The Golden State Warriors need to give Steph Curry another All-Star-level teammate. Steve Kerr’s team has been declining in recent years, and the loss of Klay Thompson this summer would have hurt.
Joe Lacob and Mike Dunleavy Jr. have been straddling two developmental timelines in recent seasons. They’ve been trying to thread the needle between contending now and building a ready-made contender for the post-Curry era. However, it’s clear that plan is failing.
Unfortunately for Warriors fans, it would appear the front office is in no rush to shop some of their current assets to acquire a genuine difference-maker. According to Andscape’s Marc J. Spears, who was speaking on a recent episode of KNBR 680’s “Murph & Markus,” the Warriors aren’t expected to pursue Zion Williamson.
The New Orleans Pelicans superstar has consistently struggled with injury since entering the NBA. As such, there are murmurs that the Pelicans could be ready to cut ties with Williamson. Golden State was seen as a potential landing spot.
“I also did hear that Zion’s not on the [Warriors] radar,” Spears said. “Which, I know others might feel differently, but probably a good thing. Because with Zion, you just don’t know what you’re going to get and when he’s going to be healthy, and his [salary cap] number’s rather high as well. I just think the Warriors in the end will get someone in a very creative way. They actually have to.”
When healthy, Williamson is the type of player who would thrive next to Curry. The juxtaposition between their two skill sets would bring out the best in each other. Williamson is currently in the second year of a five-year $197 million deal.
Warriors Have No Interest in Jimmy Butler
Jimmy Butler is another NBA star linked with the Warriors in recent weeks. The Miami Heat veteran recently issued a trade request to Pat Riley. According to The Athletic’s Sam Amick, Golden State is unwilling to part with Jonathan Kuminga in a potential Butler trade. Furthermore, the front office would reportedly be against offering Butler a contract extension.
“They don’t have interest in giving him the deal that he’s waiting for on the other end,” Amick said on a recent episode of FanDuel TV’s ‘Run It Back.’ “And I don’t think they’re looking to make him a rental and have a strained relationship with him…Their reasoning for not going after Jimmy beyond the money is that, to this point, they’ve been pretty happy with Andrew Wiggins’ play. And, the idea of also giving up Jonathan Kuminga…It is something they’re not looking to do. The prospect of Wiggins and Kuminga going out, and BUtler coming in, they didn’t like how it looked for them.”
Parting with Kuminga and Andrew Wiggins would likely be the cost of doing business with Miami. It makes no sense for Golden State to lose two high-level contributors for an aging veteran on an expiring deal.
Warriors’ Steph Curry is Growing Frustrated
During the Warriors loss to the Heat on Jan. 7, Curry cut a frustrated figure. The veteran superstar is used to winning and seeing his team play at a high level. Yet, over the past 18 months, the Warriors’ slide has been hard to ignore.
When speaking to the media during his postgame news conference, Curry admitted that he’s out of ideas on how Golden State can improve.
“I honestly have no idea,” Curry told reporters . “We’ll try to figure it out. But I don’t have answer right now…Back-to-back no-shows pretty much,” Curry told reporters. “The hard part is these are winnable games against teams that, for whatever reason, are around the same place in the standings.”
The front office must decide if its building for the future or to give Curry and Draymond Green another shot at a championship. Once it finally makes that decision, it can begin making the necessary moves. One thing is for sure, though: the front office can’t keep standing pat. The two-timeline experiment has failed. Now its time to pick and lane and push forward.
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