2019-2020 Finish: 25-57

Season Highlight:

The (continued) emergence of Bam Adebayo. Bam started to show flashes of untapped true untapped potential in his sophomore campaign in Miami. Bam was then able to use his second NBA offseason, great management, and great push from his NBA teammates to turn into a double-double guy. Anyone will tell you though, Bam does more on the floor than the stat sheet represents. First and foremost: Bam does not get hurt. Well, not often. For the second consecutive year, Adebayo was able to play in all 82 games. The 12^th overall selection in the 2017 draft by Dallas, Bam has definitely lived up to his expectations. Career high PPM, and RPM helped keep a sinking Warriors ship afloat. Look for Bam to take a huge jump this offseason, and in the new 2k21 engine.

Season Lowlight:           

The new year. The Golden State Warriors had an abysmal January, sporting a 15-4 record. At one point the ‘Dubs dropped 7 straight, and 9 of the last 10 to start the calendar year. I guess GSW saw the dumpster fire that is 2020 coming and decided to get ahead of the game.

Best Trade:

The Golden State Warriors send Josh Hart and Daniel Theis to the Philadelphia 76ers. The Philadelphia 76ers send Bogdan Bogdanovic and Kenrich Williams to the Golden State Warriors.

I liked this deal at the time for the Warriors,  and in retrospect. Of course the 76ers needed to ditch Bogdan’s expiring, I just don’t think Josh Hart will ever be anything more than just a guy. Philadelphia shopped Bogdan for a while though, so this is clearly the best value they could get, but I digress. With Bogdan likely to stay in the Bay Area due to his NBA S&T deal falling through, the Warriors would look to do whatever necessary in FA to keep him, if I were to guess.

Worst Trade:       

The Golden State Warriors send Juan Hernangomez and Torrey Craig to the New York Knicks. The New York Knicks send Kyle Anderson to the Golden State Warriors.
The New York Knicks send a 2nd-Rounder (NY) to the Golden State Warriors.

I hate to say there isn’t a “bad” trade for GSW last year, but … there’s not. I guess relative to the others, if  I HAD to pick one it’d be the acquiring of Kyle Anderson. Again the dump of an expiring in Torey Craig… but Kyle Anderson is the better player, at least in my opinion. The ‘Dubs also got a pick thrown in. Now, given, Anderson will make a bit more than he’s probably worth, especially in a 2k game that punishes the unathletic, but it’s a small price for GSW to pay for getting a contributor who is under contract for a couple of years.

Other notable trades:

The Brooklyn Nets send Norman Powell to the Golden State Warriors.
The Golden State Warriors send a 2020 1st-Rounder (OKC) to the Brooklyn Nets.

This was in the running for the best trade, honestly. The pick became Zeke Nnaji, big man out of Arizona, who I like a good bit. BUT, as we all know, Norman Powell is a proven commodity, and a pretty damn good player. Another move that buys GSW some time for stability, as Norman is still under contract for 2 years as well. Powell’s numbers won’t blow you away while looking at the stat sheet, but I fully expect him to get more PT in the Bay, and you’ll see inflated numbers because of it. Powell is exactly what Golden State needs to attempt to make their roster competitive: ballers.

Star:

Is there a debate? It’s Edrice and it’s not close… The 3 year “vet” has now averaged a double-double in each of his first three seasons. (With a little rounding.) Bam was also the only Warrior to average a double-double last season. With 13 and 12 last year, Adebayo was the engine that drove the Warriors. Even if they aren’t a supercar, Bam is on his way to being a superstar and should be in the bay for a long time coming.

Goat:

It’s got to be Torrey Craig, right? Touted as a nice 3&D player in 2K, Craig lived up to absolutely neither of those things. Shooting 29% from the floor is basement level, with guys like T. J. McConnell. That low of an efficiency also makes it hard for keep you on the floor to even prove you can play defense… hence Craig’s miniscule 13 MPG, and why he was dealt for Slow-Mo.    

Free Agency:

(Notable) UFA:

·         Jordan Clarkson – Clarkson has to be the highest priority UFA for the ‘Dubs, right? There isn’t another “bucket getter” on the squad … no offense Doug McDermott. I expect Tim to swing for the fences on Clarkson, if only to move him for assets he likes more before the deadline.

·         Jeff Teague – GSW has to fill out their roster somehow, and keeping a cheap veteran PG would help that significantly. Again, the Warriors just need players. I doubt they are able to retain all four of these guys, and have no idea if they want to or not, but it can’t be a bad idea to look at after Teague signed a value contract of $2.5M for one year in the NBA with Boston.

·         John Henson – I would expect Henson to be a target for GSW to keep. Could come cheap, and the Dubs front court depth is really slim right now. Also see: Skal Labissiere

·         Michael Kidd-Gilchrist – I could easily see MKG getting pulled away in free agency by someone looking for a defensive specialist, and Tim may not have much interest in spending points on MKG either. MKG is likely elsewhere, I’d think.

(Notable) RFA:

·         Bogdan Bogdanovic – If Bogdan isn’t in Oakland to start the season in the NLL, I’d be shocked. BB is Tim’s best overall wing, and a nice shot maker too. Norman Powell, Bogdan and Adebayo are the Warriors “big three” and I fully expect it to stay that way after FA.

·         Skal Labissiere – Also see: John Henson. Given no points needed, Skal is likely to stay as well, especially due to the aforementioned front court depth.

·         Denzel Valentine – Remember when Denzel Valentine was supposed to be Draymond Green 2.0? Yeah, no idea who came up with that take. With that being said, Valentine will be another easy keep for a GSW team that needs to fill out it’s roster. Valentine can play multiple positions as well.

Draft Grade:

Both picks get a B- from me, which is nothing to sneeze at in the second round. Will these guys be stars? Almost surely not. Starters? Nope. But they very well could fill stop gaps in key rotations for the Warriors in the coming years. Grant Riller is a feisty guard from the College of Charleston who can flat out score. Riller was signed to a two way contract a few days prior to this writing, as well. Can’t argue with Riller at 48 overall, honestly.

C. J. Elleby is … extremely intriguing. The last time the Washington Cougars had a winning season? 2011. The last time the Washington Cougars had an NBA Draft selection? 2011.

That draft selection? Klay Thompson. Verdict: C. J. Elleby is Klay Thompson.

In all seriousness, the biggest stand out from Elleby’s tape is his numbers and performance in what are considered “big games” to a Washington State program that is usually in the basement. In two big matchups against fellow 2020 draftee Jaden McDaniels, Elleby averaged 33 and 10… He had another huge double double in a big upset of Colorado as well. Elleby’s efficiency may have scared some teams away, but he shot 83% from the FT line in conference play. That’s very indicative of someone who can shoot at a high efficiency in the NBA.

The Future:

It’s going to be a long road for the Warriors, but one that Tim is willing to drive. The new GM seems interested, invested and is off to a pretty solid start as far as visibility in the league. Going into his first FA period will show us a lot of what he thinks GSW has going forward, and I’m intrigued to see the decision he makes. GSW’s best assets not named “Bam” are easily his 1^st round draft picks for the next several years, as he doesn’t project to compete much. Two years from now, Tim could surround Bam with young guns like Cade Cunningham and Eboni Bates. You never know how the ping pong balls will fall…