If you\u2019re a Golden State Warriors fan who uses social media, then you\u2019ve probably seen a fairly depressing graphic floating around the internet in one of its many iterations. The images and numbers vary from graphic to graphic, but the point remains the same: there have been countless moves made in the NBA this offseason. And the Warriors are the only team absent from that party.<\/p>\n
Technically, the Dubs have made moves, but they\u2019ve been to keep their own players. They re-signed Al Horford. They re-signed Kristaps Porzi\u0146\u0123is. They\u2019re planning to re-sign De\u2019Anthony Melton. They re-signed Draymond Green after he opted out to afford them flexibility as they chased LeBron James.<\/p>\n
But they haven\u2019t added anyone new, save for in the draft. They put all their eggs in the James basket and came up short. They chose not to pursue costly, star-studded trades for players like Anthony Davis and Jaylen Brown. And while they\u2019ll likely still add someone from outside the organization (though the options are dwindling), it appears they\u2019re content to just run it back with the same squad.<\/p>\n
That didn\u2019t work out well last year. The Dubs went just 37-45 and were eliminated in the play-in tournament. Add in the fact that Jimmy Butler III and Moses Moody are likely to miss more time this year than last \u2014 and of course, the ever-increasing ages of Green, Horford, Porzi\u0146\u0123is, and Steph Curry \u2014 and it\u2019s reasonable to assume that Golden State will be even worse this year.<\/p>\n
But there are always avenues for surprising success. Virtually no one pegged the Warriors to compete for a title in 2014-15 or 2021-22, and they won championships both years. That\u2019s not me predicting that the Dubs will hoist a trophy next June \u2014 or even saying that\u2019s a plausible outcome \u2014 but the Warriors can still take the world by surprise and have a shockingly good season. Or at least one that\u2019s much better than last year.<\/p>\n
How? Here are a few ways.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s always something fun about the mystery bag that is a draft pick; especially a lottery pick. You can make predictions and projections galore, but ultimately you have no clue what you\u2019re going to get. The Warriors were excited when Curry fell to them with the seventh overall pick 17 years ago, but no one ever expected him to become the best player in franchise history, let alone a top-10 all-time talent. They thought they got Curry a running mate when they used the No. 11 pick on Klay Thompson, and instead got a Hall of Famer. They hoped to get a bench contributor when they took Green in the second round, and wound up with a one of the greatest defensive players in NBA history, who will likely spend the entirety of his Hall of Fame career in the Bay Area.<\/p>\n
On the flip side, Golden State thought they had the second timeline locked up when they used back-to-back lottery picks on James Wiseman and Jonathan Kuminga \u2026 it\u2019s only been a few years, but Wiseman is playing overseas and Kuminga remains a free agent with limited suitors.<\/p>\n
All of that is to say that there\u2019s a vast spectrum of potential outcomes for Yaxel Lendeborg, the No. 11 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Lendeborg is, like all rookies, an unknown, but he\u2019s also considered the most NBA-ready player in the rookie class, due to his age (he turns 24 before Opening Night) and experience (six total years of college ball). If he\u2019s closer to great than to awful \u2014 and if he hits the ground running \u2014 the Warriors could have something special on their hands that will help them win games from Day 1.<\/p>\n
A full season of KP is magical<\/p>\n
Even though the Warriors haven\u2019t added any free agents or players via trade, it\u2019s still fair to think of Porzi\u0146\u0123is as an acquisition. They only got him at the trade deadline last year, and he played just 15 games for the team. Plus, there\u2019s only so much a midseason acquisition can help, as they\u2019re learning the systems on the fly.<\/p>\n
Even so, there was some magic in those moments, and the Warriors dramatically benefited from Porzi\u0146\u0123is\u2019 presence. Could that grow with a full training camp of learning Steve Kerr\u2019s systems, and getting comfortable playing with Curry and Green on both ends of the court? It certainly can\u2019t hurt. Porzi\u0146\u0123is\u2019 All-Star days are probably behind him, but there\u2019s also a reason the Warriors handed him out a two-year, $40-million contract. They know that he can be a very, very good player, and they\u2019re excited to get a full season of that.<\/p>\n
They add another good player<\/p>\n
Sounds simple enough, right? A lot harder in execution. That said, DeMar DeRozan remains unsigned, and while he\u2019s a kind of funny fit in Golden State\u2019s offensive system, they sure could use his doses of instant offense. The best way to get better is to add more talent. And whether it\u2019s DDR, Bradley Beal, or anyone else, the Warriors at least have a chance to up their talent pool before the season begins. How much it will help remains to be seen. As we\u2019ve all observed in recent years, some additions really hit with the Warriors, and some flop tremendously. But it\u2019s hard to see how this team, which has struggled so much to score when Curry isn\u2019t the player shooting the ball, wouldn\u2019t benefit from the addition of a reliable 20-point scorer.<\/p>\n
They upgrade their systems<\/p>\n