I’m fed up.
Since 1994, the Golden State Warriors have been less than mediocre and have made the playoffs only once. While I personally have not been a fan since 1994, this fact makes the Warriors the laughingstock of the National Basketball Association.
Warriors fans make up one of the most loyal fan bases in the NBA. Even with the Warriors’ history of failure, the fans never cease to sell out Oracle Arena in Oakland and the fans always cheer their hearts out. While the fans come out and support, it is only fair that the Warriors organization gives back to the “best fans in the NBA.”
This brings us to the elephant in the room: the trade that made Monta Ellis, the Warriors’ star player for the past seven years, a Milwaukee Buck. In return for an all-star caliber shooting guard, the Warriors finally filled the void of a big presence on the basketball court. They obtained former first overall draft pick Andrew Bogut.
At first glance, I was shocked and disappointed with the trade. Ellis, a fan favorite, was traded for Bogut, who had a history of injuries. However, as I did my research and let it sit with me for a while, I realized that this trade was a potential.
Why have the Warriors been a subpar team in the past couple of years? They had two great guards in Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis and two solid forwards in Dorell Wright and David Lee, but the last missing piece was the center. The most important defensive player had been missing from the Warriors’ lineup and with this new piece, the Warriors are a potential threat in the west.
It seems as though the departure of Ellis hit the fans hard. During the retiring of the jersey of legendary Warriors player Chris Mullin on March 19, the owner of the Warriors, Joe Lacob, came up to speak. As soon as Lacob took the microphone, boos rang out.
These were boos from disappointment, anger and sadness for the years of underperformance from the Warriors, and these emotions were triggered by the trade of Ellis. Lacob, who has owned the team for only a couple of years and promises a better team one day, was shocked by these boos and never got to tell his speech of congratulations for Mullin. In fact, both Mullin and another Warrior legend, Rick Barry, had to step in to calm the aggravated crowd.
It is obvious that the team looks like it’s in ruin right now. Their star point-guard Curry has been struggling with ankle injuries, their leading scorer in Ellis has disappeared, and the center Bogut is still recovering from an ankle fracture that he suffered earlier this year. The Warriors have shown a few wins and a handful of losses during this time of transition, but in my opinion the Warriors’ future looks bright.
Next year, assuming that all players are healthy, the Warriors will finally have a defensive presence on the court with Bogut, and rookie Klay Thompson has been performing very well in Ellis’ shoes and shows no signs of stopping. With guards Curry and Thompson, forwards Lee and Wright, and center Bogut, the Warriors have a great shot at making the playoffs next year. In fact, it would not be a surprise if they make the fourth or fifth playoff seed in the west.
Keep your heads up, Warriors fans: The drought may be over soon.