
The Golden State Warriors reportedly had big plans for the 2026 NBA offseason.
They tried desperately to acquire forward Giannis Antetokounmpo when it became clear that the Milwaukee Bucks were trading him. But he ultimately got moved to the Miami Heat, so the Warriors pivoted.
They then went on an all-out pursuit of forward LeBron James when he declined his player option with the Los Angeles Lakers, but they struck out once again when the 22-time All-Star signed with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Now, it’s clear that no help is on the way for Warriors point guard Stephen Curry, and the aftermath of the disappointing offseason has been alarming. Golden State opened up the season on Wednesday night against the Lakers, and while the game was close for much of the first half, Los Angeles pulled away in the third quarter and never looked back.
The two-time MVP did all he could in the 127-105 loss, scoring 23 points in just 21 minutes of play. But with forward Jimmy Butler still recovering from a torn ACL, there just isn’t enough firepower on Golden State’s roster to compete with the big dogs in the league.
Curry still wants to compete for championships, but the Warriors roster is largely the same as last season, and that squad couldn’t even get out of the play-in tournament. It seems like their days of competing for titles are long gone.
Aside from the team’s magical championship run in 2022, Golden State has only won two playoff series this decade. Curry has been the only superstar on the team for a long time, and now he is aging and no longer able to will a team to playoff contention, let alone a title.
Although Butler has been an all-time great playoff performer in the past, he’s 37 years old coming off a season-ending injury. It’s hard to imagine that he’ll have the same impact on the team once he returns.
After striking out on big-name targets in the offseason and bringing back a similar roster from last year, the Warriors seem stuck until Curry retires. He makes far too much money, along with Butler and forward Draymond Green, to field a true championship contender.
Curry will continue dreaming about his fifth ring, but that isn’t likely at this point. It feels like the future Hall of Famer will be playing on middling rosters for his last few seasons and just hoping for a lucky break.
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