From now until the start of the season, Corban Ford will be releasing offseason reviews for all 30 teams. These pieces will lay out the key losses and additions, along with an analysis describing some of the major moves and whether they positioned the team better for success or closer to disaster. This edition will focus on the Golden State Warriors.

The Golden State Warriors are a team looking at their own mortality, a former dynasty in its dying throes. Or are they? After an offseason in which they lost a franchise pillar, Golden State made moves that showed they were not willing to go into the good night quietly.

Key Losses

Klay Thompson (signed with Dallas), Chris Paul (signed with San Antonio), Dario Saric (signed with Denver)

Key Additions

Kyle Anderson (sign and trade from Minnesota), De’Anthony Melton (previously with Philadelphia), Buddy Hield (previously with Philadelphia) 

On July 6th, an 11-year era in Golden State ended as long-time sharpshooter Klay Thompson signed with the Dallas Mavericks. It had been a glorious run that turned more bittersweet toward the back half, but a fresh start was ahead for both, and the Warriors wasted no time doing their best to move on with a flurry of signings. None of them will equal Thompson’s on-court firepower and legacy, but they can make a huge impact together.

Kyle Anderson brings a funky Draymond Green-lite style of play as a combo forward capable of playing small ball five with slick passing chops and defensive versatility. De’Anthony Melton brings two-way play between his outside shooting and dogged perimeter defense. Buddy Hield comes in as the more direct Thompson replacement, with one primary directive: shooting the ball. In fact, over the last five years, who do you think has made the most three-pointers? Stephen Curry? Good guess-he comes in second. Second, I might add, to Buddy Hield. Hield will let them fly and should convert somewhere close to his career 40% from distance. Again, individually, these players are solid but not massive game-changers. However, in the aggregate, these three additions should definitely form more than the sum of their parts, especially considering the youth that exists on the roster with Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski, and Moses Moody.

Kuminga is looking to receive a nice payday after this season but needs to show more in terms of his long-range shooting and overall fit with the Warriors’ old guard. Moody also needs to really step in and have a big year, fully living up to the potential that still exists from his being drafted in the lottery just a few years back. Even Podziemski, who clearly had the strongest of seasons out of the three, still needs to show that he can replicate that performance and even build on it over the course of the 24-25 campaign. The risk that all three regress or stagnate is definitely there; however, the possible reward is there as well and is very sweet.

Looking Ahead

The Warriors are still hoping to contend in a Western Conference that is much tighter from top to bottom than during their heyday of 2015-2019. How far Golden State makes it this season depends on quite a few factors: Curry’s health, Green’s availability, the long-term play of Andrew Wiggins, the continued development of Kuminga, and, of course, a bit of luck. The future is now for the youthful talent on the team, and honestly, with a soon-to-be 35-year-old Green and 37-year-old Curry, it’s getting late a bit early.