The Golden State Warriors may very well defy expectations and emerge as one of many contenders for the Larry O'Brien Trophy in 2019-20, but their long-running status as prohibitive championship favorites is over. One benefit of that reality? The ability of Golden State to place extra emphasis on the development of young players.
As assistant general manager Kirk Lacob tells it, Golden State's prior championship-or-bust mentality made it extremely difficult for the team to allow young players the necessary room to grow.
“Before, we wouldn't put a player into a new role, like a Jacob Evans,”he said, per ESPN's Nick Friedell. “Maybe he becomes a point guard, maybe he doesn't, but the ability to go every single day and work on that and then [have] the freedom to try that in a game gives you a chance to grow.”
“There just wasn't time, and for a lot of those players it didn't make sense,” Lacob continued. “Now we have an opportunity. … It's really about spreading these guys' wings and letting them fly a little bit and not being as worried about the day-to-day results. You kind of got to fail to succeed in the NBA. Trial by fire. And we finally have a chance to do that.”
The Warriors lost two-time Finals MVP Kevin Durant to the Brooklyn Nets in free agency, and star shooting guard Klay Thompson won't be ready to play until the All-Star break at the earliest after suffering a torn ACL in the NBA Finals. As a result, Golden State will enter the season behind several Western Conference teams in the championship pecking order, not to mention the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers, too.
If young players like Evans, first-round pick Jordan Poole, and second-rounders Eric Paschall and Alen Smailagic take advantage of a longer leash afforded them by Steve Kerr, though, perhaps Golden State will have a puncher's chance at winning another title – both this season and going forward.
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