When the NBA free agency door opened Sunday, the Warriors had already crossed off a bold name at the top of their shopping list. Their obvious priority, nine-time All-Star Paul George, wouldn’t be available.
This is a major blow to Golden State as the team tries to get the most out of Stephen Curry’s remaining season, and it could be devastating if the front office can’t engineer a full recovery.
The 34-year-old George was the ideal addition to join the 36-year-old Curry and 34-year-old Draymond Green in a bid to get a point or two closer to the NBA Finals. An upgraded lineup would have brought dramatic improvements. This would have been a win-now core with a fighting chance to produce a fitting epilogue to Curry’s incredible career.
The Warriors will be championship contenders again, which has been Curry’s focus since a disastrous 2019-20 season in which a broken hand forced him to sit out five months and watch the Warriors finish with the worst record in the league.
The victory in the 2022 NBA Finals was a message to the world that the Warriors have regained their status as a feared team, despite being the third seed in the Western Conference. Curry became the best three-point shooter of all time and won the coveted Finals MVP award. And now the Warriors are once again a genuine powerhouse team.
Curry, perhaps more than anyone, wanted the Warriors to maintain that level of prestige.
But that’s not how they ended up. They finished sixth in the Western Conference in 2022-23 and were eliminated in the playoff semifinals by the Los Angeles Lakers. They finished 10th last season but were bussed 75 miles to Sacramento for a play-in tournament game before being pushed by the Kings in the offseason.
George will be the centerpiece of Golden State’s rebuild — a 6-foot-8, 225-pound wing in a league dominated by two-way wings. There are a few reasons why the Warriors chose George over Klay Thompson, but the most important one is that he’s a better player now.
If PG13 were to come to the Bay Area, it would be worth breaking up the greatest shooting backcourt the world has ever seen, the legendary “Splash Brothers.”
George opted out of the final season of his contract with the Los Angeles Clippers, becoming the No. 1 player on the unrestricted free agent market. He signed with the Philadelphia 76ers, a team desperate for a two-way wing, to pay him $212 million over the next four years.
So what about the Warriors? They have this week, next week and all summer to try to surround Curry with enough talent to extend the season into June.
Without George (there were several obstacles in the way of him), the Warriors had to rely on contingency. They had to lower their sights in order to try and get an All-Star.
Here’s a short list of players who may be available at that status. They all have varying degrees of availability, but three come to mind. Let’s look at each one in alphabetical order.
Brandon Ingram (New Orleans Pelicans)
The 2020 All-Star is available. His chemistry with franchise player Zion Williamson was poor, and even worse now that Dejounte Murray has partnered with CJ McCollum in the backcourt. Ingram’s biggest strength is that he can score on any move and is a good mid-range scorer. He’s also a solid playmaker.
Ingram’s biggest flaws are his inconsistency, his defense and his lack of playing time. Like Golden State’s Andrew Wiggins, he’s a rainbow player, beautiful when you see him but often invisible. The 6-foot-8, 195-pound wing’s thin frame makes him vulnerable, and his physical shortcomings are one of the reasons the 26-year-old has missed at least 20 games in each of the past four seasons.
Ingram is a career 36.2 percent 3-point shooter and is due to make $36 million in the final year of his contract, making him a player that teams will beg for more.
Zach LaVine (Chicago Bulls)
The two-time All-Star (2021, 2022) is on the market under a flashing neon sign. He came into the league as a great athlete looking for a match and has developed into a great offensive player. He averaged over 23 points per game, ending last season at 19.5 points. The 10-year veteran is a 38.2 percent 3-point shooter, with dunks being a highlight.
LaVine’s biggest problem is that he’s never been a consistent defender. At 6-foot-5, 200 pounds and agile, he has the ingredients to be a great defender, but he’s only been sporadic in his ability to do so.
With three years remaining on his contract and an average annual salary of $46 million, that sluggish deal has teams looking at LaVine and wondering if he’s worth it, which is why the Warriors reportedly turned down one offer.
Lauri Markkanen (Utah Jazz)
Markkanen is a one-time All-Star (2023), 7-foot-7, 240-pound guard who is one of the top five stretch fours in the league. He averaged 23.2 points on 48% shooting from the field, 39.9% from 3-point range and 8.2 rebounds last season. He makes a lot of sense for Golden State.
Of course, there are downsides. The Warriors would have to negotiate with Utah’s chief basketball operations officer, Danny Ainge. Ainge isn’t keen to move Markkanen, but his history suggests he doesn’t consider any player a lock. He owns multiple first-round picks in each of the next five drafts.
The Warriors have expressed interest, and Markkanen makes a lot of sense for them — the question is whether they can come up with terms that would convince Ainge to move the asset with just one year left on his contract for just $18 million.
George was a Hail Mary, but now Curry’s clock is ticking with each passing day. With the Warriors back at the bottom of the NBA, they face an uphill battle to get closer to the top. The front office faces perhaps its toughest challenge yet.
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