Why Shelburne believes the Warriors will ‘hunt for big games’ originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area
After a few disappointing seasons on the heels of the Warriors’ 2022 NBA championship, will Golden State and general manager Mike Dunleavy try to shake things up this summer? ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne believes so.
During an interview with 95.7 The Game’s “Willard & Dibs,” Shelburne detailed why he is confident in his belief that the Warriors will make a spectacular move during the NBA off-season.
“The last time I was on the show with you I mentioned that I thought they were going to hunt big game, I still think that’s the case [the Warriors] roll,” Shelburne told Mark Willard and Dan Dibley. “Let’s see what they can do. They will have to be creative, they will have to work hard for it. I don’t see any world in which they return to the same team and expect everything to go better.
“I think they make some changes and try to improve this team. You just don’t have a guy like Steph Curry on your team and a mediocre cast around him.
Golden State will have very thin margins to work with, entering the offseason with $249,265,900 booked on 2024-25 salary cap obligations, with a sizable portion that could be freed up if the Warriors decide to move on from Chris Paul.
The Warriors have until June 28 to make a decision on the 39-year-old point guard, at which point the $30 million he is under contract for next season will be fully guaranteed if he remains on Golden State’s roster. Finding a way to move on from Paul would be the Warriors’ quickest path to freeing up a substantial amount of money, though it could be a difficult decision after the positive impact the future Hall of Fame guard had during its only season in the Bay Area.
Veteran Kevon Looney is under contract for $8 million next season, with just $3 million fully guaranteed. If Looney remains on the roster seven days before the 2024 NBA moratorium period, which begins July 1, all $8 million will be guaranteed. Although Looney was a constant presence in several of Golden State’s title runs, the emergence of Trayce Jackson-Davis creates an interesting discussion about the future of the three-time NBA champion.
The biggest elephant in the room remains Klay Thompson’s impending unrestricted free agency. The four-time NBA champion spent his entire 13-year career with the Warriors, making it difficult to imagine a scenario in which he doesn’t remain with Golden State and maintain his place in the historic core of Curry and Draymond Green.
How much Thompson will command on the open market remains a mystery, and could leave the Warriors with an extremely difficult decision given the limited resources at their disposal due to contractual obligations on the books for next season and beyond. Dunleavy maintain the old franchise icon or try to bring in a different playmaker alongside Curry and Green?
The answer will be one of the biggest stories to monitor as the NBA off-season approaches.
