A look at the NBA standings last season will tell you that the Golden State Warriors are on the fast track to nowhere in the West. But if you ask longtime veteran Draymond Green, he believes the championship window is still wide open for him and Stephen Curry.
“I know I ain’t done. I know he ain’t done,” Green said via The Athletic. “So it ain’t like, ‘All right, I feel like I’m at the end. I’m cashing it in.’ Nah. We can do that s— again. I know we can do it again. I’m not a part of the consortium that don’t think we can get it done. But in doing it again, you’ve got to acknowledge that it’s not going to look like it did before. I’d struggle if we were just cashing it in. That ain’t for me. But I don’t feel like anyone around here is doing that. We’re actively trying to put the pieces together to build.”
Draymond, 34, knows more than most players what it takes to win an NBA championship. The 12-year veteran has enjoyed unprecedented success with the Warriors, winning four championships in six Finals trips since 2015. Alongside Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Kevin Durant (for a short time), Draymond and the Warriors became a dynasty in the West and are remembered today for being one of the greatest teams ever assembled.
With no Durant or Klay Thompson, it’s impossible to deny that the Warriors have been in decline and the worst of it was last season when they finished 10th in the West before losing in the play-in tournament. Heading into the new season, the core players are another year older and the team made no significant upgrades to settle the doubt among their fans.
Even still, Draymond Green believes there is greatness ahead for the franchise. In a conference with teams like the Thunder, Nuggets, and Minnesota Timberwolves, the Warriors are seen as mostly underdogs in the West but very few teams can compare to their playoff experience.
Plus, with added support from the role-players, guys like Andrew Wiggins and Jonathan Kuminga, the Warriors can make up for their losses and keep pace with the best-scoring teams. In that regard, Stephen Curry will lead the way and there’s no reason to think he won’t be an MVP candidate after averaging 26.4 points per game last season.
The assignment for Draymond will be to simply keep his emotions under control. With a tendency to lash out during games, Draymond really hurt the team last season when he was suspended for a dirty play against Jusuf Nurkic. Going into this campaign, he’ll need to make a stronger effort to avoid those kind of distracting situations.
Needless to say, the odds are stacked against the Warriors in the West, especially as an older team with tons of playoff mileage. But we’ve seen miracles from that group before and as 4x champions already, Curry and Green have more than earned the benefit of the doubt.
Even at their current age, Draymond and Steph have great expectations for their team and they will never quit as long their core is healthy and playing up to their potential.
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