What the Warriors need, according to Lowe, to get back into NBA title contention originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
The warriors seem to know what they have to do to back to the top of the NBA.
Accomplishing this task, however, was not easy.
Golden State has taken big swings this offseason but failed to acquire All-Star Paul George of the The Los Angeles Clippers And Lauri Markkanen of the Utah Jazz.
In the mind of ESPN’s Zach Lowe, the Warriors won’t contend for an NBA title again unless they win a Top player teams up with Steph Curry.
“It’s going to take a home run, a lightning strike,” Lowe said on “NBA Today” Thursday. “Something like the (San Antonio) Spurs obtained with the writing Kawhi Leonard towards the end of Tim DuncanThis is the first pick because that’s what happens to great legends who stay on a team. You win a lot and even if you win a lot, you get selected in the bottom of the first round, so you probably don’t get stars at that level.
“And then the core gets older and it’s hard to go from old to great again when the old guys are still in the league and that’s where the Warriors are.”
“It’s going to take a home run, a lightning strike, something like what the Spurs got by drafting Kawhi Leonard toward the end of Tim Duncan’s career.”@ZachLowe_NBA on Steph Curry and the Warriors’ closeness to the title race 🏆 pic.twitter.com/00U2JqVCjg
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) September 5, 2024
In a loaded Western ConferenceThe Warriors finished 10th last season and lost to the Sacramento Kings during the play-in tournament. And things won’t get any better in the upcoming 2024-25 NBA season.
Klay Thompson is in DallasCurry will be 37 at the end of the season. Draymond Green will be 35 years old at the beginning of March.
Warriors added veterans Buddy Hield, Kyle Anderson and De’Anthony Melton as bench depth, but none of them are close to the type of player Lowe thinks he needs.
“They’re a good team,” Lowe said. “They’re a good team, with a lot of depth in the Western Conference. They could win a round. If things go their way, they could win two rounds, but they’re not a contender. And you know what? That might be okay. That’s not a reflection of Steph. That’s not necessarily a reflection of bad management, although they’d probably like to have that.” James Wiseman They’re going to look for stars, like they’re looking for Paul George, they’re looking for Lauri Markkanen. They have picks to trade, they’re not dead yet, but they’re going to need a lightning home run to get back to the top.
“And if they don’t, that’s okay. It’s a great honor to be a one-team legend on good teams for the rest of Steph’s career.”
After missing George and Markkanen, the Warriors must hope the guards Brandin Podziemski And Moses Moodyand forward Jonathan Kuminga And Trayce Jackson-Davis everything can make great strides in their development this season.
Warriors’ window to acquire ‘love at first sight’ player is closing. General manager Mike Dunleavy and its management will continue to try. They know it won’t be easy.
But as Lowe makes clear, if the Warriors fail to land another top-tier player, it’s not the end of the world.
Curry and Golden State have accomplished a lot over the past decade, and all good things must come to an end at some point.
