The Golden State Warriors are one of the more intriguing teams in the NBA entering the offseason. It’s clear they are all-in when it comes to their hopes of winning another title before Stephen Curry calls it a career, and they found him a new partner-in-crime when they traded for Jimmy Butler midway through last season. With free agency underway now, Draymond Green revealed what he thinks the team is going to do over the next few weeks.
While all eyes are on Curry and Butler, Green remains an integral part of Golden State’s game plan moving forward. The offseason will be defined by how the front office constructs the roster around this trio, but the good news is that, according to Green, the team is in a better spot ahead of free agency than they were last year.
Draymond Green Dishes on Warriors’ Free Agency Plan
This time last year, the Warriors found themselves at a crossroads. After falling short in the NBA play-in tournament, Golden State’s front office opted to move on from Klay Thompson, sending him to the Dallas Mavericks in a sign-and-trade deal. Considering all Thompson accomplished alongside Curry and Green, it was a tough pill for the team and their fanbase to swallow.
Making matters even worse, the Warriors didn’t truly replace Thompson. They attempted to do so by trading for Buddy Hield, but he shot just 41.7% from the field and only started 22 games. That led to the blockbuster trade for Butler, which revitalized Golden State and led them to the Western Conference semifinals. Unfortunately, a hamstring strain in Game 1 forced Curry out of their series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Warriors ended up losing in five games.
With Curry, Butler, and Green in place, though, Golden State is automatically in a better spot than they were last year. While there are certainly moves to be made when it comes to rounding out the roster, Green believes that the hard work has already been done, and he’s looking forward to the Warriors getting back in action and attempting to win with their current core group.
“I think the heavy lifting has been done,” Green said on “The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis.” “We added Jimmy (Butler), I think that was the biggest thing that needed to happen. Now that we got that, we can tool around that … Just going into it, it’s all about looking to see, ‘Alright, now we know how it looks, we got that part figured out. What does it look like around that?’ I think we’re in a much better position heading into this one than we were last year.”
Warriors Endure Quiet Start to Free Agency
GettyGolden State Warriors power forward Draymond Green.
With the free agent market having been open for nearly 24 hours, the Warriors have not managed to do much yet. They saw veteran center Kevon Looney depart for the New Orleans Pelicans in free agency, but he could ultimately be replaced by former Boston Celtics big man Al Horford, who Golden State is reportedly heavily pursuing. Of course, the biggest issue the team needs to figure out is Jonathan Kuminga’s restricted free agency.
Based on that, it seems like the front office agrees with Green’s stance that the Warriors need to focus on rounding out the edges of their roster, rather than making a big splash just for the sake of doing so. And while it’s been quiet so far, expect Golden State to pounce on their top targets, with their pursuit of Horford something to keep tabs on in the near future.
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