Golden State Warriors Depending On Internal Growth to Remain On Top
With the excitement of a “long overdue” championship parade and the high beams of the National spotlight fading away into NBA history, the Golden State Warriors find themselves in a Battle Royal!
The Warriors are finding out quick, fast, and in a hurry that complacency in the battle zone, known as the NBA Western Conference, can even have the Champions disappear to the back pages of the Sporting Section.
With teams from Milwaukee to San Antonio backing up armor trucks loaded with cash to the doorsteps of pending free-agents, the offseason has become a stampede to the nearest ATM with players running out of deposit slips. The dollars being spent on relatively unknown and unproven talent has every “gym dad” in America (ff not the world!) teaching their children a sick cross-over, step-back jumper as soon as they are out of diapers.
The Warriors may enter the 2015-16 season as the defending Champions, but by no means will they be the heavy favorites to win it all.
While the rest of the NBA was waiting patiently for the San Antonio Spurs to “go quietly into the night”, Greg Popovich and the Spurs brass had a different outlook. Instead of waving the white flag signaling the end of a long, historic Championship run, they summoned up their inner Tony Montana and reloaded.
The chance to chase a title in his home state was too much for ex-Portland Trailblazer, LaMarcus Aldridge, and his thirst for a title far outweighed his loyalty to the only franchise he has known. The Spurs not only added the four-time all-star to its veteran laden roster, they basically stole veteran power forward David West from the Indiana Pacers. West took an eleven million dollar pay cut to back up Aldridge and Tim Duncan.
The free agency wheeling and dealing saw another Texas team making a move to recapture old glory. The Dallas Mavericks nearly had every well-known sports journalist scratching their heads when they lured DeAndre Jordan away from the bright lights of Los Angeles and Lob City. You could see the stunned look on every NBA Insiders face as tried to explain why Jordan would leave Chris Paul and Blake Griffith for a Mavericks team with no point guard and an aging Dirk Nowitzki. However, it was recently reported that Jordan may be staying with the Clippers.
The Warriors undoubtedly knew the “bulls eye” placed on their back next year would be targeted by all. The West was already a minefield of proven veteran squads like San Antonio and Memphis combined with hungry Super Stars, such as Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. So by no means did they believe their quest to repeat was etched in stone.
The Warriors headed into the free agency frenzy with one main priority. Instead of looking for outside help and bringing in the unknown, the Warriors focused on keeping this young dynamic core together. They let it be known, loud and clear, that signing Draymond Green was the team’s top priority.
Bob Myers and the Warriors ownership group are fully aware that the key to a long prestigious run, like the Spurs, requires continuity and consistency. Their young roster has a chance to grow together and form a championship bond. It’s a bond not often found in today’s sports world of free agency.
The Warriors knew it would be impossible to bring back the entire championship roster, but the core had to remain strong. Stephen Curry is at the centerpiece of everything “Warriors.” However, the “Baby-Face Assassin” does not lead alone.
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The core group of Curry, Draymond, and Klay Thompson will be the driving force in determining how long the Dubs can remain on top of the West. All three are young, dynamic players whose individual games still have plenty of room for improvement. Curry, the reigning MVP, will begin to see the floor even better. He will begin to dissect those hard double teams with even more timely ball movement.
The “Bahama Bomber”, Klay Thompson, will become more consistent and continue to improve on his ball-handling skills, and Draymond “New Money” Green will continue to harness that raw emotion while continuing to grow as a stretch-four.
The Warriors aren’t looking to be one-year wonders. They firmly believe they have something special that is meant to last, and they will look to forge their own mark in NBA history.