Was Mike Dunleavy's puzzling analysis of Warriors' roster shrewd or delusional? originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO – A cursory comparison of the rosters in these NBA playoffs and that of the Warriors sends a message that Golden State general manager Mike Dunleavy doesn’t seem to concede.
Golden State’s aging core is surrounded by young players Dunleavy says he believes in but generally can’t match the length and athleticism of most teams in the league. Asked about the roster, his replies could be taken two ways.
If he really believes what he says, it’s delusion.
If not, it’s shrewd deception.
“This just isn’t about the roster, frankly,” Dunleavy said on Friday, referring to the 37-45 season that fell short of the playoffs. “I don’t think we came up short because of the talent on the roster. It was injuries and things we could control.”
Whoa. Stay healthy and reduce turnovers and, voila, the Warriors still would be playing? If Dunleavy really believes this, he has not been watching the same playoffs as the rest of us.
A Warriors fan must hope he is being deceptive, or at least coy. It’s a real possibility. Kind of shrewd.
We won’t know, however, until we see what kind of offseason Dunleavy and his front-office cohorts are able to cook up.
We do know he left plenty of room for interpretation.
“The top priority is to take care of the ball, limit turnovers,” Dunleavy said. “And then, after that, we’ll try and get better in every which way. We took the most threes in the league last year, so we definitely want to have as many guys as we can that can make shots. Athleticism helps for sure. I mean, having two wings like Jimmy (Butler III) and Moses (Moody) that will be out to start the season, that’s a huge hole in generally your most athletic position.
“We’ll always look to add athletically, length, size, skill, all those things. Watching the playoffs, you learn a lot. You see the teams where they’re at, where you need to go.”
Watching the playoffs reveals how far the Warriors – even with Stephen Curry still playing at an elite level – are away from competing with such championship contenders as the San Antonio Spurs, New York Knicks and, of course, defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
It’s also evident that Golden State would struggle to keep pace with the Minnesota Timberwolves or Cleveland Cavaliers. And, for that matter, Denver, Portland, Boston and Atlanta, all of which were ousted in the first round.
The Warriors are coming off a season that was a few wins above mediocre before it was broken in the second half by injuries to Butler and Curry, whose absences left the roster without top-end talent for more than two months. Their 10-22 record over the final 32 games – a dead tie with the woeful Sacramento Kings – was telling.
Yes, turnovers, reasonably costing the Warriors six to eight games, were fatal. Only the Wizards, Nets and Blazers committed more, but Portland used size and athleticism as an antidote to finish five games better (42-40) than Golden State.
And yet, Dunleavy stressed turnovers over all else. He referenced them, directly or indirectly seven times in his 21-minute news conference.
“I think moving forward this summer we can get better, and that’ll start in June with the draft,” Dunleavy said. “Having the 11th pick and the 54th pick are two ways we could definitely add to the roster and improve. And then we’ll roll into free agency and see what we can do there.
“But I think a big focus will be on internal improvement, and that’s something we discussed with Steve.”
There was scant acknowledgement of the team’s acute need for athleticism and length. No explicit talk of a possible trade, the surest route to a younger star capable of making instant impact – something which Dunleavy surely knows is required for the Warriors to stay afloat without until Butler anticipated midseason return.
That assumes Jimmy won’t be traded, something for which there is no assurance. Dunleavy said three months ago that that trading Butler was not in the plans, but plans often change.
“Do we need to get better roster-wise? I think so,” Dunleavy conceded. “But we didn’t get to a point where we played a team where their roster is better than ours. So, that reason we’re more focused on stuff that we can control.”
In short, turnovers. The top priority.
If Dunleavy thinks Golden State can expect an appreciably better outcome next season by running it back with a few moderate tweaks, this is delusional enough to draw laughter from the Thunder and Spurs, lords of the Western Conference.
It’s hard to conceive of any roster upgrade that doesn’t include an All-Star caliber sidekick to join Curry leaving the Warriors looking much better than they did in their last seven games, five of which they lost.
It’s possible Dunleavy was using his time as a smoke screen. GMs in every sport do it all the time. They posture and promote those on the current roster, knowing some of them are available via trade. Certainly, that is the case with the Warriors.
We could know in the weeks to come, certainly by mid-July. But we won’t have our final answer until Golden State convenes for training camp in September.
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