vvoland wrote:AirP. wrote:Twinkie defense wrote:Do those expiring contracts come with post-Steph Curry first round picks?
Here's a very interesting question to ponder, when is the post-Curry era? It's quite possible there's very little drop off for Curry and even Butler in the next 2 seasons (although health risks should continue to go up), both are skilled, high BBIQ players, don't rely on their athletic ability like most and they both also seem to be very professional with their bodies with great time management to balance their personal and professional lives. Whereas that 2028 pick looks like it could be a lottery pick with Curry, Butler and Draymond's contracts ending in 2027, they may not be done as high-level players.
If GS knows Curry will take an extension and will still be a high-level player, it's possible to sell high on the 2028 pick before the rest of the league knows Curry stays around. This also might be a reason why GS isn't keeping Kuminga around for the post-Curry era because it may not start in 2027.
If only the team had this wisdom 5 years ago, when steph was ~32 and the FO/the league/some of this board, no longer believed in Steph. Many already wanted to 'rebuild'.. soft, or otherwise. If they had real faith in Steph/Dray, those high picks (#2 and #7) would have been moved and the '25-'28 picks would have been traded back when they were valued much like the '30/'32 picks are now. If this FO didn't 'mortgage the future' back then, why would they do so now? Unless, of course, a top 10 player is on the market and GSW is on the short list.
You either build teams to win Championships or just making profits. You have a special player in Steph, not a franchise player, but someone who is one of the greatest to ever play, you should never waste that, the Chicago Bulls wasted possibly another 1-2 seasons of Jordan because that owner only cared about profits... same thing today and the reason I'm no longer a Bulls fan (which is where I got on the Butler bandwagon).
On not going in on Curry years ago, just 5-10 years ago there wasn't much of a history of players playing at a high level deep into their 30s so I can understand not expecting since it wasn't a regular thing but we're really seeing just the first era of players who have had access to great medical and technology to keep themselves in tip top shape if they want to and it's highly likely this will continue to be the trend. All that really fades going deeper into the 30s for players is some of their athletic ability which some players really rely on and of course recovery for their bodies (which of course technology and medical breakthroughs have helped), not just from playing in games but from injuries. LeBron isn't what he used to be but with his size, BBIQ, skill and effort level (when it's there) is still an ALL-NBA level player, same with Curry. Butler's role is no longer a #1 in GS with Curry there and I think that's what he's always wanted, but when he's healthy he can dominate a game when he needs to (which is why his numbers go up in the playoffs vs regular season).
I don't really get fans who want to rebuild while still having a good team (I get rebuilding with a bad team) other than just wanting something different even if it's possibly going to be worse, just a few years ago GS had 3 lottery picks and including #2 and a #7 and neither yielded a franchise level player, Minnesota took 2 PGs right before Curry was picked, Jokic (one of the greatest players) was taken during a Taco Bell commercial in the 2nd round, people passed on Giannis because he didn't play against good competition and didn't know he'd grow a bit more.