JULY 18 WARRIORS BETTER HOPE NUGGETS DON'T SIGN WESTBROOK According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Los Angeles Clippers traded Russell Westbrook to the Utah Jazz, with a buyout soon to follow.
When the smoke clears from the Westbrook trade and imminent buyout, one thing is sure: the Golden State Warriors can't afford for the Denver Nuggets to sign the sixth man. While the Warriors failed to make the playoffs last season, anytime one Western Conference team improves, naturally, another weakens.
JULY 18 SAY IT AIN'T SO JOE It's possible the Golden State Warriors' 2022 NBA Finals run was the last for them, at least under Stephen Curry. Curry turns 37 in March, and the one-time unanimous MVP lacks the fountain of youth.
While Warriors' fans yearn for a blockbuster trade to ignite another championship run, team governor Joe Lacob doesn't think trading young players is worth risking the future after Curry.
Lacob recently talked with The Athletic's Marcus Thompson to share his opinion on the Warriors' current predicament. "For everybody. For our fans. It's everybody, and Steph feels the same way... I think Steph's got a number of years left, but odds would suggest we're getting certainly nearer to the end.
And we're aware of it every single day. We want to win, but you wouldn't change my mind. I want to win... We're always trying to get the best team we possibly can, subject to all the different difficulties in doing that," Lacob said.
As the "Light Years" franchise continues its difficult balancing act of contending in the now and the future, Lacob, at least publicly, disagrees with risking it all for a slight chance of winning.