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Klay Thompson has been on a mission to regain his lost bravado, and, to some extent, his respect ever since he came back from two gruelling injuries.
An ACL and an achilles tear usually puts the lid on many NBA players' careers, however, Klay came back, and contributed significantly to a dyansty that won its fourth NBA title in eight years.
However, Thompson has even bigger aspirations. In an interview with Sports Illustrated's Howard Beck, Klay Thompson stated:
“I’m gonna do it again, at least one more time before I’m done,” he says, tugging at the black rubber wristband on his right arm—a memento from the New York All-Star Game in 2018. The All-Star MVP trophy is now named for Bryant, one of Thompson’s biggest idols, just adds to his motivation. “I’d love to shoot for that.”
The Dubs might have overvalued Klay Thompson's return and undervalued Otto Porter Jr. and Gary Payton II's presence
When Otto Porter Jr. and Gary Payton II went their seperate ways in free agency last offseason, the entire ordeal was recieved with a mixed bag of reactions. Some people believed that the Warriors' young talent off the bench would blossom to become formidable rotation players.
There was also hope that Klay Thompson's first injury-free offseason in three years would bring back at least some of his defensive chops, and the cumulative effect of Thompson's reinvigorated defense and the bench would offset the losses of OPJ and GPII.
However, that's not the case. The baby Dubs, as they are sometimes referred to as, have simply been bad, and Klay Thompson has a career-worst defensive rating of 117. In fact, the only other current starter with a worst defensive rating is Jordan Poole at 118.
With Stephen Curry out, the Dubs' have one of the weakest backcourts in the league right now, and as Steve Kerr mentioned in the postgame interview after their historic blowout loss to the Brooklyn Nets, the Golden State Warriors have hit rock-bottom.
Last season, the top three defenders for the Golden State Warriors were Draymond Green (103), Gary Payton II (103) and Otto Porter Jr. (104).
In fact, of their ten best defenders last season, half of them don't play for the Warriors any more. Only one defender in the top-five survived the 2022 offseason: Draymond Green.
The Warriors have severely overplayed their hand when it comes to the development of their first-round picks. It is hard to overstate just how underwhelming Wiseman has been, and their offseason pickups of JaMychal Green and Donte DiVincenzo aren't enough to round out a contending roster.
The Dubs need to make moves, and make them fast.
