The Golden State Warriors are ready to run it back after making one last marginal move in free agency. As the 2022-23 season dawns, though, Bob Myers still finds it tough to fathom the once-struggling Warriors will be defending another championship.
“We kept most of it together, but we have to stay healthy,” he said, per Mark Medina of NBA.com. “I didn’t think we’d make it last year, but we did. I watch like you do. We’ll see what happens.”
Myers and Steve Kerr admitted similar doubts about Golden State winning the title last season shortly after their team dispatched of the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals.
The Warriors had missed the playoffs the last two years, remember, and entered the 2022 postseason with Stephen Curry not just coming off the bench, but having last played on March 16th due to a foot injury. There were also major questions about how Andrew Wiggins and Klay Thompson, though for much different reasons, would acclimate to the quality and intensity of playoff basketball.
Those concerns are firmly in the rearview following Golden State's dominant title run. Myers and the front office also did well compensating for the departures of Gary Payton II and Otto Porter, signing Donte DiVincenzo to a bargain deal and adding JaMychal Green on the buyout market.
Moses Moody and Jonathan Kuminga are ready for bigger roles after promising rookie seasons, too. Even James Wiseman is healthy, poised to fight his way into an early-season rotation spot during training camp.
There's a chance the Warriors will be even better next season, basically, advancing ages of Curry, Thompson and Draymond Green notwithstanding. Though Myers is looking forward to his team's title defense, he still can't help but harp on the surprise of Golden State's latest coronation.
“We were really hunting last year. Now I guess we’re back to being the hunted, which I didn’t think we’d be,” he said. “We’ll see. I think we can handle it.”
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