The Golden State Warriors’ offseason is a story of “what if.” The Warriors made multiple attempts to land All-Star players, but weren’t able to consummate a deal. Instead, they added shooting guard Buddy Hield, point guard De’Anthony Melton, and forward Kyle Anderson, while watching All-Star Klay Thompson head East to the Dallas Mavericks.
The Warriors still feel confident heading into the 2024-25 season, one that will be the age-37 season for superstar point guard Stephen Curry.
Curry has made it known he wants to retire a Warrior, but he also wants another shot at a fifth championship before ultimately calling it quits. That’s likely why he played a key role in the pursuit of a superstar wing this offseason.
According to Anthony Slater of The Athletic, Curry attempted to recruit former Los Angeles Clippers forward Paul George to Golden State. George had a player option for the 2024-25 season, and he could have opted in to be traded to another team.
However, the Clippers reportedly didn’t want to trade George to Golden State, so in the end, he declined his player option and signed a four-year deal with the Philadelphia 76ers.
No matter how much recruitment Curry and Draymond Green did, the decision wasn’t exactly up to George. Green revealed more information about the team’s failed pursuit of George earlier this offseason on his podcast, blaming the Clippers for not wanting to “play ball” with Golden State.
“(I’m) a little salty about that because, as you all know, Paul George was gonna come to the Warriors. We wanted Paul George to come to the Warriors,” Green said. “For us to take Paul George, it would have taken a sign-and-trade, and the Clippers didn’t really want to play ball. Didn’t really want to help him get to where he wanted to go, and so in turn they get nothing back.”
Without George, and following their failed pursuit of All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen, the Warriors will likely enter camp with the roster as currently constructed. The Warriors went 46-36 and lost in the first round of the Play-In Tournament a year ago. They’ll hope for better luck in 2024-25 in the waning years of both Curry and Green’s careers.
