Where do Warriors go from here? Think role players over stars, Kuminga sign-and-trade

After the All-Star break, the Warriors were 20-7 (second-best record in the West), with the best defense in the NBA and the seventh-best offense. They advanced out of the play-in thanks to Stephen Curry.

After that, the Warriors impressed beating a young and athletic Houston team in seven games in the first round, and were up 1-0 in the second round after winning at Minnesota…

Then Stephen Curry strained his hamstring.

Steve Kerr said Curry’s injury “changed everything.”

“I know we had a shot. I know we could have gone the distance,” Kerr said. “Maybe we wouldn’t have, but it doesn’t matter. Again, everything in the playoffs is about who stays healthy and who gets hot.”

After Curry’s injury, the Warriors dropped four in a row, a reminder of the thin margins in the West as well as the thin margins for this Warriors roster. Golden State still want to chase a ring while they have Curry as a top-10 player in the league, and with Jimmy Butler locked up on an extension, but where do the Warriors go from here?

Chase another star? Probably not.

Kevin Durant didn’t want an encore in the Bay Area, but considering the history of owner Joe Lacob, would the Warriors focus on landing another superstar? We’re looking at you, Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Don’t bet on it. As Anthony Slater and Marcus Thompson II wrote at The Athletic:

“There are no early indications that the Warriors will be at the front of the line of the yet-to-materialize Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes, league sources said. As they enter the summer, team sources said, the internal plan and conversation is about how to best reform the role players around the Curry and Butler duo, not chase another star.”

Many people around the league took a lesson from what has transpired in Phoenix and thought that three elite stars with not much around them is not a path to success. Golden State may be one of them.

The Warriors are not planning a major shake-up, but they are looking for changes.

Sign-and-trade Kuminga

The biggest trade chip the Warriors head into this summer with is Jonathan Kuminga, who averaged 15.3 points a game this season (in 47 games), showed he can get buckets at an NBA level, but has always seemed to be in Kerr’s dog house.

However, Kuminga has always had a backer in Lacob – and it’s good to have the owner in your corner. Lacob spoke to The Athletic about him.

“I was listening to the guys behind me tonight give running commentary — T-Wolves fans,” Lacob told The Athletic. "(Kuminga) ‘s the guy they talked about all night long. He’s the only guy that could really guard (Anthony Edwards) out there. Did a pretty damn good job. He had a tough situation with the DNPs from the last series, and to bounce back from that, I give him a lot of credit. I’m a big fan of his.”

Kuminga is a restricted free agent this summer (once the Warriors extend his $7.9 million qualifying offer) and the expectation is the team will help him find a new home via a sign-and-trade. Kuminga is reportedly seeking a deal in the four-year, $120 million range ($30 million a season) but whether that is out there for him remains to be seen.

What would the Warriors want back in such a trade?

Find a center, more size, shooting

The Warriors’ core is getting old: Curry is 37, Green is 35, and Butler will be 36 when next season starts. To keep that core healthy through the grind of another marathon NBA season, the Warriors are looking for a traditional center to help in the paint, more positional size and athleticism across the board, and, of course, more shooting. The challenge will be doing that while staying below the second apron of the luxury tax (the Warriors are going to be paying the tax — the repeater tax at that — but that’s the price of having Curry and Butler making north of $50 million next season (and Green at $25.9 million).

There are good role players already on the roster: Buddy Hield, Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody, Trayce Jackson-Davis and Quinten Post among them. Look for the Warriors to try and re-sign free agent Gary Payton II, who is one of their better perimeter defenders.

However, to be a title threat again, the Warriors need something they had at the start of the Curry-era title runs: A high-level defensive center. Andrew Bogut in the paint was critical for the Warriors’ first title, and while everyone remembers Green’s suspension as a turning point in the blown 3-1 NBA Finals lead in 2016, Bogut being injured and out for the final couple of games was equally as critical.

The Warriors need a modern defensive center. The challenge is that they are not alone in seeking that kind of big man, even within their own division, which could drive up the price.

The Warriors, like 29 other teams, also would love more consistent shooting on the perimeter.

Whatever moves the Warriors make this summer, the target is to win now and try to get Curry one more ring (and Butler his first). Easier said than done in the West, but the Warriors believe they have the team… with just a few tweaks. And some health.