The Warriors had high hopes coming off last season, with Jimmy Butler and Steph Curry’s chemistry offering promise that their championship dreams were still alive.
After a disappointing first few months of the season, the Warriors can’t afford to waste time on a roster going nowhere.
Here are five reasons why the Warriors should blow up their roster:
Stephen Curry is Still Elite
The final few years of Curry’s career show he is still capable of producing at a star-level caliber. He needs to have the right pieces around him to maximize whatever he has left in the tank. At 37 years of age, Curry can’t continue to be responsible for shouldering the scoring weight of an entire team every night.
The auxiliary players of several other teams would complement Curry better than the ones currently surrounding him. His 48-point barrage, which came in a losing effort against the injured Trail Blazers, is just one example of his superhero performances being wasted.
The future Hall of Famer brought relevance and revived the franchise that drafted him. Curry deserves a legitimate shot at contending. Retooling the roster won’t necessarily guarantee that the Warriors will win another title. Still, a fair chance at making a deep run is the bare minimum that their franchise cornerstone deserves.
The Current Roster Has Been Maximized
The team’s steep falloff from last season and fluctuating chemistry are signs that change is needed. The Warriors’ peak may have been the late playoff push the team made after Jimmy Butler’s arrival. The happy, go-lucky chemistry that reverberated throughout the locker room has been squandered.
Buddy Hield and Jimmy Butler’s fun banter was made into a feel-good story in part due to the Warriors’ success following the trade deadline. The same laughter and lighthearted energy that accompanied the team’s strong start this season are much less apparent now.
The team as constructed has somehow provided less clarity than last year regarding the organization’s future moving forward. The Warriors needed to see big improvements from their young players. Instead, the same inconsistent play and careless errors that plagued the team last year reemerged.
Whether or not the organization truly believed in the roster during training camp, it is now clear that the team is exactly as its record indicates. Average.
The Warriors Are Out of Sync
The regression from last season is also attributed to how discombobulated the team looks. On any given night, a different player could be inserted into the starting lineup. Injuries have played a role, yes, but Steve Kerr’s inability to identify strong lineups is indicative of the lack of talent on the squad.
On top of that, the Warriors’ stars have been on different pages with Kerr regarding the cause of team struggles.
When Butler previously attributed poor play to defensive issues, Kerr cited offense as the crux of the matter. In the minutes that Curry is sitting/injured, there is no clear player whom the offense consistently plays through.
Team Weaknesses Have Become Too Glaring
With Jonathan Kuminga’s recent string of DNPs and De’Anthony Melton getting his wind back following an ACL tear, the team needs a POA defender. Against athletic, young guys, the Warriors have immense trouble staying in front of anyone attacking the rim.
The Warriors can only afford to give up points in the paint if they take away opponents’ threes. Though the team ranks fifth in defensive rating, missed defensive rotations still continually beset them. These defensive breakdowns typically lead to wide-open shots for opposing teams.
When teams’ backup players go off for career nights against the Warriors, it begs the question: Why don’t the Warriors have someone who can do the same to opponents?
The Warriors rank ninth in three-point percentage at 36.8%; however, that number drops to 33.6% without him. The drop off would plummet the team to 28th in the league.
Additionally, the team ranks among the bottom third in points, field goals made, and field goal percentage. What the team desperately needs is an additional scoring threat other than Curry.
Their lack of size is magnified any time they face teams with bigs or guys who are unafraid to drive to the hoop. Because the Warriors don’t have any interior protection, the defense camps out in the paint, leaving the three-point line vacant.
Butler was supposed to be the Robin to Curry’s Batman. But Butler’s passiveness in moments where he is needed most is detrimental to a team begging for offense. Without a young star to supplement the veterans’ production, the Warriors are searching for answers again.
The Young Players Don’t Fit
The difficulty of Joe Lacob’s two-timeline vision lay in the unfeasibility of developing young talent while capitalizing on their veteran’s final years. The only way Butler, Curry, and Green could have nights off was if someone could step up in their absence. Pat Spencer’s encouraging week of play isn’t the kind of firepower the Warriors need to sustain 82 games.
Going toe-to-toe with the league’s young stars means that the Warriors need to match their youth and energy. So far, that has been a major problem.
Kuminga is expected to be shipped this season after he is eligible on Jan. 15. He was the key player many believed could be the potential saving grace for the franchise’s future.
Brandin Podziemski has underwhelmed for most of the season after claiming he eventually wants to take the reins from Curry.
The writing is on the wall. The league is getting younger and more skilled, and the Warriors simply don’t have the players needed to remain competitive anymore.
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