Warriors Hot Takes 2 Months into 2023-24 NBA Season

The first two months of the Golden State Warriors' 2023-24 NBA season set the stage for one of two things.

This is either the end of this era's top dynasty, or we're about to witness one heck of a redemption story.

Frankly, the former seems a lot likelier than the latter, though, as Golden State's many issues are easy to diagnose but could prove impossible to solve.

Draymond Green Is out of Control—and Still Invaluable

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LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 02: Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) reacts to making a basket in the first half of an NBA basketball game between the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers, Saturday, December 2, 2023, at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Tony Ding/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

We aren't even two full months into this season, and Draymond Green already has three ejections on the books. Two of those elicited suspensions.

He first drew a five-game suspension for putting Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert in a chokehold. Green's sixth game back from suspension was cut short after he was tossed for striking Phoenix Suns big man Jusuf Nurkić.

Now, Green is sidelined with an indefinite suspension that "takes into account Green's repeated history of unsportsmanlike acts."

Golden State has no idea when it will get Green back, which is a massive issue for myriad reasons, not the least of which is the fact he's probably still this club's most important player not named Stephen Curry. The Warriors can't function the way they want without Green's two-way playmaking, and that'd be true even if Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins were playing up to expectations instead of falling woefully short of them.

"We need Draymond," Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters. "He has to find a way to keep his poise and be out there."

Major Rotation Changes Are a Must

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LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 5: Head Coach Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors and Klay Thompson #11 and Damian Jones #30 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on during a time-out on March 5, 2023 at Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2023 NBAE (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)

The most significant move the Warriors made this offseason was the trade that brought in Chris Paul. While Golden State's primary motivation for the swap was likely getting out of the money owed to Jordan Poole, the hope was also that Paul could prevent the dramatic declines the Dubs had so often encountered whenever Stephen Curry needed a breather.

Well, Golden State's second unit is in great shape (third in net rating entering Wednesday, per NBA.com), but it hasn't mattered because the steamroller that was this club's starting lineup has suddenly ground to a halt. The same lineup that thrashed opponents by 21.9 points per 100 possessions last season is now being outscored by 9.8 points per 100 possessions.

Kerr finally saw enough and sat his starters not named Curry—Green was already ejected—for the closing stretch of their nail-biting loss to the Phoenix Suns. Thompson was the only other starter to clear 20 minutes in the contest, and he saw less floor time than Paul, Jonathan Kuminga and rookie Brandin Podziemski.

"I've been really patient and trying to get everybody organized into groups and give guys freedom and space. But tonight did not feel like a night to have a lot of patience," Kerr told reporters afterward. "We needed some urgency, and that's why I made the move."

Kerr must maintain this flexibility moving forward. Past title runs aren't enough of an argument to keep leaning on underperforming players like Thompson and Wiggins. It's time to switch things up and what—if any—solutions exist internally, because the external options to upgrade this group look awfully limited.

This Roster May Be Broken Beyond Repair

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PHOENIX, AZ - DECEMBER 12: Stephen Curry #30 and Chris Paul #3 of the Golden State Warriors look on during the game against the Phoenix Suns on December 12, 2023 at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2023 NBAE (Photo by Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Warriors haven't backed off their financial commitment to this core, as their payroll—including luxury taxes—is $400 million. That might be a defensible cost if this club was still in the thick of the title race, but it's an absurd amount for a sub-.500 team that wouldn't even crack the play-in tournament field at the moment.

Golden State's expenditures also complicate any significant pursuits on the trade market. Teams won't want Thompson or Wiggins at their price. Paul's $30.8 million is at least expiring, but it's still an overpay by a significant amount. Trading Curry would send this club spiraling into a top-to-bottom reset. Green's trade market is likely nonexistent.

The Warriors pretty clearly need to upgrade their talent, but how do they make that happen? Setting the finances aside, they have a single first-round pick to trade (2028) and otherwise can only sweeten an offer with prospects like Kuminga and Moses Moody, both of whom are handling rotation roles and arguably supplying the biggest hopes for internal improvement.

The Dubs still have Curry on their side, so life could obviously be worse. But after spending so much of the last decade atop the Association, Golden State now resides in that proverbial nook between the rock and a hard place.