The 2024 NBA offseason marked the end of an era in the league. The Big 3 of the Golden State Warriors, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, is no more.
Thompson moved on in free agency, agreeing to a three-year, $50 million deal with the Dallas Mavericks. It turned into a massive sign-and-trade with five teams, but the outcome was the same; his tenure with the Warriors was over.
That has led to a lot of reflecting on what the Warriors were able to accomplish over the last decade. They were an NBA dynasty, winning the NBA Championship four times and advancing to the Finals six times in an eight-year stretch.
In the opinion of Stephen Curry, that isn’t something the NBA will ever see again. In an interview with ESPN’s Malika Andrews, he revealed a bold take that he doesn’t believe there will be a dynasty like what the Warriors had ever again.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors Updates
“I mean obviously defining a dynasty can take a lot of different looks. People thought this was over in 2019 … but 2022 was an amazing championship because we defied the odds … That’s 11 years of almost 12 years of championship relevancy built around a certain core.
“I don’t think [it will be replicated] just because it’s very hard to keep things together in this league. A lot more player movement. Me, Klay and Draymond, we complemented each other so well for so long. We all brought something different to the table, so we’ll see. Records are meant to be broken. Dynasties come all different shapes inside of us, so we’ll see,” Curry said, via an article by Kendra Andrews of ESPN.
The Warriors in 2017 and 2018 were the last to repeat as NBA Champions. That is something that has become increasingly more difficult with the ever-changing landscape of the league and CBA.
Keeping a core together for a long period of time, as the Warriors did with their Big 3, is a near impossibility. The Boston Celtics are going to attempt to keep their core together, but it will cost a historic tax bill to get done.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors Updates
The Denver Nuggets have an all-world player in Nikola Jokic. The time to spend and contend is now, but CBA restrictions have resulted in them losing key members of their team two offseasons in a row.
During the 2024 NBA offseason, we have seen firsthand how difficult maneuvering around the CBA will be. The New York Knicks were penalized for signing Isaiah Hartenstein to a valuable deal two years ago and developing him.
He played so well, that the Oklahoma City Thunder offered him a three-year, $87 million deal. Because of the CBA, the Knicks could only offer him a max of $72.5 million over four years.
Obstacles like that are going to make it difficult for teams to keep cores that can rival Stephen Curry, Thompson and Green in talent intact for too long. In the age of player empowerment and insane amounts of money, a dynasty like what the Warriors had is unlikely to rise.
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