How Many Rings Would Lillard have instead of Curry

[Mikeball]

If Damian Lillard have if he was drafted in 2009 to the Warriors (At the age he was when he was drafted in 2012 obviously) instead of Steph Curry.

Try to factor in all factors.

[eminence]

So the important years here are '18-'22 Dame in place of '15-'19 Curry. Assuming other roster moves are the same (KD mainly).

'15/'18 - Lesser than '15 Curry, but Dame can still get the Warriors to #1 seed in the West, will need to play better than he did in the '18 POs, but I think that's possible. Decent chance at a ring, though not as strong as the real '15 Warriors.

'16/'19 - Warriors are likely the 2 seed and have to go through OKC/SAS/CLE to get a ring, can't see it happening.

'17/'20 - Depends on how serious the knee-sprain in the bubble was, assuming Dame can come back the Warriors are still the favorite.

'18/'21 - Solid chance here, but vulnerable against Houston.

'19/'22 - No chance, Dame out most of the season, KD injury leaves them short.

'22/'25 - Who knows?

Other years I see no chance, cast wasn't up to the task.

My best guess would be two rings, '17 and one of '15/'18. Zero is possible if he can't return from injury in '17, and 3 is also possible. 4 or more seems unlikely.

[Lenneth]

Zero if Lillard was drafted in 2009. Lillard isn't nearly good as Curry when it comes to the off-ball movement, and that will make both Green and Klay less efficient on offense. And, Curry is a much better performer in the PO. That core likely won't make it to the final, Durant won't come, and that Warriors will share a similar fate as the Blazers.

[Mikeball]

Zero if Lillard was drafted in 2009. Lillard isn't nearly good as Curry when it comes to the off-ball movement, and that will make both Green and Klay less efficient on offense. And, Curry is a much better performer in the PO. That core likely won't make it to the final, Durant won't come, and that Warriors will share a similar fate as the Blazers.

The Way I see it

[1993Playoffs]

Zero honestly

[dygaction]

Lillard would not have pulled over the 06 all time season or got KD joining, so O.

[RCM88x]

I don't think Lillard has ever shown to be a guy who can win a title as a #1 guy, so I am quite confident in voting zero.

[HeartBreakKid]

I don't think the Warriors get past the Rockets in 2018, but I would think they are the favorites in 2017.

Durant/Lillard/Green/Thompson is not unfair but still the most stacked team in the league. Superstar with 3 big time all-star caliber players? That isn't common at all.

[Cavsfansince84]

If we are using same supporting casts then I think its 1. I'm not sure how well Dame will gel with another great volume scorer though.

[TheLand13]

Dame definitely gets one in 2017 but my question is whether that all plays out the same way.

[oaktownwarriors87]

Zero if Lillard was drafted in 2009. Lillard isn't nearly good as Curry when it comes to the off-ball movement, and that will make both Green and Klay less efficient on offense. And, Curry is a much better performer in the PO. That core likely won't make it to the final, Durant won't come, and that Warriors will share a similar fate as the Blazers.

Currys ability to play off the ball hides the fact that none of his teammates can create their own shot. I love Lillard, but you nailed it. He's just not the guy to replace Curry.

[jalengreen]

I think Curry's off-ball plsystyle has a dependency on his environment to a greater extent than on-ball playstyles. I am confident that Lillard would look much better off-ball playing with the Warriors, specifically with Draymond Green.

With that said, Curry and Dame's peaks did not coincide which complicates this. 2018 Dame was clearly a weaker player than current Dame. If the peaks did coincide then I don't think three is unrealistic here. As it stands, If I was setting an O/U I'd put it at 1.5 because I'm fairly confident he wins one. Gun to my head I leave it at 1.

[iggymcfrack]

I voted 2 assuming Durant comes, but now that I think about it, if Dame doesn't play as well in the playoffs in 2016 and the Thunder make the Finals instead of the Warriors, KD probably just stays in OKC right? Why leave for the team you just beat. Like I could see Golden State still being the best destination for him to join assuming GS still has their cap room, but the fact that the Thunder were the team who just made the Finals could definitely sway him to stay.

Although...... if the Thunder still lose to the Cavs in the Finals (and I definitely think they would), might KD still be swayed to going to a better basketball situation, now without the guilt of joining a 73-win team who had already won a title in the past? IDK. It's a pretty close call. It might come down to like how much was he getting along with Westbrook at the time and would he still rather just be away from him, now on a team where he's the unquestioned #1 guy over Dame instead of trying to win a title back home just because he felt better about his chances of doing that.

Also, let's assume that KD does stay in OKC. Golden State still has the room to sign a big free agent with the cap spike, right? Could signing someone like Horford, Beal, Batum, or Pau still be enough to put them over the top? I think if you count the times that they snipe KD and the times that they manage to build a monster team anyway without him signing another guy, 2 is still probably the most likely answer followed closely by 0, then 1.

[MyUniBroDavis]

2017 and 2018 probably, If you assume their best years align