The Golden State Warriors are currently 12th in the West with a 19-20 record and some of the pillars of the franchise appear to be waving the white flag. Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Steve Kerr have all made interesting comments recently and the Warriors head coach made some more, during an appearance on Willard & Dibs.
“We’re just in a really unique spot in a really difficult situation through no one’s fault by the way,” Kerr said. “This is just the reality of sports of life and whatever. Have (had) this amazing run and we’re at the tail end of it and we’re trying to hang on to it. It’s a young man’s game, we know that and we were that team 10 years ago.
“We were Oklahoma City, we were Houston, we were just on the rise and here we are,” Kerr continued. “We’re on the decline, we know that. Steph and Draymond and I have talked about it together. It would be so irresponsible for this franchise to trade everything away for one final swing at a title.
“I think you have to know where you are organizationally,” Kerr added. “You have to know the position of the rest of the league, of the landscape. This does not feel like a time in my estimation, in (GM) Mike’s (Dunleavy) and Steph’s and Draymond’s where you just push all the chips in the middle and take a wild swing. That would be so irresponsible.”
Kerr went on to state that the Warriors are just a middle-of-the-pack team now. They’re trying to find out if they’re good enough to get into the playoffs and then make some noise.
It sure does come across as Kerr being fine with punting on this season. He doesn’t feel it’s worth it to go all-in considering where they are and what the current landscape of the league is.
This wasn’t the first time either that Kerr labeled an all-in move as irresponsible. During an earlier interview with The Athletic, he said he doesn’t want the organization to sacrifice the future.
“I probably won’t be around, but I would tell you, if this organization gave away the next 6 or 7 drafts for a wild swing, that would be the most irresponsible thing they could do,” Kerr stated.
Kerr stated as well that they aren’t giving in, but they are giving up on this season by not wanting to make a splash. They realize they’re not good enough right now but don’t want a big move to be made that might hurt the future. In this episode of the show, Kerr also stated that sometimes the right thing is not to do anything.
“I have 100% faith in our organization to do whatever the right thing is and sometimes the right thing is to not do anything. It depends on what you’re going to do, and what that means. Mike is so good at his job,” Kerr said. “I feel in great hands with him and the whole organization. And they’re looking at everything.”
Kerr mentioned that he, Curry, and Green are on the same page and they have relayed the same message in recent days. Curry made it clear the Warriors should avoid making a desperate trade that would hurt their future.
“Desperate trades or desperate moves that deplete the future, there is a responsibility on allowing or keeping the franchise in a good space and good spot when it comes to where we leave this thing when we’re done,” Curry said. “Doesn’t mean that you’re not trying to get better. It doesn’t mean that you’re not active in any type of search.
“If you have an opportunity where a trade makes sense or even in the summer free agency makes sense, you want to continue to get better,” Curry stated. “Nobody wants to be stale or be in a situation where you’re passing up opportunities. But it doesn’t mean that you’re desperate, just flinging assets all around the place just because you want to do something.
“(GM) Mike (Dunleavy) understands we want to win,” Curry continued. “We want to be in that position where we’ve always said that you want to be relevant in the championship type of chase. While we understand we’re getting older and deeper into our careers and allowing some of the young guys to kind of blossom, it doesn’t mean you’re getting desperate.
“So, it’s better to kinda be patient and understand what that looks like,” Curry added. “I know Mike is always on the phone trying to figure it out. That’s what a good GM does. Doesn’t mean there’s a deal at the table, doesn’t that mean you’re desperate, doesn’t mean that you’re just flinging assets all the way around and being reckless with it.”
This might be the first instance of a superstar wanting his team to keep an eye on the future instead of doing whatever they can to help him win another title. It is admirable on Curry’s part but hurts his chances of winning a fifth championship. Draymond, meanwhile, delivered a harsh take on teams that trade major assets in win-now moves.
“The beautiful part about being in the space that we’re in is, Steve Kerr, Steph Curry and myself all disagree with mortgaging off the future of this organization, saying that we’re going for it right now. Bad teams do that. Bad organizations do that. We’re not neither one.”
“So for us, if something is going to happen, it needs to be the right thing. We’re not going to jump and make the wrong decision because we panicked. That’s how you set your organization back five to seven years.”
Green also stated the Warriors would do everything they can to win now. Refusing to make that all-in move suggests that’s not the case, though.
At the end of the day, every all-in move isn’t a bad one. What you need to do is target the right player who’s worth that risk. Their refusal to even consider that isn’t the right approach.
The Warriors are in action next against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center on Wednesday at 9:30 PM ET. They enter that contest having lost four of their last five games and are desperate for a win.
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