There is a lot of chatter about how the Warriors aren’t the team they once were and an NBA insider has gotten frank about the franchise’s situation.
If they can’t get another star to pair with Steph Curry, the dream run is over, ESPN‘s Zach Lowe says.
“It’s going to take a home run, a lightning strike,” Lowe said on NBA Today recently. “Something like the [San Antonio] Spurs got with drafting Kawhi Leonard toward the end of Tim Duncan’s prime because this is what happens to great legends who stay with one team. You win a lot and while you’re winning a lot, you draft at the bottom of the first round, so you’re probably not getting any stars there.
“And then the core gets old and it’s hard to transition from old to great again while the old guys are still in the league and that’s where the Warriors are.”
The Warriors took a stab at adding some big time players to the roster, like Paul George, but only ended up adding Buddy Hield, Kyle Anderson and De’Anthony Melton.
None of these players are the type of caliber that the team needs to be competitive, Lowe says.
“They’re a good team,” Lowe said. “This is a good, deep team in the Western Conference. They could win a round. If things go right, they could even win two rounds, but they’re not a contender. And you know what? That can be OK. It’s not a reflection of Steph. It’s not necessarily a reflection of mismanagement, though they’d surely like to have that James Wiseman pick back and they’ll look for stars, just like they look for Paul George. They look for Lauri Markkanen. They’ve got picks to trade, they’re not dead yet, but it’s going to take one home run lightning strike to get back toward the top.
“And if they don’t do it, that’s fine. There’s a good honor in being a one-team legend on good teams for the rest of Steph’s career.”
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