Golden State Warriors' Forward Thinking Ensures Dynasty Potential

Because every earthly comparison keeps failing, you've got to go celestial when searching for metaphors to explain this year's Golden State Warriors.

Supernovas, solar flares, shooting stars—things like that.

Even then the parallel isn't perfect. Because cosmically, those phenomena are temporary events. They explode or burn out eventually; last gasps of dying things played out over millennia.

These Warriors won't be around for thousands of years, but they could sustain this championship-caliber dominance for another five or six—which, in NBA terms, is pretty much the same thing.

That's because Golden State's most critical components are locked up long term (or almost certainly will be in the case of Stephen Curry), and its supporting roster is loaded with transitional pieces ready to assume bigger roles when some of the aging ones move on or decline. And above all that, the Warriors have the financial flexibility and attractive culture necessary to retool however they want to.

The Warriors are a shooting star that could just keep streaking laps around the planet indefinitely.

The Pillars

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Curry and Draymond Green make this thing work. And though the Warriors would look different with other supporting players around those two, it's difficult to envision a team with such a uniquely effective 1-4 (and sometimes 1-5) combo not being highly competitive.

The reason is simple: There's nobody else like Curry—not now and not ever—who threatens defenses from 30 feet and essentially, statistically, cannot take a bad shot. Green is also a singular talent, capable of defending five positions at an elite level while serving as a primary playmaker on offense.

If all that praise feels hyperbolic, remember that Curry said it himself, per Sam Alipour of ESPN The Magazine: "You can try to copy (our style), but you won't have the personnel. There isn't another Draymond Green, another Klay (Thompson), another Andre (Iguodala). If you put your small-ball lineup next to ours, we like our chances."

So sustaining dominance starts with Curry and Green, 27 and 25, respectively. Both have gotten progressively better over the past few years, and even if Curry comes down from the unfathomable highs he's hit this season, the Warriors know they can win titles with last year's version of him—because, you know, MVP and all that.

He'll get a max extension the second he's eligible and won't seek greener pastures because none exist.

Green's game is built on effort, smarts and heart. He'll age well, and he's locked up through 2020.

These pillars, like most pillars tend to be, are rock solid.

The Replacements

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You can have a two-man core but not a two-man team. Fortunately, replacements for key aging pieces elsewhere on the roster are emerging.

Festus Ezeli has quietly become a clear starting-quality center. capable of leveraging his athleticism and speed in ways veteran Andrew Bogut can't. Per Ethan Strauss of ESPN.com:

Obviously, Ezeli lacks Bogut's passing, basketball IQ and subtle defensive genius. But it's worth noting that the minutes Ezeli has played ahead of Bogut at center this season haven't exactly hurt Golden State, per NBA.com:

	Minutes	Net Rating
Andrew Bogut	317	+14.7
Festus Ezeli	452	+18.0

Like Bogut, Andre Iguodala is over 30, still wildly effective (he's playing better this year than last) and trailed by a capable understudy. Make no mistake: Harrison Barnes, though he starts ahead of Iguodala, is absolutely his backup.

The Iguodala-to-Barnes transition, if it happens, will be rougher than the one from Bogut to Ezeli. Iguodala is frighteningly intuitive on both ends, a brilliant playmaker, a ball-handler and a shutdown wing defender. Barnes is eight years younger, bigger and a better shooter. But he's still an athlete learning how to play without overthinking, and the Warriors have gotten the best out of him strictly by limiting the things he's asked to do.

Still, as understudies go, Barnes, who's shown up big in the playoffs and should get better in the coming years, isn't so bad.

I'm not even sure what to call Klay Thompson, who might be the second-best shooter in the league and who's under contract through 2019. So let's just mention him here next to the Dubs' other long-term options and move on.

The Flexibility

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A stable core and ready replacements don't hurt, but the real reason the Warriors are in position to extend this success for a good long while is that they've got the flexibility to pivot in any direction they choose. They're operating in a pick-your-own-adventure scenario, where all the outcomes are positive.

They can extend Ezeli and Barnes on big deals if they decide Bogut and Iguodala are nearing the end and more valuable as trade bait than on-court contributors.

They can just keep everyone and rely on loads of extra playoff revenue and the rising salary cap to ease the pain of luxury tax payments.

Or they can go big. Really, really big.

Kevin Durant hits free agency this summer, and while it seems most likely he'll return to the Oklahoma City Thunder or head home to the Washington Wizards, it would be a mistake to overlook the Warriors' appeal.

Alonzo Adams/Associated Press

They're the league's darling, its best team—more visible on national television and more thoroughly drenched in cool factor than any other. That's free-agent flypaper for players of all types—ring-chasing veterans who will grab onto superstar coattails at a discount and franchise studs seeking a chance to get their first title.

It's fair to ask if the Warriors would even want to risk the chemistry they have by introducing a player like Durant into their mix, not because he's some kind of malcontent, but because the Warriors know the group they've got now is playing as well as any team ever has. And the possibility of getting even better might not be worth the chance of upsetting the known commodity already in place.

It might also be fair to wonder if Durant would accept a spot in the pecking order beneath Curry, especially after sharing duties with Russell Westbrook for so long.

But the point is that the Warriors can make KD a max offer if they want to.

Danny Leroux laid out the specifics for the Sporting News, but the gist is this: Golden State can max out Durant this summer, retain Ezeli and Barnes on their low cap holds and then extend them (likely going into the tax, but who cares?). Iguodala and Bogut would likely be gone, but with a top six of Curry, Thompson, Durant, Green, Ezeli and Barnes, the Dubs would be in good shape.

With that as a starting point, it wouldn't be difficult to add one or two rotation-quality players at the room midlevel exception or the league minimum.

This is a thing that could happen. Digest the concept of Curry and Durant surrounded by Green, Ezeli and Thompson. It's a video game with cheat codes on by default.

It doesn't have to be Durant, either. It could be Al Horford as Bogut's replacement instead of Ezeli. It could be Nicolas Batum instead of Barnes replacing Iguodala. Both are free agents this summer, and the Warriors have the flexibility to chase them.

Or maybe Golden State waits it out until 2017 when everybody and their mother is on the market and the cap goes up again.

There are some decent options here, and the Warriors, playing better than absolutely everyone now (and maybe ever) are positioned to exploit them.

Get used to Golden State sitting comfortably atop the league. It's going to be that way for a long time.

Stats courtesy of NBA.com and current through games played Dec. 10. Salary info courtesy of BasketballInsiders.com.

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