NBA Contenders Reset Like Warriors

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  • After two years of rebuilding their supporting cast, the Warriors have returned to play.
  • NBA teams have considered short-term implications. “resets”By quickly removing their team and starting over.
  • According to insiders, it is a complicated rebuilding method that might not be popular enough.

Two injuries and a free agent departure forced the Golden State Warriors to enter a new era.

Klay Thompson suffered a torn ACL during Game 6 in the 2019 NBA Finals. Kevin Durant signed free agency two weeks later with the Brooklyn Nets. Just four games into the 2019-20 campaign, Stephen Curry fractured his left hand. This gave the Warriors a new experience with Steve Kerr as head coach: Being bad.

The Warriors did not play in the playoffs the next two seasons, but they managed to reshape the roster. They acquired three lottery selections, traded Andrew Wiggins and created key role players such as Jordan Poole, Juan Toscano–Anderson, and other lottery picks.

Now, with their Big Three — Curry, Thompson and Draymond Green — healthy again, the Warriors are reloaded, sitting in second place in the Western Conference with a legitimate shot at a fourth NBA championship in eight years.

The Warriors’ quick return from title contention has made the notion of a rematch instantly popular. “reset” season. January Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report notedYou can find the “Warriors model”The NBA front offices were seeing increased interest in the idea.

Fischer wrote:

“The so-called ‘Warriors model,’ has noticeably entered the lexicon of team executives this season, describing a championship contender’s one-year tanking effort to then leap-frog back into the title conversation.”

It’s not unlike what the San Antonio Spurs had to go through in the 1990s. David Robinson, the star center, was injured in 1997 following seven straight playoff appearances between 1990 and 1996. The rest of the season was pretty much a washout for the Spurs.

San Antonio was the winner of the No. The No. 1 pick in the summer’s draft was selected and it was Tim Duncan. What happened next: 22 straight playoff appearances, five championships, smooth transitioning seamlessly from the Robinson era towards the Duncan dynasty.

Tim Duncan and David Robinson stand with their backs to the camera during a game in 1997.

The 1997 title race was won by the Spurs when Tim Duncan was drafted.

Tim Defrisco/NBAE/Getty Images


The long-term consequences of short-term tanking

Fischer’s article, which was published weeks before the deadline for trade, asked if the LA Clippers would pursue the matter. “Warriors model”In light of the injuries sustained by Kawhi Leonard, and Paul George. Fischer reported that Steve Ballmer, the team owner, had approved Fischer’s report. “gap year” philosophy.

The Clippers did not go this route, but the Portland Trail Blazers seemed to. Damian Lillard is expected to be out of the season after undergoing abdominal surgery on January 12. The Blazers traded four key rotation members for young players, draft picks, salary cap space and draft picks in return.

The Blazers could basically take their roster out this off-season by using draft picks, cap space, or trading assets to create a contender around Lillard. They must act fast, as Lillard will not wait for a rebuilding to occur before asking for trade.

Insider was contacted by a senior NBA executive. He doubts that Portland can pull off this plan. He offered a hypothetical scenario: If Giannis Antetokounmpo, two-time MVP, were to become incapacitated, the Milwaukee Bucks might be able to pull off a one year tank and then launch back into title contention.

“They’d still have Giannis coming back,”According to the executive, “He’s one of the three best players in the world. That’s a big deal.”

Lillard is a Six-time All-Star, and was recently named to NBA 75. But he is not Antetokounmpo. The Blazers haven’t won a playoff series for three years, and they were below.500 when Lillard had surgery.

Also, a year may not be enough to propel the Blazers to championship contention.

Damian Lillard stands on the court with his hands on his hips during a game in 2021.

The Blazers’ trade deadline moves indicate that they are serious in building a new roster around Damian Lillard.

Abbie Parr/Getty Images


Stan Van Gundy, a former head coach and TNT analyst, expressed doubts about the idea of “reset”They have gained momentum for many years.

“I don’t know if it’s a viable path,”Insider was informed by Van Gundy. “I think what happens at times is it’s almost the only path sort of left to you.”He observed that injuries to the Warriors’ top players had left them with little choice but to go bad.

Van Gundy thinks that pivoting mid-season from a tanking strategy to a turnaround strategy isn’t a sure thing, since other teams have already got a jump on it and therefore will be in a better draft position. Even then, the NBA’s revised lottery odds could dissuade teams from trying to reach the bottom. For example, a team with the fifth-worst record might only be able to pick the ninth overall pick. This is not a place that will guarantee a franchise-changing star.

Insider was told by the same executive, that the new tournament had also affected the calculus.

“In a league that now has a play-in tournament, it’s changed the whole nature of this discourse,”He stated. “There was a time when it was just a foregone conclusion that you would tank, because we’re not going to be able to win in the playoffs.”

He said: “It’s no longer black-and-white — you’re in it to win it or you should suck. Because you can be sort of lukewarm-good and still have something to play for.”

Insider was told by a general manager that if a team expects to be contenders in the season’s first, they will likely have a strong enough roster to remain competitive even if a star is lost.

The GM also noted that there are other factors than tanking. Even though a star player may be out, the team may want the coach to be evaluated on his ability to win games. They might be motivated to win games, and to show that their superstar is not in pain, but they also want to prove that his teammates are as good as him.

The GM stated that it is important to have extra work for other players.

“These guys get a tremendous opportunity to perform a lot of minutes,”He stated. “They get to learn from mistakes. They get to push their own limits. They get to over-dribble, they get to under-dribble. They get to take bad shots. They get to watch a ton of film of their own bad shots.”

This GM has been added: “You can’t teach experience. Experience is experience for a reason.”

In the long-term, it might not be a good idea to sell off veterans and tank.

Is it possible to create a new trend?

Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, and Stephen Curry sit on the bench in warmups before a game in 2022.

Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Stephen Curry.

Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images


The Blazers offseason might reveal whether they are ready for the next season “reset”Could be a new way to allow teams to function, or too “circumstantial,”As the executive stated it.

Portland is likely to have a Top 10 draft selection in the 2022 Draft. It could also create up to $60 million in cap room. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN — significant assets to construct a new roster.

Portland has never been a destination for free-agents. Draft picks can be unpredictable, as Van Gundy observed about the Spurs’ 1997 draft Duncan.

“They needed a lot of luck to get the No. 1 pick in a year where the No. 1 pick was Tim Duncan, who not only was an unbelievable player, but was exactly the type of person anybody would want to lead your organization for years and years,”He stated.

While the Warriors were able to rebuild their supporting cast around their Big Three — and now have young players to potentially dangle in a trade — having Curry, Thompson, and Green in place is the most important thing.

“Who knows whether or not they really truly did a one-year reset or not,”The executive laughed. “You know, they’re basically still driven by the same three dudes.”

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