On Thursday afternoon, the NBA schedule was released, and Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors found out that they will be opening up the season with a two-game road trip. The second of that slate is on the road vs the Utah Jazz, a team that the Warriors had advanced trade talks with this season surrounding forward Lauri Markkanen in the hopes of giving Curry an all-star level teammate.
Instead, the talks fell through, Markkanen signed an extension, and the Warriors will be faced with the question of “What if?” just 48 hours into their campaign.
The first game of the season, meanwhile, is on the road against the Portland Trail Blazers, who figure to be one of the worst teams in the NBA this year.
All told, it's certainly within reason that Golden State could be two games over .500 before they take the floor for their first home game of the year.
A frustrating offseason
After last year's Play-In game loss vs the Sacramento Kings, it was obvious to just about everyone on planet Earth except apparently Mike Dunleavy that a major shakeup was needed for the Warriors.
While the team technically change quite drastically with the loss of Klay Thompson in free agency (technically a sign and trade with very marginal returns), Golden State didn't add anything of substance to a roster that is not good enough to maximize the twilight years of Stephen Curry's career (and Curry proved during the Olympics that he is still a more than capable first option).
While it's understandable to not want to give up on young players like Jonathan Kuminga or Moses Moody, at some point, the Warriors need to decide whether they are going all in on the present or focusing on the future. At this point, they are stuck in the middle.
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