After winning yet another NBA championship last season, Stephen Curry is playing MVP-caliber basketball. But the Warriors are struggling.
Fourteen games into the season, Golden State has a losing record to begin the 2022-23 campaign. Even if Curry continues to dominate on the court, he will need more support from his teammates, and he’s currently not getting it.
Klay Thompson is averaging 14.7 points per game, the lowest mark of his career since his rookie season in 2011-12. Meanwhile, his 3-point percentage (33.0 percent) is a career-low by a considerable margin.
Draymond Green is not making as much of an impact, either. His counting stats indicate his blocks and steals per game are the fewest since his first season in the league—when he was not yet in the starting lineup.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr reflected on what this means (via ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne):
“This is my ninth year,” Kerr explains. “If you look at the core — Steph, Klay, Draymond, Andre — those guys have been together for basically a decade. That doesn’t happen in sports.
“But when you have a backcourt like these two guys who are just so potent and explosive, but also just so naturally humble and respectful to everyone around them, that allows for an organization to get through the rough patches.
“But it can only last so long. We know this isn’t going forever. This could be the last year, maybe next year is the last year. We’re in the final stages. We know that. We want to make the most of it.”
Kerr suggests that either this year or next year could be the final year of Golden State’s championship-winning core group of stars.
That suggests something fairly obvious: Green could be on his way out.
Green signed a four-year, $99.6 million extension in August 2019. He is in the third year of the deal, but he could opt out after this season if he wants to become a free agent.
Can't convince me Steph and Draymond aren't telepathically linked. pic.twitter.com/emtcoqmd4H
— Joe Viray (@JoeVirayNBA) November 15, 2022
Green and Curry still have a remarkable connection with one another on the court but at some point, it may be too costly to pay all of the veterans on this roster.
According to reports, Green covets a max contract, but the Warriors do not have plans to offer him one — especially after the drama surrounding Green, who punched teammate Jordan Poole during the offseason.
Due to luxury tax penalties, the Warriors already have the most expensive team of all time. But after signing Poole and Andrew Wiggins to contract extensions during the offseason, keeping the veteran group in-tact would be nearly impossible.
