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The door shut on another Stephen Curry season Wednesday, and every new time it happens the thud is louder and the doomsayers move closer to getting it right.
Maybe the 121-110 series-clinching Game 5 loss to the Timberwolves at Target Center really does signal the end of this incredible run — with Curry on the sidelines, Jimmy Butler struggling to carry almost the entire offensive load, and Minnesota teeming with athletic players who overmatched most of the Warriors’ roster.
They are aging. They are more injury prone. They are not at all invincible, not anymore. Maybe it’s finally all out of reach. Maybe the Warriors’ era of championship relevance actually ended three years ago when they won their fourth title and celebrated like they knew it really might be their last. Since then, the Warriors have won only two playoff series — and now have lost in the second round to the Lakers in six games (in 2023) and the Timberwolves in five this postseason.
But all that gloomy evidence doesn’t mean the Warriors should surrender now. No, it’s the opposite: The harder it seems, the more the Warriors should and will be stubborn about this and the more they will fight against the dying of the dynastic light.
Because they have Curry. Because they could’ve won this series if he hadn’t strained his hamstring in Game 1 and maybe could’ve won two more series after that. Because the Warriors went 24-8 (including the play-in victory) after Butler’s arrival in February then beat the No. 2 seed Houston Rockets in Game 7 on the road in the first round. Because next season will be their first full one with Butler. Because Curry, Butler, and Draymond Green are all signed for two more years. Because Mike Dunleavy made tangible improvements to this team the past two offseasons and there’s no reason to think he can’t do it again.
Because if you have Curry, you keep trying, even when some people say you should give up. Because once you stop, you’ll never be able to go back to this again. Even if the odds are strongly against the Warriors climbing back to title contention next season, you never know. Who would’ve thought they had a real chance this season? And yet before Curry’s injury … they did.
“I know we had a shot,” Kerr told reporters in Minneapolis. “I know we could’ve gone the distance.”
The Warriors could have this same shot next season. They could have an even better one with a full season of Butler and some help in the middle of the roster — more wins, a better seed, homecourt advantage for one or two rounds. (And for all worrying about future Curry or Butler injuries, remember, other teams suffer playoff injuries, too.)
What the Warriors did with Butler was on the fly. Kerr switched up the offense, just let Butler do his thing when Curry was out of the game, and leaned on the players who adapted quickly. Those weren’t always the most talented guys on the roster, but there was no time to coach everybody into it. They mostly weren’t the players the Warriors would’ve hand-picked for this new style. And the Warriors still were a hamstring strain away from making this series and possibly the entire postseason a lot more interesting.
“For sure,” Butler said. “I think we all know that. We all believe that. Injuries is part of it. Nobody wants to be injured. It’s all about playing your best basketball at the right time and being healthy at the right time. Unfortunately, that wasn’t us.”
The Warriors definitely have some things to figure out. What will they do with Jonathan Kuminga, who is almost as much of an enigma entering restricted free agency this offseason as he was when the Warriors drafted him four years ago?
There’s a slight chance that Kuminga’s liftoff in the last few games — after he was benched at the end of the regular season and for several playoff matchups — will convince the Warriors that they have to do whatever they can to re-sign him and make sure he’s a fixed part of everything from now on. But that’d be a very expensive proposition, given the luxury-tax situation, for a player who has so often lost Kerr’s trust and probably isn’t so sure that he wants to remain here.
There’s a far larger chance that the recent burst of points and dunks increases Kuminga’s value on the restricted-free-agency market, which could help the Warriors, too. If Kuminga is a hot commodity, the Warriors will have a better chance or working out a sign-and-trade that brings them back a more versatile player who fits Kerr’s system in a way that Kuminga never could.
The Warriors also can trade several future first-round picks. They have a little bit of salary flexibility. They still should be viewed as a showcase franchise — almost anybody playing with Curry is going to get a little more famous than he used to be.
More than anything else, the Warriors need two-way players who can balance the floor. It’d be ideal to add a stretch center who can protect the rim and a combo guard who can play with Butler and hit shots (somebody like De’Anthony Melton?). But now the Warriors know exactly what they need around Curry and Butler.
Does that seem impossible? Let’s put it this way: Dunleavy did a lot of interesting stuff the past two offseasons working with a lot less maneuverability and less talent at the top of the roster than he has now.
“Sucks to end this way, but we think we’ve got the pieces to make another run at it and go out and do it again,” Draymond said. “That’s going to be our mindset going into the summer. Do all we have to improve, have one of the best ownership groups and front offices in the NBA. They’ll do whatever they feel is needed to help the team improve.”
What else do the Warriors have for next season? Brandin Podziemski, Buddy Hield, and Moses Moody went up and down this season — and into the playoffs — but they are solid enough and young enough to be written in as rotation players next season. Quentin Post and Trayce Jackson-Davis are potential backup or part-time starting centers. The Warriors could also re-sign Kevon Looney or Gary Payton II if either or both accept pay cuts.
Yeah, this isn’t exactly the Oklahoma City Thunder roster, but the Thunder don’t have Curry, Draymond, and Butler. Soon enough, the Warriors’ Big Three will just be their Old Three, and this team will drop from relevance. Maybe that will happen next season. Maybe it’s a fantasy to believe it hasn’t happened already.
But the Warriors didn’t acquire Butler — and hand him a $112 million extension — just as a three-month adventure. They did it to give Curry the help he needed to make a run this season, next season, and maybe the one after that. They did it because they will never have another player like Curry or another era like this, and this is not the time to be reckless or foolish about understanding that.