With their fourth championship in eight years last season, the Golden State Warriors extended their dynastic run with yet another successful campaign. But every fan knows that Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson as a trio won't rule over the NBA forever. Team owner Joe Lacob is acutely aware of that fact.
In an ideal world, all three of Curry, Thompson, and Green would retire having only ever worn Warriors colors. But Lacob admitted that although he also wants the same thing, the reality of it is far less romanticized, via The Athletic's Tim Kawakami:
“Whether we like to hear this or not, players do get older and their skills erode; the question is trying to time all that,” Joe Lacob said. “We would like them to retire, all three of them, as Warriors. I really would like that. We really would like that. And I think they would like that. And we’re going to try to do that if it makes sense.
“But unfortunately, if you look through the history of professional sports, let’s look at the NBA in particular, it usually doesn’t end that way. Players want to hang on sometimes a little longer than they can or should. Organizations sometimes want to hang on to a dream longer. So you’re trying to put all that into perspective and trying to balance it all.”
We've seen it happen in the not-too-distant past. Franchise icons Dwyane Wade and Tony Parker had their dalliances with different teams toward the end of their respective careers. The same reality on elite athletes Joe Lacob discussed even applied to perhaps the greatest to every shoot a hoop in Michael Jordan with his forgettable, if not regrettable Washington Wizards stint.
Given the spotlight being given to the Warriors' ballooning salary cap situation, they can't pay all their legacy players the same amount whilst also building throughout the rest of the roster.
As salaries pile up and the all-world abilities of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green slowly deteriorate, Lacob believes that something will have to give. Whether it be paycuts or trade talks remains to be seen.
“Bill Walsh, I think I’ve quoted him before, once said, ‘Better to trade a player a year too early than a year too late.’ I’m not saying we’re thinking like that necessarily, but it’s really an important statement. You don’t want to go through a decade of being bad, either, for our fans, right? It’s a very difficult calculus,” Joe Lacob continued.
The Steph-Klay-Draymond trio still clearly has a lot left in the tank. While their long-term future together remains uncertain, Warriors fans need to learn to appreciate them in the present.
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