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The Golden State Warriors' quest for an eighth title will continue in October sans a franchise legend.
Klay Thompson is suiting up with another team after spending 13 years in the Bay Area and making 793 appearances.
His exit underscored how much the organization wants to lift at least one more championship with Stephen Curry at the fore. The 2023-24 season made a strong case to argue that assembling the strongest roster was incompatible with giving Thompson the role and salary he'd be seeking.
Perhaps the ship has already sailed for the Warriors and their dynasty is doomed to inch toward an unsatisfactory conclusion, thus rendering this all moot. But the organization isn't going down without a fight.
2024-25 Warriors Schedule Details
Season Opener: Wednesday, Oct. 23 at Portland Trail Blazers
Championship Odds: +4500 (bet $100 to win $4,500), per FanDuel
Full Schedule: The full schedule is available on the team's official site.
Top Matchups
Los Angeles Lakers
One game separated the Warriors from the Los Angeles Lakers in each of the last two years, and the margins between the two could be just as small in 2024-25.
The Lakers are in a similar boat to Golden State in that they're locked in with a pair of marquee stars (LeBron James and Anthony Davis) who aren't getting any younger along with a supporting cast that leaves something to be desired.
What's particularly concerning for Los Angeles is that James and Davis missed 17 combined games, and it did little to change anything. The team only won four more games from the season before and lost in the first round to the Denver Nuggets.
Maybe first-year head coach J.J. Redick truly is the second coming of Pat Riley in Southern California and a lot of what went wrong for the Lakers was down to coaching.
But the Lakers could easily find themselves, like the Warriors, on the Western Conference play-in bubble.
Memphis Grizzlies
Of the five teams that finished below a play-in position in the West last year, the Memphis Grizzlies are the likeliest candidate to move into the top 10.
Injuries wreaked havoc on Memphis in 2023-24. It was bad enough that shoulder surgery limited Ja Morant to nine games after he served his 25-game suspension. But Marcus Smart only logged 20 appearances, while Desmond Bane (42 games) and Jaren Jackson Jr. (66 games) both missed extended spells.
Not surprisingly, the Grizzlies are counting on continuity to propel them up the standings.
Purdue center Zach Edey, the No. 9 overall pick, was their most notable offseason addition. The 7'4" big man should ease some of the defensive burden on Jackson, and he's an ideal screen-setter for Morant on offense.
If Edey is as good as advertised, Memphis could be a top-six challenger, and that will help renew a rivalry that kind of went dormant thanks to the Grizzlies' lottery finish.
Season Forecast
All things considered, Golden State might have a stronger roster now than it did to close out last year. Effectively swapping Thompson and Chris Paul for Buddy Hield, Kyle Anderson and De'Anthony Melton gives the team backcourt depth and floor-spacing.
Still, the failed pursuit of Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen is a sign the roster needs at least one more big star. And even acquiring Markkanen or a player of similar value may not move the needle enough given how it would inevitably require sacrificing some of that aforementioned depth and a young piece such as Jonathan Kuminga or Brandin Podziemski.
Examining their contender credentials, the Warriors have some glaring question marks heading into the upcoming season.
Melton missed 44 games and battled back trouble in 2023-24, so his health will be a big variable until he proves otherwise.
Andrew Wiggins simply hasn't been the same player since helping the team win its last title in 2022. Assuming he isn't moved in a blockbuster trade, any championship formula for Golden State requires Wiggins to be an effective two-way presence again.
Then there's Green, whose reputation has long preceded him. The Warriors can't afford for him to draw suspensions from the league or disrupt their internal chemistry again.
Curry remains an elite shooter and scorer, but he can't put the franchise on his back anymore.
Unless the stars align for Golden State in the same way they did during the 2022 Finals run, it's probably looking at the same outcome it experienced over the last two years.
Record Prediction: 44-38
