7 Harsh realities of the Golden State Warriors offseason

Harsh Reality #2: The Warriors are no longer the best team in California.

For the last decade, the Warriors have largely been the best of the four California teams, but no longer. Both the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings closed the gap between them and the Warriors last season.

In fact, each had strong off-seasons, putting them at the very least neck and neck with Golden State, perhaps even better. That will mean an even tougher path in the Western Conference playoffs for a team that is talented but hasn’t gotten measurably better than last season.

Running it back might have been their best option considering their standing in the luxury tax and the fact that Curry and Wiggins missed significant time last season. The best-case scenario is that both are relatively healthy, as are Thompson and Green, and Golden State can secure a top-four seed.

Unfortunately, that seems unlikely as their big three ages. Curry, in particular, has been injured for large chunks of three of the last four seasons, and that may have factored into their decision to acquire Paul. He would be a good stopgap option, but he’s 38 and also comes with injury risks.

In a seven-game series, when healthy, the Warriors can hold their own against the Lakers, Kings, or anyone else. However, doing that for four rounds and potentially without home court advantage is a lot to ask.