2. Golden State Warriors
Another team heavily involved in the Lauri Markkanen sweepstakes is the Golden State Warriors, according to Scotto. They did a solid job replacing Klay Thompson’s shooting with Buddy Hield, who should thrive in Steve Kerr’s system predicated on off-ball movement and floor spacing. But if last year was any indication, they no longer have the talent on their roster to be the Warriors we are all accustomed to watching, missing the playoffs entirely this past season.
One issue is that, outside of Stephen Curry, Brandin Podziemski, and now Hield, the Warriors surprisingly don’t have many shooters on their roster. Their wings, Jonathan Kuminga and Andrew Wiggins have extremely redundant skill sets. Golden State could benefit from adding another dimension to their roster by bringing in another forward who is an upgrade in multiple aspects, but primarily as a shooter.
Similarly to the Kings, if the Warriors miss out on acquiring Markkanen or the asking price is too steep for their liking, they could shift their focus to Grant. Curry is now 36, and Draymond Green is 34. Their window is, unfortunately, coming to an end somewhat soon, making this offseason extremely pressing in terms of needing to add more help to surround their two Hall of Famers.