The Golden State Warriors‘ season might be over, but the greatness they represent is not.
It may be fair to characterize the team that remains in the Bay Area as the remnants of a dynasty. After all, the Dubs have missed the honest to goodness playoffs in three of the previous five seasons — two of which came via Play-In Tournament defeats and a third (2019-20) because Klay Thompson played zero games that season and Steph Curry appeared in just five, both due to injury.
However, it must be recognized that Golden State captured a title in between their postseason absences (2021-22,) and that the franchise still boasts one of the best 10 players, or so, in the NBA on its roster in Curry.
Curry reminded teammate Draymond Green of these facts with a powerful three-word message in the locker room at the Golden 1 Center on the evening of Monday, April 15, when their NorCal rival the Sacramento Kings ended the Warriors’ campaign for the playoffs by way of a 118-94 rout in the No. 9 vs. No. 10 NBA Play-In Tournament game in the Western Conference.
Green relayed what Curry told him via “The Draymond Green Show” podcast on Friday.
“We not done”
—Steph’s message to @Money23Green after their season-ending loss
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“Right after the game in the Kings locker room, I said, ‘I love you, bro.’ He’s like, ‘I love you, too. We ain’t done,’” Green recounted.
Curry’s “we ain’t done” comment struck Green, which he went on to explain.
“You right. Got it. Noted. Cool, we ain’t. You right,” Green continued. “So, to think that, like, we’ve done these things — I love it. And we not done.”
Draymond Green Bears Brunt of Blame for Warriors’ Season Ending Early
GettyDraymond Green of the Golden State Warriors defends Keegan Murray of the Sacramento Kings during an NBA Play-In Tournament game in April 2024.
Counting the Warriors out completely as contenders going forward may indeed be foolishness, particularly if Green can stay on the floor.
Golden State finished the year with a record of 46-36, just three wins shy of the No. 6 seed and an exemption from the Play-In Tournament. Green missed 27 of the team’s 82 games over the course of the regular season, including 22 due to multiple suspensions he incurred for on-court misconduct.
Tim Bontemps of ESPN roasted Green following the Dubs’ loss to the Kings via the “Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective” podcast, which came out the day following the game.
This night is Draymond Green’s fault. And this season is Draymond Green’s fault. If you wanna say, “Why are the Warriors losing today?” It’s all his fault.
This team has dealt with his nonsense for a long time. And has excused it over and over again, as we all know, for years. When he played this year, they were 33-22. When he didn’t, they were 13-14. They went 10-11 in the 21 games he missed with the two suspensions and whatever they called the … return-to-play process after he came back. If they win three of those games they’re not in the Play-In [Tournament]. They’re in the fifth or sixth seed, might be higher, we’re not even talking about them today.
Warriors Could Be Better Next Year Without Klay Thompson, or With Him on Reduced Contract
GettyKlay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors.
While Green may be the primary culprit for the Warriors’ woes this past season in an overarching sense, it was Thompson who came up the shortest in the Dubs’ final 48 minutes of play.
Thompson finished the night in Sacramento an abysmal 0-for-10 from the floor with zero points in what could potentially have been his last game ever in a Golden State uniform. The shooting guard’s counterparts spoke of the good years he still has remaining in his NBA career and said, to a man, that they want him back in the Bay Area next season.
That could be a quality outcome for the Warriors, though it will depend on the price. Thompson made more than $43.2 million for his work in 2023-24, which was among the worst campaigns of his 13-year career — two of which he missed entirely due to injuries.
Golden State is probably well-bought on a new deal for Thompson at an annual average salary of less than $20 million, though it is unclear if such a deal would appeal to the long-time Warrior or not.
If it doesn’t, or if the Dubs feel their money is better spent elsewhere, the franchise may not be done yet — as Curry suggested to Green. But it will be done with the trio that brought the organization and its city four titles across an eight-year stretch, which is a death of the dynasty in its own right.
