For those expecting the Golden State Warriors to make a splash and trade for a star player to help Stephen Curry and Co. compete for a championship, they will be disappointed. After all, team owner Joe Lacob admitted that it's “very unlikely.”

While Lacob is not totally closing the door to a potentially massive trade, he emphasized that it must be for someone “really great.” The Warriors had been linked with Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal prior to the NBA Draft as they tried to package the No. 7 and 14 picks, but nothing materialized as Beal didn't request a trade.

“It’s very unlikely, I’ve said that we’re not going to trade for anybody that people are expecting. Very unlikely. It’s not impossible. But if it was going to be somebody, it was going to be somebody really great. It was going to be a big trade. It’s unlikely,” Lacob told Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

As for their plans to still compete for a championship, Joe Lacob highlighted their desire to “bridge the gap to the future.” That means developing young talents while also adding key players who can help them contend. Besides, the Warriors still have the trio of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, who all have a few more years at their respective peaks.

“So the more likely path—and the path that I think, as an owner, I feel most comfortable with, quite frankly—is to bridge the gap to the future,” the Warriors owner added. “We’ve got three or four contracts and big players that are still in their early 30s, still have quite a bit of time to go, especially in this day and age. If we can kind of have a Wiseman and a Kuminga and a Moody and a Poole (help in the meantime). They don’t have to be awesome next year. With a great investment in our player development staff, we just want them to show great potential.”

Aside from James Wiseman, whom the Warriors got with the No. 2 pick in last year's draft, Golden State added two high-upside talents in Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody during the 2021 rookie selection. Lacob is surely hoping they can develop the three and their other young players to carry the torch when it's time for Curry, Thompson and Green to retire.

Of course, whether the Dubs can play for the NBA title in the coming years with their mix of veteran and young core remains to be seen. Nonetheless, there's a good reason to be positive about the future of the team given all the talents and potential they have.