After making the NBA Finals for five consecutive seasons, winning three titles in the process, the Golden State Warriors missed the playoffs last year after finishing 15-50, their worst winning percentage since the 2000-01 season. Injuries played a major factor in the Warriors’ lack of success last season as Klay Thompson was out for the year after suffering a torn ACL in Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals, Stephen Curry missed almost the entire season with a broken hand and both Draymond Green and Kevon Looney each dealt with various injuries throughout the season.
All was not terrible for Golden State though because they did end up with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft and acquired former No. 1 overall pick, Andrew Wiggins, at the trade deadline.
With everyone returning from injury and Andrew Wiggins and James Wiseman joining the Warriors, things looked like the Warriors were set up to come back stronger than ever, but then Thompson got hurt again this offseason and will miss the entire 2020-21 NBA season with an Achilles injury.
Klay Thompson will now miss his second-consecutive season with a significant injury and it will be very hard for the Warriors to replicate their championship success without him, especially in the Western Conference. While they are paying a lot of taxes due to being way over the salary cap, Warriors’ ownership decided to go “all-in” on trying to win a championship without Klay, and acquired Kelly Oubre Jr.
The Warriors quickly scrambled for a solution and were able to acquire Kelly Oubre Jr. from the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for a protected first-round pick that will turn into two second-round picks in 2021 if the Warriors finish in the Top 20 of the league standings.
Oubre Jr. could turn out to be a great pickup for Golden State this offseason to try and replace Thompson, but they will still have to deal with the growing pains of a new and young team.
Heading into the 2020-21 NBA season, the Warriors look like they have a legit roster and while losing Klay Thompson definitely hurts them big time, bringing in Kelly Oubre Jr. may just help this team in the long-term and could be the piece to the puzzle they needed to continue their dynasty.
With all of that being said, here are 4 burning questions for the Golden State Warriors entering the 2020-21 NBA season.
