Since 2010, the Golden State Warriors have been the most successful club, particularly thanks to their trio of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson, who have won four NBA championships. They are without a doubt iconic members of the Golden State Warriors organization, and many supporters anticipate that they will play out their careers with the team.
However, the NBA is a business, and sometimes players end up getting traded despite their accomplishments and loyalty to a given franchise. Warriors governor Joe Lacob has recently claimed that though he wants to “keep” Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson with the Warriors for the rest of their careers, he noted that in the NBA things usually don’t “end that way”. Tim Kawakami of The Athletic relayed the news.
Right, Joe? Or can you tell Curry, Draymond and Klay that they will be Warriors as long as they want to be?
“Whether we like to hear this or not, players do get older and their skills erode; the question is trying to time all that,” Lacob said. “We would like them to retire, all three of them, as Warriors. I really would like that. We really would like that. And I think they would like that. And we’re going to try to do that if it makes sense.
“But unfortunately, if you look through the history of professional sports, let’s look at the NBA in particular, it usually doesn’t end that way. Players want to hang on sometimes a little longer than they can or should. Organizations sometimes want to hang on to a dream longer. So you’re trying to put all that into perspective and trying to balance it all. Bill Walsh, I think I’ve quoted him before, once said, ‘Better to trade a player a year too early than a year too late.’ I’m not saying we’re thinking like that necessarily, but it’s really an important statement. You don’t want to go through a decade of being bad, either, for our fans, right? It’s a very difficult calculus.
“I want to keep those guys here. I want them to be here. As long as they’re playing at a very high level, rest assured they will be here. I would love obviously for some of them to sacrifice (in salary) a little bit, or what they perceive as a sacrifice, to stay and to help our organization maintain a great roster. You always hope for that. It usually doesn’t happen. And I can’t blame them because they have limited life spans as players and they want to make as much money as they can.”
There is no doubt that this is a concerning update for Warriors fans, and it’s clear that Lacob leaves open the possibility that one of the Warriors’ big 3 will depart in the future. Hopefully, though, that doesn’t happen, and Joe Lacob did mention that the trio “will be here” if they continue to play at “a very high level”.
The Golden State Warriors Could Keep Winning Titles
There is no doubt that the Golden State Warriors still have a very good squad, and they could easily keep winning more titles. In fact, Stephen Curry previously claimed that the Warriors’ championship window will continue to be open.
We’ve talked about that. I’ve said it plenty of times, we have a lot left in the tank in terms of what we can do out there on the floor. Bring up the age thing, that’s something to talk about, but it doesn’t really reflect how we approach this playoff journey, our confidence in what we can do going forward.
It is easy to see why Stephen Curry said what he said. He is still playing at a high level, and when he is in “the zone”, he cannot be stopped. As long as Stephen Curry is dominating, the Golden State Warriors will likely feel confident against any team.
Though the Golden State Warriors are in the play-in tournament right now, they are clearly a team that is better than their record. Hopefully, they turn things around, and find a way to make the playoffs and go on a deep run.
Source: https://fadeawayworld.net
