It’s obvious right now that the Golden State Warriors no longer sit atop the Western Conference after losing superstar Kevin Durant to the Brooklyn Nets and trading key piece Andre Iguodala to the Memphis Grizzlies. On top of those losses, All-Star Klay Thompson is expected to miss the majority of the season with an ACL injury.
They regrouped by acquiring All-Star D’Angelo Russell from the Nets in a Durant sign-and-trade and they brought in Willie Cauley-Stein to be their new center, but it’s tough to really peg where the 2019-20 version of the Warriors will end up come playoff time.
A poll performed by The Athletic included 30 league executives from across the league and the results were really all over the place.
“Optimistically, four,” one coach said. “Realistically, seven. Pessimistically, out of the playoffs.”
Of the 30 polled, when asked to give an exact prediction, 22 said either fifth, sixth or seventh— the most common, least controversial pocket. It’s the safe choice, bumping the Warriors out of the top half of the bracket but still keeping them in the playoffs.
On paper, the Warriors are still a very talented bunch. With Stephen Curry, Russell, Draymond Green, Cauley-Stein, and the hopeful return of Thompson during the season, they can certainly make the playoffs and maybe even grab home-court advantage in Round 1 of the playoffs.
The core of a team that has made five consecutive trips to the NBA Finals is still there and they can still be a competitive team despite the Western Conference continuing to be as loaded as it is and getting better as well.
