Warriors' Top Needs in 2023 NBA Offseason
The Golden State Warriors have plenty to sort out during the upcoming offseason—starting with who will lead them through it.
Longtime president of basketball operations and general manager Bob Myers stepped down recently, and the Dubs have yet to name his replacement.
Golden State will proceed without one for now. It has no other choice, since there are some other big decisions this front office needs to make. As the Warriors look to put themselves back in the championship race, here's what they need to find this summer.
Perimeter Athleticism
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It's been nine years since Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green helped the Warriors capture their first of (at least) four world titles. That's a lifetime in professional sports.
Golden State's cerebral game has perhaps only sharpened over time, but the physical tolls of aging are real and sometimes very noticeable. Collectively, this club looked a step slow at times during the postseason, particularly when matched up against the young, run-and-gun Sacramento Kings.
The Dubs could use more athletic juice on the perimeter. Andrew Wiggins and Jonathan Kuminga are plenty explosive, but there aren't many other jaw-droppers on this squad.
Reliability
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While playoff rotations inevitably tighten for everyone, coach Steve Kerr's circle of trust became problematically small this postseason.
Nine players cracked the nightly rotation, but too many were unpredictable wild cards.
Jordan Poole was a mess at both ends. Donte DiVincenzo's scoring varied wildly from one night to the next. Gary Payton II sometimes struggled to find his offensive niche. Moses Moody was mostly solid, but this playoff run came after he had spent the season trying and failing to secure a regular role. Kuminga was squeezed out of the mix.
Depth was a concern all season, and there are no great reasons to think this will be solved internally. The Warriors have so many question marks on the bench, that a reliable reserve would be helpful regardless of where or how said substitute plays. Anyone from a playmaking point guard to a bouncy big man could carve out a role if they showed the consistency this bench mob lacked all season.
Draymond Green
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Do the Warriors, who won 44 games this season and couldn't escape the conference semis, still belong in the championship conversation? The way Kerr sees it, that question depends entirely on what happens with Green, who has a $27.6 million player option for next season.
"If Draymond's not back, we're not a championship contender," Kerr told reporters. "We know that. He's that important to winning, to who we are."
For all the talk over the years about whether Green could be the same player outside this system, there are just as many questions about whether this system could operate without him. Forget the financial challenges of trying to find his replacement, where do you even find another 6'6", 230-pounder who can quarterback an offense and anchor a defense as both a paint protector and a perimeter-switcher?
Talent-wise, he's one of one. Has his impact been magnified by sharing the floor with historically elite shooters in Curry and Thompson? No doubt. But this partnership is absolutely mutually beneficial. They've feasted on a ton of great looks created by Green's passing, screening and high-level processing.
