Paul Pierce believes the Golden State Warriors are not going to contend for the NBA Championship despite their recent moves.
The Golden State Warriors have put in a lot of effort this season to compete for the NBA Championship. Building around Jimmy Butler and Stephen Curry has become a priority for the Warriors.
Steve Kerr relies heavily on his stars. In fact, Kerr credited Butler with helping him with some careless mistakes with the ball on the court.
There’s some discussion about Jimmy Butler as the Warriors’ second option, but there’s no denying that he’s an excellent player who can help them win.
But for fans hoping the Warriors will win a title next season, former NBA champion Paul Pierce has bad news.
Paul Pierce spoke to Kevin Garnett on Tickets & the Truth about the Golden State Warriors. He initially liked the combination of Butler and Curry, but now he’s less confident in their potential.
Pierce believes the Warriors will be fun to watch, but they won’t be good enough to compete with the best teams in the West.
“I liked them when they first made the move, but I feel like the honeymoon is over. You know, to have a fresh relationship, it’s all about sparks and roses and dates and flowers and all the other little things. Then the relationship matures.”
“When you look at them, they’re a year older, so I think they’re more mature. They have one of the oldest teams in the league. It feels like the window is closing on them.”
“I love the tenacity, leadership and veteran presence on that team. I feel like we can’t keep up with young teams like Minnesota, Denver and OKC.
“It’s tough when you’re that age. This is a youth league and you need a certain level of athleticism. I don’t think anyone watches Golden State with that presence anymore.”
“It’ll be fun to watch them again. It’s always going to be fun to watch Butler and Curry do their thing.
“But I think teams won’t respect them as much as they did in the past. Teams feel like, ‘We’re better now.’
“Whereas when we were playing Golden State, there was an element of fear. I think that element of fear is gone.”
On paper, the Golden State Warriors roster looks very strong, but upon closer inspection, there are some major issues.
Steve Kerr admitted that it will be difficult to compete at this age because all of the Warriors’ best players are in their 35s and won’t play much time throughout the season.
Stephen Jackson recently claimed that the Warriors have the best lineup with Jonathan Kuminga on the court, but so far it’s hard to understand where he’s coming from.
The opening game win over the Los Angeles Lakers showed that there is still a lot to work on over time if they are to live up to their title aspirations.