The Warriors can get taller — maybe with a versatile center and maybe a lanky wing to fit between Curry and Butler, help defend some of the tougher perimeter scorers, and sync with Steve Kerr’s system. They can get more shooters — because the Warriors just about ran out of them once Curry went down.
They can get incrementally better, and they don’t have to make wholesale changes, because the Warriors are close. They are not young, and this won’t last too much longer, but they are closer to true contention now than they were two years ago, last year, and definitely three months ago.
“I think the biggest change that needed to be made was we needed someone like Jimmy Butler, and we made that change,” Green said. “I think the hardest part is done.”
You want some names for possible targeted acquisitions? There’s Brook Lopez, a veteran, winning stretch-5 who may or may not fit with what the Bucks are doing anymore. There’s Duncan Robinson, a pure shooter who worked well with Butler in Miami recently. There’s De’Anthony Melton, who was a popular member of the Warriors this season until he tore his ACL and was traded for Dennis Schroder (who was eventually put into the Butler deal).
These are the kinds of players who can help carry the Warriors through stretches in the regular season when Curry, Butler, and Green take some games off. These are the kinds of players who can make sure the team avoids bleak spells like the one that temporarily dropped the Warriors to the Western Conference’s 11th slot this season — before Butler’s arrival. They’re not stars. They probably shouldn’t be too expensive. But they could fit just right.
“We’ve always spoke about there being 82-game (regular-season) players and 16-game [postseason] players,” Green said. “At some point for us, we have to take a look at both because, ideally, you don’t want to be from Feb. 8 [when Butler arrived] on scrapping and clawing for every win that you could possibly get. That takes a toll after a while. For us, we’ve kind of been in playoff mode for the last three months. It’s not a highly effective way to win a championship.”
How will the Warriors, already over the cap line for next season, with about $170 million in commitments, be able to make acquisitions? They can figure out a sign-and-trade deal with Jonathan Kuminga, who is hitting restricted free agency and probably will be better off with a fresh start elsewhere.