The Warriors are in the finals...
While it may be unexpected, the time has come for the Golden State Warriors. After defeating the Houston Rockets, Sacramento Kings, and Phoenix Suns in the West, the Warriors are travelling to Miami to challenge the Heat for the CSL Title. The Head are a juggernaut team who had 66 wins in the regular season and are led by MVP Ben Simmons. With those 66 wins, the Warriors will not have homecourt advantage for the third series in a row. This is a particularly interesting series as the Warriors core two, PJ Dozier and Jake Layman, were both fairly recent members of the Heat.
Now, lets take a look at the past two years to see how the Warriors when from the lottery to the finals with 10 key moves.
Key Move #1: Former GM cyrisnite Set The Foundation
When GM cb4raptorscb4 came into Golden State, there was a couple of key players, some draft picks, and a slew of upcoming cap space. As a new GM, you couldn't ask for much more. From that roster, PJ Dozier, Henry Ellenson, and Tomas Welsh are the remaining pieces.
Key Move #2: Warriors Draft Coby White and Zhaire Smith
The first order of duty for the new GM was to figure out who to draft with their two lottery picks. The Warriors ended up draw #11 and #14. Their two targets after endless scouting and research at #11 were Devonte Graham and Coby White. After Graham was selected at 8, Golden State was able to nab White at 11. There's been a lot of growing pains with both White and Smith, but the Warriors stuck to the course and let them develop and now it's paying dividends. White is averaging over 10 apg in the playoffs and Smith has the potential to drop 20 off the bench any night, though efficiency is still a double edge sword with him.
Key Move #3: Re-Sign Henry Ellenson
Ellenson was coming off a season where he averaged 15.6 ppg and 7.6 rpg on good percentages, including from three. No other teams really went after Ellenson in free agency, so the Warriors locked him up early on a 5 year deal. Though he has seen his role move to the bench this year as the Warriors accumulated more talent, Ellenson is still a key piece to the puzzle as a stretch big man.
Key Move #4: Golden State Trades 2026 1st Round (POR) and a 2nd Round Pick to Indiana for Chimezie Metu and Dillon Brooks
After scouting the landscape of the league, GM cb4raptorscb4 found an underutilized big man in Indiana by the name of Metu. A potential defensive anchor who can also score in the post had him salivating. It took trading a 1st rounder, but Metu had just finished his rookie season and had 3 more years on his entry level deal. We had confidence the Blazers could remain a playoff team for a few more seasons with Marcus Smart, but there was some stressful times since Cleasby left and the GM seat was like musical chairs. Metu moved into the starting lineup this year and is averaging 11.3 ppg, 8.3 rpg, and 1.9 bpg. He also caused KAT in Houston all kinds of problems!
Key Move #5: Golden State Trades Mitchell Robinson to New York for Nerlens Noel
With absurd cap space, the Warriors made a move to absorb Noel's massive salary in exchange for Robinson who didn't have a future with the team. Noel was another defensive big man who could provide a veteran presence on the team. He held the starting role as Metu continued to be groomed. The Warriors even brought Noel back last offseason on a 3 year deal as an insurance policy.
Key Move #6: Swing & Miss in FA, but Sign Veterans Lillard, Thompson, and Kanter to 1 year Deals
There were a few players the Warriors were after in Free Agency, mainly Jake Layman and Aleksander Vezenkov. Both of these guys weren't really being used a ton, but they made the top of the Warriors FA list. Unfortunately we were outbid on both players, so we signed some veterans who could still play to 1 year deals instead knowing we could flip them to contenders later on that year.
Key Move #7: Golden State trades Klay Thompson to Miami for Jake Layman
This is the one. After missing out on Layman in Free Agency, which cb4raptorscb4 was fairly vocal about, the Miami GM came knocking on his door later in the season with a simple offer..."Layman for Klay?" Done. Layman was only playing 20 mpg with the Heat in the first year of his new contract, but immediately became a starter for the Warriors. He averaged 14.2 ppg last season, but took a leap this year as he led the team in scoring with 19.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg, and 3.8 apg. He's continued putting up nearly identical numbers in the playoffs so far.
Key Move #8: Golden State trades Dillon Brooks and 2026 2nd Round Pick to Washington for PJ Washington
The Warriors actually were a fan of Brooks ability as a 3&D player, but one noticeable issue during the season was the lack of rebounding. The opportunity to acquire PJ Washington from the Miami Heat (another one!) in 3 way deal with the Wizards came up. Though undersized, Washington became the best rebounder on the team and has proven his worth in a bench role.
Key Move #9: Golden State trades Damian Lillard and 2025 2nd round pick (UTA) to Washington for Marquese Chriss
The Wizards were looking for a guard and flexibility and the Warriors had been holding onto Lillard right up to the deadline. Once the opportunity to get Chriss came into the picture from Houston in another 3 way deal, Lillard was packing his bags after playing amazing for the Warriors in the first half of the season. This was part of sticking to the plan, regardless of how well Klay and Lillard were playing. Chris, like Metu, also moved into a starting role this season and has not disappointed. Though there are some consistency concerns, he puts up 13/7 averages in under 28 minutes a night and has reworked a three point shot into his arsenal.
Key Move #10: Re-Sign PJ Dozier
This one was a no brainer, but the Warriors re-signed PJ Dozier. The true pillar of the team, there was no doubt Dozier would be back. The timing of his signing may have actually taken the Warriors out of the Stanley Johnson Jr battle with the Pistons in FA, but here are today regardless. No regrets.
Hope you enjoyed!
2020, 2023, 2027
