The big question still looms: Are the Warriors better?

It’s been a hectic offseason, but has it been a fruitful one?

The offseason goal for every NBA team is the same: get better. That’s the goal for the Detroit Pistons, who finished with an NBA-worst 14 wins last year. That’s the goal for the Boston Celtics, who broke through to win their first championship in 16 years. And it’s certainly the goal for the Golden State Warriors, who had a disappointing campaign in which they went 46-36, snuck into the final spot in the NBA’s Play-In Tournament, and were eliminated in their first game, in fairly humiliating fashion.

Like all teams, the Dubs surely have some side quests this summer: they want to shed some salary as they look to the future, they want to maximize profits, and they want to focus on their newest venture, an exciting WNBA team that will debut in the 2025 season. But above all else, Golden State’s goal this offseason was the same as everyone else’s: become a better basketball team.

The Warriors are only a few months away from an embarrassing end to an inexcusable season, but they’re only two years away from hoisting a trophy and celebrating a fourth title within a decade. So where they are and where they’re trying to go are both recent enough that they can taste it ... and so can we.

There’s still time left in the offseason. The Warriors continue to pursue a trade for Lauri Markkanen and, should they fail in that venture, they’ll surely see if they can find another star and swing for the fences.

But there’s also a pretty decent chance that this is, essentially, all that will happen for the Dubs this offseason. So, are they better? Let’s look at the reasons for and against, starting with the negative.

Reasons why the Warriors might be worse than last year

• They lost Klay Thompson who, despite his struggles last year, was still clearly the second-best scorer on the Warriors, while finishing fourth in the NBA in three-pointers made. He also led the Warriors in games played, while having unparalleled on-court chemistry with Steph Curry and Draymond Green.
• They lost Chris Paul, who was one of the league’s elite bench players last year. For a team that has struggled to play well with Curry on the bench, losing a Hall of Famer to lead the second unit is huge. And for a team that has been cursed by turnovers for the last decade, it’s a big hit to lose one of the game’s most talented ball controllers.
• Curry and Green are a year older, at an age where it’s not unprecedented for players to start falling off quickly.
• Curry and Steve Kerr could potentially be worn out from a summer spent competing in the Olympics instead of sitting on the beach with a refreshing beverage and a masseuse.
• Brandin Podziemski slowed down towards the end of the 2023-24 season, and it’s not inconceivable that the league has made some adjustments to him.
• With Thompson gone, the at-times rift-causing divide between the young players and the veterans could be even more stark.
• Andrew Wiggins has been in a steady decline for two years, and that trend could continue.
• The team’s big free agent additions — Buddy Hield, De’Anthony Melton, and Kyle Anderson — might end up not fitting the system very well. They sure look like they should ... but we once said that about Kelly Oubre Jr. and Omri Casspi. You just never know until you get a player into your system.

Reasons why the Warriors might be better than last year

• Losing Thompson — a year after trading Jordan Poole — could help the Warriors rekindle some of their chemistry and looseness. Thompson was a core reason for the team’s good vibes during the bulk of the dynasty, but there’s no denying that his frustration last year was something of a strain on the team.
• Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, Trayce Jackson-Davis, and Podziemski all looked like impact role players next year, and they’ll all be a year older and more experienced — and thus, likely better.
• Melton and Anderson give the Warriors the type of player they’ve sorely lacked in recent years: savvy role players with strong defense and selfless play, who almost always make the right decision and play.
• Hield gives the Dubs a likely bench boost that they’ve been searching for ever since trading Poole.
• If I had to bet on it, I’d say Wiggins bounces back.
• Quinten Post gives the Dubs a stretch-five that could unlock entirely new parts of the team’s offense.
• The addition of Jerry Stackhouse, and, even more importantly, Terry Stotts, should help the Warriors coaching staff grow and evolve, and should improve an offense that has gotten a little bit stale in recent years.
• Kerr coaching the Olympics — where he is around other superstars, and joined on the coaching bench by the highly-talented Erik Spoelstra, Ty Lue, and Mark Few — could help him grow as a coach.
• It’s safe to say that Curry and Green will have a serious chip on their shoulder after last year, and those are two players who do very well with chips on their shoulders.
• Their young players are becoming quality assets who could be traded if a superstar becomes available midseason.

Ultimately, we just don’t know. Not to sound like a news anchor during election season, but this is why they play the game. Still and all, everyone probably has a pretty strong opinion here.

So which is it, Dub Nation?