3 bold predictions for the Golden State Warriors’ 2022–23 season

Prediction #1: They trade for Kevin Durant

Madness, that’s what this would be. But as the old saying goes, you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. Kevin Durant won two championships with the Warriors after years of banging his head against the wall playing with Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

He was a finals MVP, and he experienced a way of playing basketball on potentially the greatest team of all time that he will never experience again. But the noise that he piggybacked onto the established franchise in order to get over the hump never ceased, and Durant left to start his own Avengers-style group with the Brooklyn Nets.

That hasn’t gone to plan, and now Durant wants out. The catch here is that it is now common knowledge that the player wants to leave, and with four years left on his current deal, he doesn’t have a ton of leverage. He’d like to go to a place like the Boston Celtics or Phoenix Suns (or maybe even the Memphis Grizzlies?) so that he can try and win more championships.

But those rosters would have to lose so much of what makes them contenders to get Durant. Meanwhile, moving to an up-and-coming team would get the Nets what they want, but the other organization could have an unhappy Durant immediately show up. The happy medium, then, is a return to the Warriors.

They can offer some combination of Kuminga, Moody, Wiseman, and Poole, as well as picks, plus Wiggins to make the salaries work in a deal. Durant would get what he wants and the Warriors would get better. It’s a bold prediction, but one based on some sort of reality.