- The Warriors are facing serious questions about their long-term future
- The dynasty could be over thanks changing landscape out West
- Doubts are growing that the Warriors can win another title in the Steph Curry era
The Golden State Warriors have achieved unprecedented greatness in the modern NBA era, but every good thing must come to an end at some point. Even for the Warriors, who have had the NBA in a chokehold since 2015, they cannot keep going like this forever.
Despite the expectations from Dubs fans, the dreaded rebuilding era comes for every sports team and the Warriors are no different. The question is, how soon will their downfall begin?
If you ask some experts, the cracks started to show last season, when Golden State struggled to win games on the road all year before losing to the Lakers in the second round of the playoffs. With Jordan Poole gone, the hope is that the Warriors can keep their focus and return to their elite form but there are some major doubts that the Warriors can keep their dynasty alive.
For several reasons, the end appears to be in sight for this era of Golden State basketball and nobody is certain what comes next.
3. Klay Thompson Is On the Decline
While he’s no Steph, Klay is undoubtedly one of the NBA’s all-time greatest shooters. As a 5x All-Star with over 2,000 career three-pointers to his name, he’s a lock for the Hall of Fame. But sadly, after a series of injuries in 2019 and 2020, he hasn’t been the same.
Since returning to the Warriors lineup, Klay’s numbers have seen a noticeable dip, with a shooting percentage at roughly 43% compared to 48% pre-injury. The biggest fall-off for Klay, though has been on defense, an area that Klay used to excel in.
While he’s still serviceable on that end of the floor, he’s no longer the plus-defender he used to be in his prime and it’s going to be a struggle for the Warriors to make up for that. Next season, look for the Dubs to really go all-in on a defensive solution, even though they remain think in the frontcourt.
2. The Chris Paul Trade Was A Big Mistake
The Warriors will always be somewhat relevant with Steph, Klay, and Draymond on the floor together but belief isn’t high in the Dubs right now after some of their moves this summer. Besides not really signing anyone of note, the Warriors traded one of their best offensive players for a 38-year-old veteran who is already in the final stages of his career.
On paper, CP3 has the resume and track record to earn the benefit of the doubt, but it’s no secret that his fit with the Warriors’ high-paced offense is questionable, at best and even he has trouble believing he’s on the roster.
Heading into his 19th season, Chris Paul just cannot be counted on to be that high-impact player we’ve known him to be, and the Warriors may come to regret trading Jordan Poole for him.
There’s no going back now for Golden State GM Mike Dunleavy Jr., but it’ll be hard for his team to recover if Chris Paul fails to deliver.
1. The Competition Is Better
Perhaps the biggest obstacle for the Warriors next season is the state of the competition in the West. This summer, various teams across the league managed to get better, including the Lakers, Suns, and Rockets to name a few.
That’s not even mentioning the defending champions, who will be looking to defend their title with all their strength next season. From top to bottom, the Warriors don’t stack up particularly well against the elites and the West is only getting better.
Just over the next few years, teams like the Timberwolves, Thunder, and Grizzlies will be getting better as their young stars improve. That’s not to mention the Lakers, who are quietly positioning themselves for success after LeBron James.
Needless to say, the Warriors have a lot of things to worry about moving forward and time is moving quickly for them as their core continues their graceful decline. But no matter what happens in the future,e nobody can take away what that group was able to accomplish together and the history they made along the way.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
