A tough season for Warriors fans
The season is over for the Golden State Warriors, but the new era is just beginning. After being swept in the 1st round of the playoffs last season, the Warriors missed the playoffs this year with a 34-48 record. This season brought a ton of roster changes, as well as a GM change as cyrisnite retired and the team brought cb4raptorscb4 in during the final month of the season. With the trade deadline in the past, cb4raptorscb4 had to just ride the season out with the current roster.
Lets review some of the moves made by former GM cyrisnite during the season.
Trade 1: Golden State Warriors receive PJ Dozier from the Miami Heat in exchange for Jabari Bird
Review: I like it. Dozier ended up having a career year for the Warriors as he posted 19.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 4.9 apg, and 1.7 spg (89% Dstp%) in 32 minutes a night. He also shot 46% from the field and attempted 6.6 free throws per game. What really shows his value to the team is the fact he had a +6.0 net rating. Cb4raptorscb4 really tested Dozier and Ellenson in a 7 game stretch and both passed the test. PJ posted 24 ppg, 7 rpg, and 7 apg on 51% shooting during that stretch. Dozier has solidified himself as the face of franchise moving forward as he lit it up at the end of the season impressing the new GM. For Miami, they received a versatile guard who put up 10.2 ppg, 5.5 rpg, and 5.4 apg in a successful season. Miami also gained an extra year of control on a rookie contract since it was Bird's sophomore season this year.
PJ Dozier has brought new life to the Warriors
Trade 2: Golden State Warriors receive Demar DeRozan, 2024 Lakers 2nd, and 2025 Lakers 2nd from LA Lakers in exchange for Noah Vonleh
Review: Vonleh was a starter for the Warriors, but had 3 years and $30 million left on his contract. Although he is a serviceable player, this move was about obtaining cap space and a few second rounders for the future. The nice thing is that the Lakers finished with the worst record in the league so that second round pick will be the 31st selection. Vonleh is still young at just 25 years of age, so hopefully the Warriors don't look back on this one as the one who got away with the transition to the new sim engine.
Trade 3: Golden State Warriors receive Henry Ellenson, Dario Saric, KJ McDaniels, Ty Lawson, and 2026 1st Round Pick (POR) in exchange (3-way trade) for Kevin Durant
Review: Durant was the face of the Warriors the past two seasons, but it didn't bring the team much success. The decision was made to trade the veteran away for a younger asset in Henry Ellenson. Durant returned to Portland where he put up crazy numbers several years ago, but couldn't find much playing time this season. Ellenson meanwhile has impressed the Warriors brass down the stretch and will be a restricted free agent this season. This move again created some good cap space for the Warriors this offseason and they got two young assets in Ellenson and a future 1st Round Pick.
Trade 4: Golden State Warriors receive Shabazz Napier, Thomas Welsh, 2024 1st Round Pick (WAS) in exchange for Boban Marjanovic, Sinan Guler, 2024 2nd Round Pick (GSW), and 2025 2nd Round Pick (LA)
Review: This is probably the trade I'm on the fence about. While it is nice having a 2024 1st Round Pick and a rookie center, Guler is a playmaking point guard who can sometimes stretch the floor. Last season Guler averaged 13.4 ppg and 8.8 apg (2.2 topg) for the Warriors. Welsh has been average (5 starts down stretch = 32 mpg, 11 ppg, 5 rpg, 1 bpg) and Napier is a stop-gap at point guard for the time being. The result of this trade will ultimately come down to the value of the 2024 1st Rounder, which is projected to fall 13th overall.
When asked about the moves made by cyrisnite this past season, cb4raptorscb4 responded,
Reporters also asked about the upcoming draft and what the gameplan is for the Warriors,It's all history now. Those things are out of my control so we have to focus on who is here now, rather than who was here a few months ago or a year ago. Honestly, I'm ecstatic about the position we're in. I think Jeff (cyrisnite) made some really nice moves to prepare the team for the future. It gives us the opportunity to be creative and you can't ask for much more as a new GM.
To really summarize the season, the offense wasn't great (102 ppg), and the defense was bad (107 ppg). The team also only shot 34% from three point range and that was on a low number of attempts. There would often be games where they only attempted 3 or 4 threes, which is not acceptable in this day and age.Right now we really have to wait for the lottery. Unless we get really lucky, we're probably looking at two picks in the 10-14 range. Our scouting team has been extremely busy and we have a nice analytical summary of the players we've looked at. We've also been in contact with a few teams about possible trades depending on the results of the lottery. No matter what happens, we'll be adding some young assets to our team, whether it's through the draft, trades, or both.
Heading into the offseason, the Warriors will be working with a clean slate. The only players under contract for next season are PJ Dozier, Thomas Welsh, Mitchell Robinson, and Anzejs Pasecniks. Napier has a team option that the Warriors may pick up given their lack of bodies and large amounts of cap space, while Ellenson is a restricted free agent in need of a new contract. The Warriors are projected to have the 11th, 13th, and 31st overall picks in the upcoming draft. It's safe to say next season will be a very different looking team, but there will likely be some growing pains as the roster is built from the ground up.