2017-18 Record: 58-24 (second in Western Conference)
Players Added: DeMarcus Cousins (free agent), Jonas Jerebko (free agent), Damion Lee (free agent), Jacob Evans (NBA Draft)
Players Lost: JaVale McGee (free agent), Zaza Pachulia (free agent), Nick Young (free agent), Patrick McCaw (free agent), David West (retired)
Projected Team MVP: Steph Curry
Kevin Durant is the better all-around player, but come on, this is always going to be Curry’s team. Ironically, that might be a reason why Durant leaves the Warriors in a few months according to some reports, but alas.
Anyway, Curry is still one of the best guards in the league. Sure, he’s getting older, and his injury history is perpetually worrisome, but he’s still Golden State’s undisputed leader and will put up numbers that reinforce that for the foreseeable future. Writing the Warriors preview is fun because we basically just repeat stuff every year, so how about we got to the next section.
X-Factor: DeMarcus Cousins
Golden State’s core is basically the same so it’s hard to say anyone from there would be much of an x-factor. As such, let us look to their free agent additions to see if they got anyone new and oh my god they got DeMarcus Cousins.
Admittedly, the Warriors probably don’t need much out of Cousins, which is good, because you don’t want to rely too heavily on a large human who just blew out their achilles in your championship pursuits. Still, if Cousins is DeMarcus. Cousins. upon getting healthy, he can be the difference between what the Warriors should be (a title-caliber team) and one of the greatest teams in NBA history.
Best Case Scenario:
You know how they’ve won two titles in a row and three of the last four? Well, the best case scenario is, uh, they do that again and push those numbers to “three in a row” and “four of the last five.” Then again, this is probably the baseline for the Warriors, right? It’s not a best case scenario, it’s the most likely scenario, which means we have to go above a title for the best case scenario.
Basically, this means Golden State has to do something historic en route to winning a ring. Breaking their single-season wins record likely isn’t feasible, because the Warriors understand the importance of rest during the regular season with an eye on winning a ring. So instead, how about Golden State, behind their usual stars and the addition of a fifth All-NBA player in Cousins, does something dominant like going undefeated in the playoffs? Or all five starters make the All-Star team, assuming Cousins comes back in time?
Aid all of this, we learn that Durant is willing to come back next season, while Klay Thompson signs a deal to stick around for a while. Cousins leaves to go get paid elsewhere, which he deserves, but otherwise, Golden State enters next season as the title favorites once more.
Worst Case Scenario:
They don’t win a championship — instead falling in the conference finals, likely to Houston — and Durant and Klay Thompson both leave in free agency. Thanks for reading our previews.
