As the 2024-25 NBA season, the Golden State Warriors find themselves in a tricky spot.

 

 

They continue clinging onto championship dreams but lack the high-end talent needed to make them a reality.

That’s why this front office has spent much of the last calendar year on the edge of a diving board, eager to make the kind of cannon-ball splash that could catapult them back into title contention. Last season, they made a push to acquire LeBron James. This summer, they “wanted both” Paul George and Lauri Markkanen, per The Athletic’s Anthony Slater.

“The conversation was always about that possibility,” Draymond Green told Slater. “You get both of those guys, you make a huge splash. But the Clippers weren’t willing to play ball. Then Danny Ainge was being Danny Ainge.”

At some point along the way, the Warriors also “had a conversation” with the Minnesota Timberwolves about Karl-Anthony Towns, per Slater. However, the Warriors didn’t have what the Wolves wanted, so Towns was shipped off to the New York Knicks.

The lack of movement clearly hasn’t stemmed from a lack of effort. However, the end result can be frustrating, particularly when viewed alongside the ticking championship clock attached to 36-year-old franchise face Stephen Curry.

The two-time MVP only has so much longer to help lead a title run. And he clearly doesn’t have the supporting cast around him required for such a feat.

The Warriors went 46-36 last season and were knocked out of the Play-In Tournament. While they managed to add a few helpful veterans this summer—De’Anthony Melton, Kyle Anderson and Buddy Hield—they weren’t a few role players away from a championship-level breakthrough.

That’s why this search for a second star keeps barreling forward. Frustrating or not, the past misses won’t matter so long as the Warriors eventually connect.

“It’s a tough job. I understand that,” Curry said. “But it’s an ongoing job. Right now, [Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr.] is doing a great job. But there are going to be decisions coming up that he’s going to have to figure out. It’s our job as players to keep applying the pressure by the way we’re playing.”

Really, that pressure likely falls on four players.

First and foremost, Curry must prove he’s still capable of being the best player—or at least part of a 1A-1B setup—on a championship team. He’s been objectively awesome of late, but he hasn’t quite lived up to his previous performances. His last time being honored as an All-NBA first-teamer came back in 2020-21.

Then, there’s Draymond Green, now the only Warrior not named Curry who was around for their first of four championship runs. Golden State needs to know it can’t count on Green, which hasn’t been easy amid his myriad absences (55 or fewer games in three of the past five seasons). It also must continue seeing dominant defense and high-level playmaking from its all-purpose power forward and small-ball center.

Finally, there are the youngsters, namely Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski. Their challenge is to either quickly become the co-stars Curry needs or at least play well enough to anchor a deal for an established elite. While the Warriors have a few future first-round picks to shop around, other clubs (even some win-now ones) can put more draft assets on the table, so Golden State needs its young players to be what puts its offer over the proverbial hump.

The Warriors are likely in water-treading mode at the moment. They’ll surely want to see where they stand early in the season, and there aren’t any obvious star-level trade targets on the market.

Those targets will emerge at some point, though. Hoops history suggests that’s an inevitability.

When they do, Golden State has to get a deal done. If the goal is to give Curry another crack at a ring, then the objective is to give him the kind of high-end help needed to take home the hardware.