The Warriors Have A Huge Problem Emerging
Updated: Jun 29, 2023
While the Warriors’ 2023 season is far from over, and their series against the Kings is looking to be quite the barnburner early, they are facing a major crossroads.
The Warriors have long dominated the NBA, but will their large payroll eventually end their dynasty?
Golden State has been extremely well-run throughout their championship run, managing contracts, savvy trades, and great development. Their best player Steph Curry is making a supermax deal, they gave Jordan Poole a 128-million-dollar contract, Andrew Wiggins a max contract, and now Klay Thompson and Draymond Green are set for contract extensions. Is this going to be a big problem for the Warriors?
The Warriors Are Likely Parting With Some Talent
The Warriors are facing a 500 million dollar payroll potentially next off-season and at this point from the production they are getting it might not be worth it. Draymond Green has made it very clear he wants a contract extension and instead, the Warriors gave the extension to Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins. This very well could be Draymond Green’s last year with the Warriors.
There have been reports that Klay Thompson wants a max contract, and if that is true they will have to pick between Draymond or Klay. This is Draymond’s last chance at a large contract, so he likely isn’t open to taking a pay cut.
Parting with Draymond would be huge for the Warriors. Draymond is the heart and soul of the Warriors and he’s their true leader. Draymond is averaging nine points, seven rebounds, and eight assists. While the stats don’t jump out, Draymond is a winning player and has been crucial for the Warriors’ dynasty.
Similarly, Klay Thompson was crucial to their dynasty. After suffering two serious leg injuries, Klay has had a bounce-back year averaging 21 points per game on 41% from three. Both these players helped build the Warriors into what they are.
Unless Golden State is going to pay a historically large payroll they will likely have to pick one over the other. Draymond and Klay are still key rotation pieces, but giving them max contracts may be a bit of a stretch. Klay Thompson has regressed as a defender and he provides hot or cold shooting. Paying a pure shooter at this point in his career a max contract may not be worth it.
Draymond Green has also started to regress slightly on the defensive end finishing with one of the lower defensive ratings for his career. While he’s still the vocal leader for the team, his production likely doesn’t warrant a max contract either.
Golden State has two franchise cornerstones who both want max contracts, and both may not max contract-level players at this point. Will the Warriors reward both of them for everything they have done? There will be tough decisions for the Warriors in the future, and it may emerge as a problem for them.
Follow StadiumRantHQ on Twitter. Check out our other articles @Stadium Rant. Are you an NFL or NBA fan? Have some takes you want to get out into the world? This is the place because we have plenty of opportunities at Stadium Rant spanning the whole NFL and more!