The Warriors’ dynasty seems to be in doubt. The elimination against the Lakers in the Playoffs, the bad and atypical sensations inside the locker room and the tension accumulated in recent months after the incident between Draymond Green and Jordan Poole, hint that a turning point is approaching in the franchise that has dominated the last decade in the NBA. This was the first elimination of the warriors by a team from the West from 2014.
The expectations were not those of other years. The team was not expected to stroll through the postseason in the West as it once did, but the result leaves a bad taste in the mouth beyond sports. The elimination could be foreseeable. Few people expected them to win the championship last season. If something characterizes these Warriors, it is that they are capable of drawing strength from weaknesses, hitting the table when no one expects it and returning to that basketball that made the world fall in love. Great fault of it is that the hard core follow in template.
Draymond, Curry and klay thompson They have experienced a thousand battles together, gone through bad and good times. With doubts hanging around Chase Centerwho knows if this was the last time one of the best trios ever He has jumped on the track with the same shirt. The incident between Green himself and Jordan Poole before the season marked a before and after in the chemistry of a team that has always been united.
Distance hard to fix
The punch delivered by the Golden State power forward fell like a pitcher of cold water in a team that came to celebrate, to fill the streets of San Francisco again. The two protagonists admitted in recent days that this coup rumbled in the locker room. “You throw it on your back during the season and you try to turn the pageGreen commented on the podcast. Stephen A’s World. “But there’s work still to be done, Jordan (Poole) is my partner. I still have to repair thingssee what you want“, it states.
“It’s my job as a leader, it’s my job as a partner to get everything right again. I saw his comments when he commented ‘look, it’s just basketball’. I agree, in the end it’s just a business. It was just basketball, because at the end of the day we are still mateyes”, he continues in the talk. Green takes responsibility for fixing it.
“Will he ever be able to turn the page? Don’t know. It’s up to me to try to make that happen”, finished the power forward. Draymond, key piece of the Warriors’ success, he talks about Jordan Poole’s statements last week.
On whether his relationship with Green is good, the Warriors guard was blunt: “I could not tell you”. Poole was assaulted by Green in training. “We were just on the track together and we were partners. We were just partners this is a business”, comments the 23-year-old player. This aggression broke the good relationship they had so far.
“Before that, I was willing to have me under your wing. Steph and Klay were injured and Draymond was the person they spent the most time with.”, concludes the former player of the subsidiary, Santa Cruz Warriorswhich has become a fundamental pillar of the Californian team.
The possible departure of Green is something that has been on the table for the last few months. Has 27.6 million player option dollars for the next season. He will be in charge of exercising it or not to continue in the franchise. A fundamental piece, one of the best defenders so far this century and a basis for the success of the last decade.
“If Draymond doesn’t come back, we are not a team that competes for the championship. That’s how important it is”, declared Kerr at the press conference after the elimination against the Lakers.
Kerr, aware of it
The Warriors coach, in the same talk before the media, corroborated the open secret. The incident permeated the dressing room, and was a blow to the existing chemistry. “We can’t hide it, the incident with Draymond and Jordan played a big part…a lot of trust was lost”, commented the Californians coach.
“It is complicated whenever trust is broken. There’s a process to try to recover it, but it is something that noticeable inside the locker room”, admitted the four times champion with the San Francisco franchise on the benches. “One of our goals for these months is to recover that confidence again ”continued the one who was a player of Chicago Bullsamong others.
On the increasing layoff of proven coaches in the league, who have been successful in recent years, such as Mike Budenholzer, Nick Nurse, Monty Williams and Doc Rivers, Kerr was fearful. “You just have to look at the phone and see the following Hall of Fame coach that they are going to fire I am clear that I do not have a lifetime contract hereí ”, concluded the coach.
Bob Myers close to leaving
The possible rupture of the team can come from the directive. Bob Myers, general manager of the franchise, largely to blame for the success of the Warriors since he took over the management in 2012it seems that will come out. He was in charge of choosing Draymond Green that night of the Draft, Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli.
One of his most recognized moves in the shadows was the surprising arrival of kevin durant to the team in the summer of 2016. Against all odds, he was in charge of convincing one of the great NBA stars to try his luck in the team that eliminated them the previous season. entering his twelfth seasonMyers’ contract ends next month of July.
The manager spoke about his situation for the radio 95.7 The Game, from San Francisco. “What I would say to the fans probably won’t like it, but it’s not something thought of me, we put the focus on things keep running for the team”, expressed Myers. “I know the fans they will look for answers, but someone smarter than me told me: don’t make a decision until you have to”, continued the manager.
It looks like this issue will be resolved in the coming weeks. As reported ClutchSports, the most interested team so far are Los Angeles Clippers. The Los Angeles team, which has not yet made the leap to compete with the best, needs a good direction in the offices to reach the long-awaited level and that has never come to light. Myers has a past with the city, as he was champion with UCLA in 1995 of the university championship.
Shams Charaniajournalist from The Athleticadds that this possible way out can be given by not having conversations for months of a hypothetical extension of contract.
The possible departures of Green and Myers, coupled with the sensations on the track for the entirety of the season, anticipate a possible end of cyclea change of course for some Golden State Warriors who need to recover that chemistry that made them champions four times.