Warriors are back, but for how long in wake of Draymond Green transgression? | Opinion
All the good vibes the Golden State Warriors had coming into the season – defending champs looking to repeat, trying to extend their dynasty another season – disintegrated with one Draymond Green punch directed at teammate Jordan Poole.
Now, the Warriors start the season under fragile circumstances – Green trying to recapture trust of the franchise, coaching staff and teammates, Poole navigating his feelings about Green and the Warriors hoping that the crack in the foundation doesn’t cause destruction.
Ring night at Chase Center will be different when Golden State opens the season Tuesday against the Los Angeles Lakers (10 p.m. ET, TNT). The fans will enjoy it and so will players commemorating their title run last season, but it happens against the backdrop that all is not perfect for the Warriors.
"My job as a coach is to prepare us to play and make sure we can put the best team on the floor as possible," Kerr said in the aftermath of Green’s transgression. "That job requires a ton of navigation, and it's very tricky."
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Kerr knows that all too well, both as a player for the Bulls when they won three consecutive championships in the 1990s and as coach of the Warriors for the past eight seasons when they won four titles.
Winning a title is hard, and it requires so much to go in a team’s favor. And the Warriors have given Green plenty of leeway on previous incidents. When is enough enough?
"We are going to get through all of this, and we're going to be OK," Kerr said.
That’s him doing coach stuff. How do the Warriors get through this?
It helps to have Kerr, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevon Looney and of course Poole, 23, who is handling this with a veteran’s maturity.
"In sports, everything's about taking on challenges and, and never giving in, doing anything possible," Basketball Hall of Famer and Warriors TV analyst Chris Mullin told USA TODAY Sports. "But there's also a power in surrendering, and there's power in restraint. So surrendering to the fact that there is a problem, being genuine and sincere with that, and then making amends. if you take those steps, you'll live with the results. Look, it's going be a long process. It's really unfortunate. But there is a way back."
Former NBA player Jamal Crawford, now with TNT, said if there’s a team in today’s NBA whose culture can withstand this, it’s the Warriors.
"They're rock solid at their foundation, rock solid," Crawford said. "Think about when KD (Kevin Durant) left, right? A different situation, but people were like, ‘The Warriors are done. They'll never be back.’ And they relied on their culture, they relied on their leadership. Obviously it's not a situation that you want to see, and actually seeing it made it a little bit worse even for me as a player.
"But one thing I can say is if they don't win it, people are all automatically going to look to this situation. They're going to come back and say, ‘Oh, they never got right from that situation.’ That happens. So the pressure's in that regard, but if there's any team that's built for it, it's the Warriors."
Primed for another title run
With mainstays Curry, Thompson and Green on the court and mostly healthy and Kerr – now on a path to the Hall of Fame as a coach – on the bench, the Warriors defeated Boston in a six-game Finals in June.
Curry re-entered the MVP conversation, Thompson returned to the lineup after missing 2½ seasons, Green delivered when necessary and Kerr made the right decisions with a new supporting cast that included Poole.
Now, there’s the possibility of another title – the Warriors are favored to win the Western Conference – in 2022-23. Of course, they’ll have to navigate an improved West and internal issues.
As much attention as there is on Golden State’s present, the future – and ownership’s willingness to spend money on certain players – looms large for a franchise that has spent significant luxury tax money to build a contender.
The Warriors paid a $170 million luxury tax bill for last season and are expected to pay another $170 million in luxury taxes this season. In July, the NBA fined Golden State owner Joe Lacob $500,000 for calling the league’s luxury tax system unfair.
Warriors ownership has some of the deepest pockets in the league, and while owner Joe Lacob has said it won’t be one long continuous spending spree, the Warriors are using their vast financial resources to try and win more championships. They already made financial decisions following the title in June – unable to keep a championship team together. Gary Payton II and Otto Porter Jr. left for other opportunities.
However, the Warriors just reached extensions with Andrew Wiggins (four years, $109 million) and Poole (four years, $123 million plus incentives that could make the deal worth $140 million). This season, the Warriors will pay approximately $360 million in salaries and luxury taxes, and when those Wiggins and Poole extensions kick in starting with the 2023-24 season, the Warriors are headed for nearly $500 million in salaries and taxes. It's a staggering amount considering ownership purchased the team for a then-record $450 million in 2010.
More decisions are ahead. Green can become a free agent or opt into the final year of his deal for 2023-24. Golden State will also need to make a decision at some point on James Wiseman, the No. 2 pick in the 2020 draft who has played in just 39 games in two seasons and missed all of last season with a knee injury. Will he be part of Golden State’s future? That depends on what kind of season he has and how much he can contribute to Golden State’s success.
Curry, Thompson and Green are all back along with Wiggins, Looney, Poole, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody and offseason acquisitions Donte DiVincenzo, JaMychal Green and Patrick Baldwin Jr.
It starts with Curry, who at 34 years old is entering his 14th NBA season. He was sensational in the 2022 playoffs, averaging 27.4 points, 5.9 assists, 5.2 rebounds and 1.3 steals and shooting 45.9% from the field and 39.7% on 3-pointers. He earned his first Finals MVP award against the Celtics with 31.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game and by shooting 48.2% from the field and 43.7% on 3s.
He still has it.
"Steph’s never been better defensively, and in the playoffs, when you get time to rest, at 34, 35, 36, there’s no reason why he can’t continue to have playoff runs like this," Kerr said. "It’s all out there for him, and we know he’s going to work for it. It’s fun just to be a part of."
Thompson returned last season for the first time since the 2019 Finals against Toronto, and while he wasn’t always pre-injury Klay, he got there enough to prove a return to All-Star status isn’t out of the question.
Wiggins resuscitated his career with the Warriors and proved to be a vital two-way player of their championship squad. He was outstanding against the Celtics, averaging 18.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks and was tasked with defending Boston’s top playmakers. Entering the league with so much promise, Wiggins has found a place where he can succeed with his skillset.
Green brings a lot – stuff the Warriors don’t like and as Warriors GM Bob Myers bluntly told SiriusXM NBA Radio, “He is so important to what I believe is our past, our present and our future.”
For his part, Green apologized to the team and Poole.
If the Warriors continue to develop young players, and especially if Wiseman turns into a talent worthy of the No. 2 pick, and Green regains that trust, the Warriors will be in the championship hunt in the spring.
"The window’s open," Kerr said, looking at a deep conference with the Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns (2021 finalists), Memphis Grizzlies (2022 conference finalists), Dallas Mavericks (2022 conference finalists), Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans and Los Angeles Lakers.
The window’s open now. Can Golden State break through to the other side one more time and enhance its status as one of the NBA’s all-time great teams? And how much longer can they keep it going?
And what is Green’s role in all of that?
Follow NBA columnist Jeff Zillgitt on Twitter @JeffZillgitt
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Will Draymond Green derail Warriors' shot at another NBA championship?
