The Golden State Warriors might be willing to contemplate major changes in their continued effort to win another NBA championship with Stephen Curry.
Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported Thursday on FanDuel TV’s Run It Back the team is operating from a place where “everyone but [Curry] is on the table.” He cautioned that reflects the front office’s willingness to weigh all of the options on the table rather than a strong desire to do something seismic.
Golden State is 17-20 and 12th in the Western Conference after Wednesday’s 141-105 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. After the game, Curry was candid in referencing the team’s shortcomings.
“We have a standard that’s pretty evident,” Curry told reporters. “If things stay the same, that’s the definition of insanity, right? Keep doing the same things expecting a different result.”
This is the fate the Warriors signed up for when they decided to keep leaning on the Big Three of Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson. Dynasties—or sustained periods of title contention—simply don’t end well.
It took four years for the LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh-led Miami Heat to go from the NBA’s dominant force to kinda cooked. The Cleveland Cavaliers had a similar arc in James’ second run there. By 2018, the team was almost unrecognizable from the one LeBron inherited.
The Los Angeles Lakers weren’t much different with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. They won their first of three straight championships in 2000. By 2004, they were leaning on past-their-prime versions of Gary Payton and Karl Malone while unraveling behind the scenes.
As much as Chicago Bulls fans were bitter at the way Jerry Krause dismantled the 1997-98 squad, he saw the writing on the wall. Scottie Pippen was never the same dynamic two-way player again, and Dennis Rodman made a total of 35 appearances the rest of his career.
For the Warriors, it’s tough to see any path toward a title with the axis of Curry, Green and Thompson, all of whom are in their mid-30s. But you try being the GM who trades Green and/or Thompson, two franchise legends. Based on his departure, Bob Myers didn’t want to have to make that call.
The future is looking somewhat bleak in the Bay Area because sooner or later the bill was gonna come due.