This isn’t the beginning of the end for the Warriors.
No, that already happened.
But Lauri Markkanen represented an opportunity for the Dubs to return to the mix in the Western Conference — a chance to pull out of the downward spiral that started when, in the aftermath of the surprise 2022 NBA title, Draymond Green sucker punched Jordan Poole in a preseason practice.
But Markkanen isn’t coming to the Bay this summer. He won’t be moving at the trade deadline in February, either. Wednesday he reportedly agreed to a massive five-year extension with the Jazz. The timing of the signing was deliberate — it ensures the All-Star forward cannot be traded this upcoming season.
So where does this leave the Warriors?
At best, where they were last season.
And that best is going to be mightily hard to achieve.
The Warriors had one shot at relevancy in 2024-25: adding Markkanen. His skillset would have given the Warriors a viable No. 2 offensive option to Steph Curry, and a near-perfect compliment to Draymond Green.
And before Wednesday, he was cheap, allowing the Warriors to trade for him without including a major contract.
The Warriors might be “exploring” other options for augmenting their roster now that Markkanen is off the table, but there is no one available to Golden State today who is not only a reliable No. 2 but is also a system fit.
I don’t think that kind of player will be available in the next six months, either.
This offseason has been a disaster for Golden State. Chris Paul left for nothing — the Warriors waived him. Klay Thompson left. The Dubs struck out on three pitches with a Paul George mega-trade. And then they made unserious trade offers to the Jazz, leading to Markkanen extending in Utah.
The Dubs had to scrap fight and claw to fill out a roster that isn’t appreciably better than the one that was the No. 10 seed in the West and was blown out in the Play In Game last season.
In this day and age, we expect rises and falls to be dramatic. History tells us that they are oftentimes far slower — more drawn out. The Warriors’ rise might have seemed overnight in 2015, and it was, indeed a historic leap the team made to win the title that season, but there were growing pains along the way, going back to the 2012-13 season.
The Dubs’ downfall (from perhaps the highest high any team has ever achieved) was delayed by the 2022 title and Curry’s Game 4 performance in the NBA Finals, but it’s happening, and it’s proving to be prolonged.
In 2023, a playoff series win (behind another heroic Curry performance in Game 7 in Sacramento), but ultimately, disappointment in a second-round loss. Last year, a bit worse.
It can, absolutely, keep sliding.
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The Warriors are now banking on Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski to take big steps forward in their careers. Their progress will be overall progress for the Warriors.
And while those are two good, young players, the Dubs have now burdened them with unreasonable expectations. Kuminga will need to leap to being in All-Star consideration to maximize this season for the Dubs — only the Warriors think he’s ready to do that. They’ll pay him nine figures in the coming weeks to prove it.
Forgive me for not liking a scenario where you pay big bucks for a player who hasn’t proven he’s worth it yet.
Meanwhile, Podziemski, going into his second NBA season, cannot have a sophomore slump. By not including the guard in trade offers for Markkanen, the Warriors effectively declared that they think he’ll be an All-Star soon, too.
Oh, that’s right, they didn’t infer that — they said it:
“We think we have a future All-Star. We really do,” Warriors CEO Joe Lacob said in a sideline interview during NBA Summer League.
No pressure, kids, you just have to justify the front office’s perhaps delusional belief in you from the start of the 2023-24 season. Best of luck!
But if not Kuminga and Podziemski, who else will be the No. 2 the Dubs need?
Six-points-per-game Kyle Anderson?
Buddy Watch-Me-Cook (And-Be-Cooked) Hield?
Sorry, but Andrew Wiggins isn’t flashing back to the spring of 2022 again, folks.
And Draymond Green sure is talking about retirement a lot these days. (Subtle, my man. Subtle.)
It’s Curry and a lot of hope that the Warriors can get lucky again with the kids.
No No. 2, but the Warriors have two timelines, if you will.
(Why does that term sound familiar?)
The grind of carrying this franchise is slowing down the 36-year-old guard. It was impossible to miss last season.
But because Golden State has not provided him with a viable sidekick, this entire team’s hopes remain on his shoulders.
Last season, the Warriors won 46 games with Curry playing all but eight contests — his highest game total since 2016-17.
The Western Conference is going to be tougher this season. The LA teams might have regressed, but Houston, Memphis, and perhaps even San Antonio are on the rise. Can these Warriors fend those three non-playoff teams off while holding their own hardly laudable form from last season?
It’ll take everything Curry has, and perhaps a bit more.
And even then, it’s hard to imagine that’ll be enough.
