The Golden State Warriors' prospects did not get better this summer. They more or less ran it back and did little else. That's a problem when coming off a season that didn't even result in the playoffs. It's gotten so bad that there's been rampant speculation about Stephen Curry being traded to the Boston Celtics.
Whether that comes to fruition or not, one thing is for sure, pending any last second hail maries: the Warriors' title window is closed.
And this hasn't been just because their guys like Curry and Draymond Green have aged out. The Warriors don't want to risk dooming their future to help their present while Curry is still on the team. Even though Jaylen Brown was right there for the taking, the Warriors decided to pass on the opportunity to have their cake and eat it.
And this has been their MO for some time. Instead of trading the lottery picks they had years ago for win-now players, they held onto them in the hopes that they would pan out. They snagged a title four years ago (apologies to the Celtics fanbase), but between what happened from 2019 to now, that title felt like the stars aligned for them.
In fact, they're lucky that Jimmy Butler fell into their lap because if it hadn't been for that, it would have been over a long time ago. Butler will come back this season, but any guy on the wrong side of 30 coming back from an ACL tear will have his effectiveness come into question, even if it's someone like Butler.
This is something the Celtics are all too familiar with
Boston has had multiple title windows over the course of its franchise history. Any team that goes up must come down. The Bill Russell days ended on a high note, as they won one last title as Russell and company rode off into the sunset. The Larry Bird days sadly went out on a whimper, as they slowly aged out from the 1980s to the 1990s.
The Paul Pierce era fought valiantly for five years, but by 2013, it was clear that their heyday was over, so they blew it up before it got worse. Doing so led to Banner 18, 11 years later.
Now Golden State, who had their first title window since the 1970s, now have a conundrum on their hands. Do they hope for the best with Curry that he goes out on a playoff contender? Do they let the team age out like the Celtics did with Bird? Do they get ahead of the curve by blowing it up as Boston did in the Pierce era?
It's a shame to see players like Curry (not to mention old friend Al Horford) go out like this, but it's just how it works in the NBA.
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