Can the Golden State Warriors still compete in the loaded Western Conference after a tumultuous offseason? Team president and general manager Bob Myers believes so.
Via Anthony Slater in The Athletic:
“The West keeps getting better and better,” Myers said. “Can we compete? Yeah, I think we have a group that’s shown at least at its core — whenever Klay comes back, with Draymond and Steph — that’s a group that’s shown they can win.”
The Warriors infamously lost their two-time Finals MVP Kevin Durant to the Brooklyn Nets, deciding to join up with All-Stars Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan in Brooklyn. In return, the Warriors signed-and-traded for rising star and 23-year-old guard D'Angelo Russell, who hopes to be a stopgap in the backcourt with Stephen Curry while Klay Thompson recuperates.
Thompson tore his ACL in the decisive 2019 NBA Finals Game 6, putting the nail in the coffin of Golden State's second defeat in five years.
For Myers, though, he doesn't seem to buy into the Warriors dynasty—three titles won in the five-year span—ending like others around the league believe. Moves made by the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers, Portland Trail Blazers, Denver Nuggets, and Utah Jazz suggest plenty of other franchises are sold on the idea that the Warriors' window has finally sealed shut after Thompson's injury and Durant's departure.
The Bay Area team also lost key members to their three-title run like veterans guard Shaun Livingston and wing Andre Iguodala. Quinn Cook and Jordan Bell also signed elsewhere in the summer.
But with Curry and former Defensive Player of the Year Draymond Green on the team, and hopefully Thompson's health restored in the not-too-distant future, anything is possible for the championship-pedigree Warriors in the west.
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