Fresh off a championship victory, the Golden State Warriors are on top of the basketball world. Superstar Stephen Curry is rising in the All-Time rankings, Klay Thompson has overcome a horrifying rash of injuries and Draymond Green is evolving as the years go by. Through all of their success, there’s one lesson that must be taken from this season: evolution isn’t something to be feared, it should be embraced.
To resounding success the Big Three accepted former No. 1 pick Andrew Wiggins and rising combo guard Jordan Poole to their Playoff strategy. There’s a firm argument that Wiggins was the second-best player on the Warriors during the 2022 NBA Finals, and Poole offered a much-needed scoring threat off the bench. In turn, the workload was shifted so that Klay and Dray weren’t required to do as much in the series as previously expected.
Using the 2021-22 regular season to accept the next steps in this process would be a wise and valuable step for head coach Steve Kerr in pursuit of this group’s fifth title together.
Wiseman, Kuminga and Moody are the future of the Golden State Warriors.
Three promising young players have waited in the shadow of this contending goliath for a chance to show what they’re truly capable of. That begins with the oft-injured James Wiseman, who likely would’ve played a more substantial role if not for his physical limitations through two seasons. However, this time off the court could be a blessing in disguise if he used it to study the game, soak in knowledge from his peers and develop his skill set.
A dominant big man prospect with promise on both sides of the floor, Wiseman has the potential to be a suped-up rim runner with explosive finishing ability and surprising agility for a player of his stature. While the team hasn’t relied on a true rim protecting since Andrew Bogut, the 21-year-old’s upside is worth transforming the mold of the Warriors’ style — even if it’s just during bench minutes to start.
Keeping with the theme of adapting the Golden State Warriors offense to unlock a young talent, 19-year-old Jonathan Kuminga has All-Star potential if everything falls into place. An athletic beast who continues to improve as a shooter, finisher, ball-handler, defender and passer, Kuminga can do a little bit of everything and already forced his way into the Warriors’ rotation a year ago. Deadly in transition with rim pressure that’s uncommon for Kerr’s offense, Kuminga will be key to changing the gravity of the court as the Warriors’ stars enter the latter stage of their careers.
Last but certainly not least is Moses Moody, the silky swingman whose baseline of shot creation, 3-point shooting and dribbling make him an automatic candidate to fill the backup wing position. Coming out of Arkansas, Moody was a draft darling whose fit with the Warriors’ world-class development system drew the ‘match made in heaven’ label from many pundits.
Together, along with some veterans and newcomers from the free-agency period, these three players form an elaborate bench unit that’s worthy of assuming a larger workload. Not only will it help build cohesion between the trio and their teammates, but it’ll take some of the pressure off Steph, Klay and Draymond in their pursuit of another title.
For the Golden State Warriors, investing in the future may also be the best course of action for their present. This is a scenario that can only be achieved by the league’s greatest organizations.