The Warriors have made three significant moves this offseason. They executed a trade swapping Jordan Poole for Chris Paul. They re-signed Draymond Green for a four-year deal. On Sunday, they added some depth by signing reserve guard Cory Joseph.
Is it enough to make them a championship contender? According to Marcus Thompson of The Athletic, yes.
“Yes,” Thompson said on KNBR. “I don’t think it’s probable, but I think in any series with Steph Curry you’ve got a shot. If everything goes according to plan, how they mapped it out, which based on history is not probable, Chris Paul helps them in that situation. In any series you’ve got Steph, you’ve got Chris Paul, you’ve got Klay Thompson, you’ve got Draymond Green. They can win any series.”
Lost in last year’s disappointment was the fact that the Warriors’ core was mostly excellent. The starting lineup was the best lineup in the NBA, and the issues had more to do with the auxiliary than the main contributors.
Now that Golden State has made some improvements on that front — or so they hope — perhaps things will be different next year. Even if they are, Thompson believes the Warriors were good enough to go far last season.
“When they said they maxed out agains the Lakers, I think they could’ve won that series,” Thompson said. “They win Game 1, everything looks different if Klay doesn’t completely not be able to hit a shot. It’s a different series. They have what I would like to call a puncher’s chance. You have Steph Curry, you can win a championship.”
Listen to the full interview above. You can listen to every KNBR interview on our podcast page at knbr.com/podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Catch Murph & Mac weekdays from 6 – 10 a.m. on KNBR 104.5 / 680 and streaming live on KNBR.com.