The Warriors lost a major piece in Klay Thompson.
The Golden State Warriors are going to look drastically different for the 2024-25 season. Gone is Klay Thompson, left to the Dallas Mavericks in a sign and trade. The pressing question facing the Warriors is whether or not they still have a championship-caliber roster. During a recent episode of Kevin Garnett’s podcast, ‘KG Certified,’ former NBA star Paul Pierce believes the Warriors’ contending days may be over.
“If you don’t get the personnel, you got to be realistic. They don’t have a championship team right now,” Paul Pierce said. “The only way I see Golden State getting back to where they need to get back to is if they could find a way to get Giannis [Antetokounmpo] over there.”
Paul Pierce suggesting that the Warriors need to get Giannis Antetokounmpo specifically drew speculation from Kevin Garnett that he had inside information he wasn’t divulging. But Pierce reassured listeners that he doesn’t have any info about Antetokounmpo going to the Warriors and he was just talking out loud.
Pierce does have a point though in that as currently constructed, the Warriors do not appear to be a title-contending team. Even with Thompson last season, the Warriors failed to make the playoffs, losing in their play-in game to the Sacramento Kings.
Stephen Curry’s future with the Warriors
© Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Like clockwork, there’s always going to be speculation about star players wanting a change of scenery if their team struggles. There’s sure to be no shortage of think pieces about Stephen Curry if the Warriors continue to struggle. But there’s been absolutely zero indication that Curry would want to finish his career elsewhere.
Even Pierce suggested that Curry isn’t the type of player to force his way out and go chasing a ring in the final years of his career.
“He’s going down with that ship. It’s all legacy, everything right now for him is icing on the cake,” Pierce said. “I saw Kobe, he lost his last couple of years but he still went hard, didn’t he? He wasn’t complaining. That’s Steph, he carried that in Golden State.”
Curry currently has two more years left on the contract extension he signed back in 2021. That lines up with the recent contract extension signed by head coach Steve Kerr. Curry recently caused a firestorm among NBA fans when he changed his social media bio removing any mention of the Warriors. It’s important to note that social media changes rarely have any bearing on players’ future team plans.
Curry is still playing at an elite level highlighted by his play during Team USA’s gold medal run this summer at the Olympics. Curry’s chemistry with LeBron James and Kevin Durant has fueled fan speculation that those players might try to form some combination as teammates during the twilight of their careers. Don’t expect those speculations to go away anytime soon.
David Yapkowitz is a basketball journalist for ClutchPoints, writing news on the NBA, WNBA, and NCAA Basketball for both men and women. The Los Angeles native has bylines with Basketball Insiders, SB Nation, and The Next Hoops.
