Next year, the Warriors will pay a combined $20 million to Richard Jefferson and Andris Biedrins to basically sit on the bench and wave towels. Meanwhile, Jarrett Jack is a free agent that played himself into what will likely be a starting point guard-caliber contract. And Carl Landry will likely opt out of his $4 million player-option, figuring he can get more on the open market.
What does this mean? Well, the conventional thinking here might be that Golden State – free for the summer, after the Spurs closed them out at the Oracle – will be fixtures in the Western Conference semis and finals. Given the youth of their core, this is not an illogical idea. But it’s not going to be easy to keep those youngsters flanked with veteran gamers.
During these playoffs, I have been an admirer of the Warriors just like most of the sports public. I wrote about Mark Jackson’s COY-worthy job with the young roster and I’m a fan of Warriors brass for deft drafting these past few years.
But, again, working through the treacherous West won’t get easier. And maybe this was the Bay’s lightning in a bottle season. Maybe this might be another 2007-run. Jump-shooting teams are rarely consistent, legit contenders. Steph Curry and David Lee have proven to be brittle stars. Klay Thompson fell back down to earth after he scorched its surface with his Game 2 first half. The squad was full of gamers, keeping the Spurs more than honest. But G-State's ascent to becoming a fixture as an elite squad is a tenuous notion.
So, yeah, soak this in.
Here’s to one of the more entertaining playoff runs in a while, though. Stay sucka-free, Dubs.
