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The Golden State Warriors have taken a hard slide since Steph Curry went down with an injury on his tailbone. Golden State has lost four straight since the injury and not one of those losses were within 10 points. This might seem like a staunch negative, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel if they continue down this road. If the Warriors continue to miss Steph and continue to lose, they could potentially end up with a higher pick in the upcoming draft.
The Warriors are now 22-24, good for 10th in the Western Conference, and only 1.5 games ahead of the 11th seed Sacramento Kings. The Kings were one of the four teams that just beat the Curry-less Warriors by a score of 141-119. Golden State has a lot of options going forward and Steph Curry being out paradoxically broadens those horizons.
What's The Damage?
Steph Curry's absence hurts the Warriors in numerous ways. Curry, 33, is averaging almost 29 points per game on an impressive 64% true shooting. He is also averaging about 6.2 assists per game and has been the primary playmaker for the Warriors throughout this season. Their offense has not quite become heliocentric like the Dallas Mavericks or the James Harden-led Houston Rockets, but Curry's usage rate is a whopping 32.3%, the second-highest of his career.
The Warriors are like a car without a battery with the two-time MVP; they have a ton of engine parts, but nothing to make it run. The Warriors have tried to run their offense through Draymond Green, but that becomes difficult as Green has almost no scoring gravity. There have been other issues as well while Steph has been out.
They have been much worse defensively, though this can be partially attributed to Steph's absence and partially attributed to the return of James Wiseman. Wiseman has had a rocky rookie year and the issues have been most dramatic on the defensive end. Wiseman struggles with positioning and timing. Without Curry providing offensive pace and efficiency, it makes Wiseman's defense look even worse.
The Benefit of Losing
Losing is miserable. Everyone knows that, especially within a professional sport setting. However, there is a clear benefit from losing. Last year's Warriors team is a perfect example of just that. The Dubs were bad last year and they ended up with the second overall pick in the draft. People can dispute their choice with the pick, but they had a shot to draft a player like LaMelo Ball or Tyrese Haliburton. Getting a high draft pick is always beneficial.
This upcoming draft is full of high-potential players in the top 10. Cade Cunningham is the clear prize at number one, but Evan Mobley, Jonathan Kuminga, Jalen Green, and Jalen Suggs could all be excellent additions to this Warriors team that will soon have to contend with age.
The Warriors are an aging team and soon they will have to start looking towards the future. Steph Curry is 33, Klay Thompson is 31 and has missed the last two seasons, and Draymond Green is 31 as well. These players are approaching the end of their prime and the future beyond the championship core should begin to be the priority for the front office.
The Assets
The Golden State Warriors have perhaps the most valuable, traded first round in the league. That pick is the Minnesota Timberwolves 2021 top-four protected first-round pick. That protection is only top four means there is at least a 70% chance the Warriors end up with the pick this year. However, even if the pick does not convey this year, it will be unprotected in 2022. The Warriors are in a perfect position to have a quick rebuild turnaround if they can draft right in the next two or three drafts.
The Warriors also have the three players from their past championship core that they could trade for value if they were willing to move on from them. It can be difficult moving on from such franchise icons and the Warriors have the assets so that they don't need to blow it up, but the option is there.
To Tank or Not to Tank?
The Golden State Warriors have a lot of options. They could keep this core together and try and struggle for playoff positioning year after year or they could blow it up and plan on tanking. Either way, the Warriors have the choice. Even without tanking, they could still have two lottery picks this year and that can be incredibly valuable for a team that wants to return to championship contention.
An important thing for any NBA team to do is define success. Joe Lacob and Bob Meyers have made it clear that, to them, success is measured in banners flying at the Chase Center and not the number of 8th seeds reached.
Lacob is willing to spend money and go deep in the tax to get rings. Rings aren't just won by spending money though. For the Warriors to continue their winning ways, they will need to successfully draft in the lottery. The first piece to that is actually getting to the lottery though, and Steph Curry's injury has allowed that to happen.
