Barring any last-minute surprises, it appears that the Golden State Warriors The Dubs are done making major moves this offseason. Despite the departure of Klay Thompson, the Dubs have added several proven veterans at positions where they needed reinforcements, such as Buddy Hield, De’Anthony Melton and Kyle Anderson. Yet, despite some attempts to acquire Paul George and Lauri Markkanen, Golden State has failed to land a star to team up with Steph Curry and Draymond Green.
Given the Warriors’ mediocrity over the past two seasons, it seems reasonable to expect that to continue in 2024-25 without any major improvement. Thompson’s departure only adds fuel to the fire. However, two major media reports suggest that those in and around the league are optimistic about Golden State’s chances of taking a step forward.
“The Warriors believe they improved this summer, team sources said, based in part on internal number-crunching models that put positive value on the additions of Melton, Anderson and Hield,” Anthony Slater of The Athletic said. written in a recent article“A few league employees who focus on analytics agree. One rival’s measurement model had Golden State fourth in the conference. The Warriors’ 46 wins a season ago despite the turmoil put them just five out of fifth place (Clippers, 51 wins).”
Slater’s article wasn’t the only evidence that pundits are optimistic about Golden State’s chances of taking a step forward this season. recent survey ESPN’s NBA experts asked them to vote for the teams they thought would make a “big leap forward” this season. The Warriors received the third-most points (ESPN used a weighted vote ranking), behind the Spurs and Grizzlies. Given that the Warriors are coming off 46 wins, while neither the Spurs nor Grizzlies have won 28, that suggests that many experts believe Golden State is on the verge of surging to the top of the league.
