After the NBA Finals, it was believed heavily that the Golden State Warriors’ dynasty was done for good. In Game 5, Kevin Durant suffered a ruptured Achilles injury that ended his season. The next game saw Klay Thompson go down with a torn ACL, ending both his and the Warriors’ season. Golden State went on to lose to the Toronto Raptors in six games.
The next sense of panic for Golden State came in free agency. GM Bob Myers and the rest of the front office were under the impression that they could re-sign Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson to keep the core intact. While Klay Thompson re-signed on a five-year, $190 million max deal, Durant did not. Durant left Golden State to join the Brooklyn Nets on a four-year, $164 million deal. This left the Warriors without a key piece of their team for much of the first night of free agency. Then the Brooklyn Nets came calling with a trade proposal.
Just when it looked like Golden State got significantly worse, they somewhat filled the void left by Durant. The Warriors and Nets agreed to a sign-and-trade deal centered around PG D’Angelo Russell. The trade sent the restricted free agent to the Warriors on a four-year, $117 million max deal. While many rumors were circulated surrounding all of the top free agents, no one saw this one coming. Klay Thompson will be on the back burner recovering from his injury until February 2020. This leaves the Warriors with the newest All-Star backcourt duo in Russell and Steph Curry.
Warriors Look to Remain Contenders
This move is a downgrade from what Kevin Durant brought. Golden State, however, added an All-Star PG who carried a team in Brooklyn to the postseason. The front office of Golden State knew the caliber of the player they were losing when Durant signed with Brooklyn. Adding Russell fills some of that (at least on the scoring end). Although the Warriors used five All-Stars this season to make it to the NBA Finals, we must remember who they were before the Durant era.
The Warriors were a team who, at best, needed three All-Stars to make it to back-to-back Finals in 2015 and 2016. That team was led by Curry, Thompson, and Green. No one complained about the fact that this Warriors team was so good because they earned every single victory. Even though it took three All-Stars, they weren’t impossible to beat. They were just a team with a few stars and a bunch of above-average players who meshed together well.
Competition in the West has, of course, increased over the past few years. But, if the Warriors are able to string together deep playoff runs with a team led by Curry, Thompson, and Green, then the acquisition of D’Angelo Russell is that much more critical. Thompson being out led many to question if the Warriors can even snag home-court next season. Now that D’Angelo Russell is a Warrior, that gives Steph another offensively well-rounded teammate to play off of.
Now, Curry won’t be left alone to carry the burden of the Warriors’ offense on his back. Draymond Green isn’t known to be a scorer, and the Warriors should be aware that Curry can’t do it all on his own. In fact, most NBA Champions can’t. The best player on a team needs that reliable second player, especially in today’s NBA. And, next season, that player will be D’Angelo Russell.
Can Curry and Russell Co-Exist?
As much help as Russell will be for Curry, no one could’ve imagined the two in the same back-court. Their respective games are more different than people may think. Russell is an offensive machine, but his game almost solely sees him as a pick-and-roll player. He ran more pick-and-roll plays than the entire Warriors team did. That’s not the type of system Steve Kerr likes to run in Golden State. Instead, they revolve their offensive around a forever active Steph Curry, as he maneuvers all around the court, not in pick-and-roll situations.
The problem here is that the Warriors are Curry’s team. Russell is going to need to adjust his style in order to compliment him the best he can. As far as Brooklyn’s system went last year, it was a system suited for Russell to perform his best. On the other side of the ball, the Warriors have taken a massive blow. As hard as he tries, it’s well known that Curry isn’t a good defender. Klay Thompson was able to pick up the slack for a struggling Curry who couldn’t keep up with some of the NBA’s elite.
D’Angelo Russell isn’t Klay Thompson. Russell is a significantly worse defender. Thompson is on the shelf, and Andre Iguodala was traded. This means that the Warriors are in an even deeper hole defensively. Russell gives zero effort on defense. Curry “relies” on Thompson to handle those tougher matchups. Now, without him, the Warriors will have to score much more.
What Happens When Klay Returns?
When Klay Thompson returns he’ll both want and get his spot back in the Warriors’ lineup. Considering Curry, Thompson, and Russell are all guards, someone is going to have to go to the bench. The question will be whether the Warriors will stick with the newly-established chemistry of Russell and Curry. Golden State will most likely stick with their past winning formula, starting Thompson and Curry, thus sending Russell to the bench.
For Russell, that may make him unhappy because he knows he can be a starter on most teams in the league. From Golden State’s perspective, this is the reason they can be so dangerous in the West. A torn ACL is an injury that some players are able to recover from at full strength. Bigger players tend to have more trouble while smaller ones recover quite quickly (in most instances).
This gives Golden State their original trio of Curry, Thompson, and Green who led them to a championship a few years back. With the addition of Russell to the bench, the Warriors have a more reliable asset to run their second unit. Klay will still be recovering and won’t be “Game 6 Klay” that he normally is, but he will shoot the lights out.
Is Russell’s Time in Golden State Temporary?
NBA Insider Marc Stein emphasized that the Warriors had no original interest in Russell. They didn’t want anything in return for what they were losing in Kevin Durant. According to Stein, the Warriors “WILL trade him” and “it’s just a matter of when.”
This claim makes things a lot more interesting in terms of where the Warriors future. Consider they want to trade Russell for more assets. That could mean he’ll be on his way out by the trade deadline around when Thompson could return.
As unfortunate as it is, the Warriors played their cards right. Curry and D-Lo will carry Golden State through the first half of the season. They’ll intelligently trade Russell for key players that’ll help them make another deep playoff run. Klay also won’t feel the need to go all out in his first weeks back because of those assets acquired from a potential D’Angelo Russell trade.
Now, this conflicts the Warriors greatly. If they want to trade Russell, they’re going to have to make him look as good as possible. As covered previously, the offense runs through Steph and his ability to be an active player on the floor. Russell is going to have to reconstruct his game to fit the Warriors. However, that can take some time. This leads Steve Kerr to decide whether or not to cut down on the plays designed for Curry and focus more on the strengths of Russell. If so, Russell will have a tremendous increase in trade value leading to a better future for Golden State.
Golden State Will Never Be The Same
The Warriors won’t be the dynasty they once were. They pulled the trigger on this trade just to make sure they gained something in exchange for Durant’s departure. And, as good of a player as D’Angelo Russell is, he doesn’t fit this team at all. The 2019-20 season will start off rough for the Warriors’ new backcourt duo that provides no defensive threat. On top of that, Russell’s style just doesn’t seem to mesh with that of the Warriors. Russell was just a consolation piece for a team that’s entering a new era.
There’s no doubt that Golden State will trade Russell for a variety of reasons beyond just this season. The “heart and soul” of the team, Draymond Green, is due to be a free agent at the end of next season. This makes the trading of Russell a crucial move that must be made. Golden State seemed desperate for a star. Although they signed who they wanted, they still may crumble under the bright lights of an even more competitive Western Conference.