The Warriors will miss out on the 2024 NBA Playoffs
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 17, 2024
Is this the end of an era in Golden State? pic.twitter.com/wcX8zl173O
The long night is finally over, the Warriors Dynasty is dead. I know people were online saying that prematurely a few years ago, only for the Warriors to go on another run and win a fourth ring, but this time I think it’s truly safe to say this is the end.
The Warriors got steamrolled by the Sacramento Kings 118-94 in the Play-In and will miss the 2024 playoffs. It was a passing of the torch, in some ways (the Kings still have to win one more game to make the playoffs), since the Warriors eliminated the Kings in the playoffs last year. Klay Thompson, in what was perhaps his last game in a Warriors uniform, finished without a basket. He went 0-10 from the field, and 0-6 from beyond the arc. Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins finished with 12 points each, and Moses Moody and Jonathan Kuminga each had 16 off the bench. Steph Curry had 22, and was trying his best to will his team to victory.
Everyone in the Kings starting five had at least 15 points, with Keegan Murray leading the way with 32. De’Aaron Fox also had 24 points. The Kings were flying around the court, showing just how much faster they were than the Warriors. They played a great game, and Golden State just couldn’t keep up, which is obviously something no one is used to seeing.
Warriors Big 3
Some very major questions surround the future of Golden States big three. The main one being: can they win a championship with this core? They have Steph Curry, and that’s a great spot to start. Steph still has the juice, averaging 26.4 points per game on 45/40/92 splits this season. I have no doubts he can continue to be the number one option on this team. Steph is probably the only thing the Warriors don’t have to worry about. Unless, of course, he decides he wants to leave.
The Warriors signed Draymond Green to a 4y/$100M contract extension last offseason, but his antics were a complete liability for Golden State this year. At some point, his play on the court will be outweighed by his volatility (if we’re not there already). Three weeks ago, Draymond got ejected in the first quarter, and for the first time you really saw how fed up Steph was.
The elephant in the room is the soon-to-be free agent Klay Thompson. As mentioned, Klay was an abysmal 0-10 from the floor against Sacramento. To his credit, he played in 77 games this year, which I think everyone was happy to see considering his past injuries. Realistically, what can you pay Klay Thompson? It doesn’t seem fair, or reasonable, to give him less than Draymond Green, considering he is the better player. Are you going to pay him $30 million per year? I’m not sure that’s justifiable. He’s still a good player, but I think the days of him being Steph’s wingman are behind him.
If I was a fan, I’d want them to blow it up. Usually, when you hold on to something for too long, and then are disappointed by it, you grow to resent it. You have Steph Curry, and that should be enough to try and maximize this roster for his talents for however long he has left in the league. It has always been Steph’s team, and as big of a role as Draymond and Klay have played in the dynasty, I think it’s time to say goodbye.
You can’t keep both of these guys around, and also expect to get younger, and also expect to build a championship team. Those goals cannot coexist. If they keep this big three intact, you are punting on a chance to compete for another championship with Steph Curry, and that’s straight up basketball malpractice. The best course of action for the franchise is to move forward without Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, but that’s a lot easier said than done.
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