The Golden State Warriors emerged as true winners of the offseason

The Golden State Warriors may have lost some significant pieces in free agency, but they ultimately emerged as one of the true winners of the offseason.

The Golden State Warriors‘ offseason this summer was never going to be something that the organization looked forward to. While many teams eagerly awaited free agency with hopes of making much-needed improvements to their roster, the Warriors had one goal in mind.

Keep the core together — at least as much as possible. The Warriors weren’t looking to rebuild, they wanted to reload.

That would be a tall task, however, with two of their superstars — Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson — set to hit the open market. And with little cap space and an abundance of depth also hitting free agency, the task seemed impossible.

But even after the initial plan proved to be unworkable, Golden State found other ways to put together a full-on reload.

Durant left, but the team managed to re-sign Thompson to a max contract. Veteran depth pieces who had become staples of the franchise in Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston both departed due to financial issues, but they managed to retain a key role player in Kevon Looney.

And while they lost star center DeMarcus Cousins, the signing of Sacramento cast-off Willie Cauley-Stein — along with the re-signing of Looney — should help alleviate any concerns of a drop-off in production.

Simply put, the Warriors had an answer for everything that the offseason threw at them.

When Durant was set to leave to go to Brooklyn, the Warriors managed to orchestrate a sign-and-trade to acquire budding All-Star guard D’Angelo Russell. When Cousins proved to be too expensive to retain, the team signed Cauley-Stein for cheap and retained Looney at a discounted rate.

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That right there is the sign of a well-run front office who understands their limitations but also makes use of their resources. The Warriors were able to sign Cauley-Stein and Looney for below their market value because of their reputation as an organization.

That reputation has been built up over the course of nearly a decade as the franchise has done their best to establish themselves as the gold standard of NBA excellence.

General manager Bob Myers, head coach Steve Kerr, and a heap of talented basketball players have helped make Golden State an enviable free-agent destination. So much so that players take discounts just to play there.

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We saw that on full display this offseason, and it’s one of the primary reasons that the Warriors were able to come away as well as they did.

With Durant gone and Thompson out for most of next season, the NBA world is ready to write off the Warriors as a dynasty removed from its glory days. But quietly, Golden State has managed to stay strong — a direct result of an excellent offseason.

A lineup of Stephen Curry, Russell, Thompson, Draymond Green, and Cauley-Stein/Looney should easily be able to compete for a title once again come the spring. And that lineup would not have been possible if not for their maximization efforts this offseason.

The bench depth will have to step up, however, and that aspect of the team remains unproven.