Offseason Analysis: Jazz Should Invest in Warriors' Summer Plans

All signs point to the Warriors shaking the roster up this summer, and the Jazz should take note of it.

Friday night could very well become synonymous with the day the Golden State Warriors' dynasty ended. After a hard-fought second-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State fell short of an NBA title with a fully healthy squad for the first time in the dynasty's history. 

Contents

1. The Problem with the Golden State Warriors
2. The Warriors' Contract Situation
3. Potential Targets for the Jazz
4. Who Could the Warriors Have Interest In on Utah?

A combination of increasing cap concerns, aging talent, and just an overall disappointment of a season as a whole, the Warriors could be in for a roller coaster of a summer. Head coach Steve Kerr even acknowledged the season's shortcomings in an interview after Game 6.

"Ultimately, I think this team maxed out. … This is not a championship team. If we were, we’d be moving on."

- Steve Kerr, via

95.7 The Game

We may not know exactly what direction the Warriors plan to go this offseason, but it's clear there will be some type of changes made within the roster. Whatever they are, it's intriguing, and the Utah Jazz should be keeping note of it. Danny Ainge previously described this offseason prospecting to be fun, and making a transaction with the Warriors would certainly be just that.

Let's take a dive into the Warriors' offseason situation and how the Jazz can be getting involved.

The Problem with the Golden State Warriors

Despite the disappointing outcome of this season, the Warriors still remain with a great roster. They did end lose a couple role players from last season's championship team, but most still predicted the team to be among the top-seeded teams in the West. 

While some of their issues lie within their on-court struggles (lack of size to matchup with the Lakers, lack of bench depth, Klay Thompson couldn't hit a shot in the second round), you would have to think a few of the countless negative narratives and situations had an effect on the team this year. In case you don't remember, here's just a portion of these situations that the Warriors endured during the 2022-23 season.

•  The team struggled tremendously playing on the road all year, netting a record of 11-30.
• Andrew Wiggins had a personal crisis that lasted weeks long.
• Draymond Green literally gave Jordan Poole a knuckle sandwich in practice. 
• Steph Curry suffered a lengthy shoulder injury in the middle of the season.
• The team ended up making a deal to get Gary Payton II back, only without realizing the Portland Trail Blazers had been covering up a lingering abdominal injury.

The list could go on, but it goes without saying the Warriors had one of the most turbulent seasons in the association. In the best interest of the team and some of the players, a change of scenery may be necessary for some of the guys on the roster.

The Warriors' Contract Situation

The good thing about the Warriors' money situation is that they have a lot of guys on contract. While this doesn't bode well in terms of free agency signings, trades could absolutely be on the radar.

In total, Golden State have ten total players on the roster.:

- Stephen Curry, PG: $51.9m

- Klay Thompson, SG: $43.2m

- Jordan Poole, SG: $28.7m

- Andrew Wiggins, SF: $24.3m

- Gary Payton II, PG: $8.7m

- Kevon Looney, C: $8.5m

- Jonathan Kuminga, PF: $6.0m

- Moses Moody, SG: $3.9m

- Patrick Baldwin, PF: $2.3m

- Ryan Rollins, SG: $1.7m

Two important pieces in Draymond Green and Donte DiVincenzo will have player options to decide on this offseason, with many speculating Green to decline his option to test free agency. 

“Quite frankly, the writing’s on the wall."

Draymond Green on the possibility of not being a Warrior 👀

(via @TaylorRooks) pic.twitter.com/dzIOaq5e2I

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 14, 2023

Potential Targets for the Jazz

Now we reach where we could see the Jazz's interest getting peaked. By process of elimination, let's see of the 12 players above could realistically target this summer. 

- Steph Curry obviously isn't going anywhere.

- Klay Thompson's name has been thrown around in extension talks, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.

- The team just gave up a major haul to get Gary Payton II back, so he's likely off the block.

- Finally, Looney has been a Warriors team staple for years, so we'll exclude him too.

That leaves Wiggins, Poole, and a bunch of other young guys. In the case of the Jazz, all of these players could fit extremely well in Utah, specifically 'the bunch of other young guys.' We've seen the immediate impact James Wiseman made once he was traded to the Detroit Pistons in February; once held back in the Warriors' rigid system, now able to play more freely on a team with lower expectations. 

We've seen exciting flashes of what Kuminga could be one day, as opposed to the smaller sample size we've gotten of Moody and Baldwin Jr.. Getting the chance to gamble on one of these players to become great is a move that could consequently catapult the Jazz's rebuild ahead.

Who Could the Warriors Have Interest In on Utah?

This could be the time where Golden State cashes in on their young assets for more established talent. Doing so could effectively help fill out the overall rotation and fill various team needs.

Big man Kelly Olynyk might be a valuable player for the Warriors' playoff push considering his size, shooting, and experience; things that are all immensely valuable for contending teams. Collin Sexton could also even be a guy that could fit as a great spark plug off the bench for Golden State. The money on that one might be a little trickier to work out, but we know the Warriors typically have no problem working around the salary cap.

It remains to be seen how exactly the Warriors will approach this year's offseason, but regardless, it'll be entertaining to sit back and watch unfold.

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