After being named the 2024 Clutch Player of the Year, Warriors star Stephen Curry opened up on his basketball future, and what to expect from the Warriors this summer. After a disappointing campaign for the 4x champions, Steph confirmed that they will be ready to respond next season and that they aren't too far off from being a top-level contender once again.
"The sad part was just missing three wins to get out of the play-in and have yourself in a playoff series," Curry said, via NBA Sports. "Even a game like in Sacramento in the play-in tournament we had, you're like 'OK, we're down one and can game plan to try to get back into the series.' Early in the year, we had a lot of missteps and some absences. But you do realize we're not that far off, even [trying] to stay at this level, at this peak for so long, there's going to be some tweaks, we know."
After trading Jordan Poole for Chris Paul last summer, the Warriors were hoping that they'd be able to re-take their place at the top of the West this season. And while they did perform better than the previous campaign, it wasn't enough to keep up with the Western Conference. At 46-36 this season, Golden State finished 10th in the West and they ended up losing the elimination play-in game against the Sacramento Kings.
This summer, Steph is hoping to see some drastic changes within the organization but he knows it will be no easy fix to solve a roster this flawed.
"When you lose, you have to look yourself in the mirror and say 'What can we do to get better? What holes can we fill?' And thankfully we have some time to figure that out, so lot of conversations upstairs, with coach Kerr to try to figure out how to get back to the level we expect. I didn't answer anything specific about what we need but we're going to figure that out over this summer."
Steph and the Warriors are not used to being out of the playoffs, but he's aiming to make the most of the extra time off. If the Warriors play their cards right, this could be the summer that turns the ship around and gets the team back on track for one last title run.
Golden State Warriors Are Not Done Yet
In the aftermath of a chaotic campaign, which ended with a crushing play-in loss, the Warriors are facing a lot of uncertainty about the future. With the core getting older and the role-players struggling to stay consistent, it's clear they cannot win a title as presently constructed. The question is, how much will the team change over the next few months?
While the Dubs would like to keep their championship core intact, it may not be feasible depending on the price. Klay Thompson, for example, is set to be an unrestricted free agent this July but it's no secret that he's far apart on extension talks with the Warriors.
Meanwhile, Draymond Green's increasingly erratic behavior threatens to destabilize the entire situation in the locker room, much like what happened with Jordan Poole.
If the Warriors want to re-capture the glory days, they will need to make some tough decisions and potentially leave behind some players they've been working with for years now. This is the price that Golden State must pay to compete and unless they are willing to sacrifice, they might never change the current status quo.
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