This offseason has been an interesting one for the Golden State Warriors. Two years after winning a championship, their sixth in franchise history, the Warriors look like a completely different team now. Most notably, long-time wing Klay Thompson left the team after 13 years to join the Dallas Mavericks. Additionally, the team moved on from Chris Paul, who joined the San Antonio Spurs, after one year. The Warriors also lost other notable players like Usman Garuba and Dario Saric this summer.
However, not all went bad for Golden State this offseason. On the flip side, they acquired Kyle Anderson, Buddy Hield, and De’Anthony Melton. All three of these players will likely assume a solid role to contribute to the team immediately. Additionally, the Warriors recently extended Stephen Curry‘s contract, likely guaranteeing he will end his career in Golden State. However, it seems possible that the team has interest in making another big move before the beginning of the 2024-25 season.
According to Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com, a league source has reported to them that the Warriors want to do “something big” by the end of the offseason. However, reports also indicate that the team is finding that “hard to do.”
“From the talks they’ve had — or tried to have — it sounds like they want to do something big,” said one league source. “But they also don’t want to break things up too much. Moving Klay was big for them, but it wasn’t as big a trade as they probably wanted it to be. They want to add around Steph (Curry) and Draymond (Green), but they’re finding that’s hard to do.
Warriors Still Looking to Make Major Roster Moves
The Golden State Warriors’ Failed Pursuits This Offseason
This is not the only time it was reported that the Warriors wanted to make a big splash in the offseason. For much of the summer, the Warriors were linked to Utah Jazz star Lauri Markkanen. However, after the Jazz signed Markkanen to a contract extension, this failed to come to fruition.
Furthermore, the Warriors also had interest in Paul George this summer. However, he eventually became too expensive after declining his contract making way for him to join the Philadelphia 76ers. After signing with the 76ers, George spoke about how close he was to joining the Warriors this summer (YouTube link).
“That was a real thing that was close to being done. That deal was close to being done from what I was being told on the situation, they was expressing just how much they wanted me there, how I could have fit in perfectly with Draymond [Green], Steph [Curry]. Klay [Thompson] probably would’ve stayed. [Brandin] Podziemski, [Jonathan] Kuminga, [Andrew] Wiggins. They didn’t know how or what package was going to be there to trade for me…[Kevon] Looney was going to be there and so it was very intriguing and it was still an opportunity to stay close to home, stay on the West Coast, and it was a win-win.”
The Last Word
After missing the playoffs last season, the Warriors are in a tough spot. Their best years with Curry, Draymond Green, and head coach Steve Kerr are likely behind them. And with Thompson’s departure, this could signal the official end of the Warriors’ dynasty. It is unclear what major trade options are available at this point. However, for the Warriors to maximize whatever championship window they have left, that is an avenue that may be worth pursuing.
