is that the young kids (Poole, Kuminga, Moody, Wiseman) can develop and form the nucleus of the "new" Warriors when our core players are gone. Whether we can remain competitive while our core ages and plays fewer, and less effective, minutes will depend on how quickly the young kids develop.

I mean, they sort of had to take this approach after privately financing a $1.5B arena. They don't want to have to tank for 3-4 years and see a loss of interest and a bunch of empty seats.

So after Steph/Klay/Dray all retire, they still need to be at least sort of good. Maybe not championship good, but still good enough to fill those seats for a few years.

I'm still pretty amazed they won it the way they did, without giving up any future assets. Regardless of a approach, they won and now have more options moving forward.