- - Fact or Fiction: The Golden State Warriors are cooked

Ben RohrbachDecember 20, 2025 at 1:36 AM

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Each week during the 2025-26 NBA season, we will take a deeper dive into some of the league’s biggest storylines in an attempt to determine whether trends are based more in fact or fiction moving forward.

Last week: The Knicks need Giannis Antetokounmpo if their goal is to win a title

Fact or Fiction: The Golden State Warriors are cooked

Through developments both fortunate and unfortunate, as Kevin Durant left one version of the dynasty, the Golden State Warriors landed three lottery picks in successive drafts during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that trio of prospects was supposed to spin a championship core forward to a new era.

They took James Wiseman with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft and Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody with the Nos. 7 and 14 picks the next June. Sure, Tyrese Haliburton, Franz Wagner and Alperen Şengün were still on the board, respectively, but the Warriors made their picks, sticking to them.

There was always only one timeline in Golden State — Stephen Curry's prime. (Harry How via Getty Images)

From the outside looking in, they had a choice. They could have packaged those picks, with salaries, to continue building around Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, maximizing what was left around the future Hall of Famers who won titles together in 2015, 2017 and 2018. They did not do that.

Then, a funny thing happened: Curry, Green and Thompson rediscovered their magic, as Andrew Wiggins played out of his mind, and the Warriors won the 2022 title — with Wiseman, Kuminga and Moody in tow.

So, Warriors owner Joe Lacob touted their "two-timeline" plan to ride out the Curry-Green-Thompson triumvirate, all while developing their replacements, Wiseman, Kuminga and Moody, behind them.

[Get more Warriors news: Golden State team feed]

"I know some people thought we could've done more, got another star," Lacob told The Athletic after the 2022 title victory. "But who were we going to get? Who was available that would make a difference? We didn't think there was, and we really wanted these young guys to be developed and learn from these guys. They have learned. We are going to be even better as a result of that in the years going forward."

Fast forward, and the Warriors are not even better. They are hovering around .500 (13-14) in the Western Conference, clinging to another play-in tournament berth — four games from a guaranteed playoff spot.

Here's the thing: Curry is still exceptional, averaging damn near 30 points per game on 50/40/90 shooting splits, and Green is still the anchor of a top-five defense. Thompson is gone, and they flipped Wiggins for Jimmy Butler — the star who became available — and the core of a contender remains.

But they are old, at least in the NBA sense. Stephen Curry will turn 38 in March, when Green will be 36. Butler is 36. The addition of Al Horford, who turns 40 in June, did not help the Warriors get any younger.

They need reinforcements that are not coming. Wiseman was a bust. Kuminga might as well be, since the Warriors rarely play him. And Golden State is getting as much from undrafted Pat Spencer as it is Moody.

They need another star, and now they no longer have the assets to get him. The Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes are too rich for their blood. Lauri Markkanen may be, too. Anthony Davis is an injury risk. Nobody else available can vault Golden State into a stratosphere along with the Oklahoma City Thunder, let alone with the Denver Nuggets, San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets or even the Los Angeles Lakers.

So, what do they do? They are two or three tiers below the title favorites, and they do not have the trade pieces to close the gap. They can accept their fate or rage against the dying of the light, offering anything not tied down — everyone but Curry and Green, really — to maximize whatever greatness is left in them.

Take Michael Porter Jr. from the Brooklyn Nets, for example. He seems gettable. He provides Thompson-level shooting, plus some creation, even more rebounding and championship-level defensive experience. He is the type of player who could help the Warriors win a playoff series and put a scare into a legit contender.

And isn't that what we want from a fading champion anyhow? To make their successors earn it. And they did last season, beating the upstart second-seeded Rockets and playing the hungry Minnesota Timberwolves to a standstill, at least until Curry suffered a series-ending injury in the conference semis.

They are not doing that this season. They are bottom-10 on offense (112.8 points per 100 possessions), despite having Stephen Freaking Curry — still clinging to his prime — for 19 of their 28 games. They are 4-5 without him and 9-9 with him. Neither good nor terrible. Just average. And that is not good enough.

Lacob knows it, allegedly telling a fan in an email, "You can't be as frustrated as me." And longtime Warriors head coach Steve Kerr knows it, telling reporters recently, "I'm not doing my job well this year."

Curry deserves more, even if it will not deliver a championship. There was always only one timeline — Curry's prime. It is reaching its end, and the Warriors are transitioning into their fading champion era, when the title window has been closed, but pride is on the line, and even that is flickering on its last gasp.

Determination: Fact. The Golden State Warriors are cooked. They can reheat the dynasty, making things a bit spicy, so long as Curry continues to play at an All-NBA level, but the championship window is closed.

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Sports”