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USA Today via Reuters

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USA Today via Reuters

No matter who you ask among the hoop enthusiasts, the general feeling is that the Warriors dynasty is over. This sinking feeling was present throughout last season, but after Klay Thompson‘s exit, it was put beyond doubt. Since losing Klay and Chris Paul, the Dubs went into the market and signed De’Anthony Melton, Kyle Anderson, Buddy Hield, and Reece Beekman.

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With them added to the current roster, the Warriors management will have a decision at their hands. Apart from Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, no one is nailed on in the side. And to address that speculated starting line-up, Zach Lowe shed some light on it.

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During a recent episode of The Lowe Post, the ESPN analyst put forth his preferred lineup. “I can’t go, Curry, Wiggins, Kuminga, Green and Jackson-Davis. That’s not enough shooting, it’s too big and kind of bulky of a lineup. I gotta tell you Tim, no matter what I just think, Kuminga has to start,” Lowe said to Tim MacMahon.

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Klay Thompson is the obvious big miss here for whom the Warriors got a “poor man version” of the 4-time NBA champion, in Lowe’s words. “What they were able to do in that deal where they got a poor man’s version of Klay just in terms of a volume three-point shooter in Buddy Hield,” Lowe added. He further revealed that Kuminga was linked to a trade, with the Warriors interested in Lauri Markkanen, but insisted the former be kept on the roster.

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USA Today via Reuters

Buddy Hield has a career 3-pts shooting of 40% with a 43.4% FG compared to Kuminga’s 34.1% and 52.4% respectively, so having Hield over the 21-year-old might not be as bad as Lowe indicated. But the Warriors will need more than that to save Stephen Curry’s legacy. Last season’s play-in elimination did not do any favor and this season’s team might replicate more of the same in the stacked Western Conference. Lowe went on to talk about the disparity of talent in the Warriors’ roster.

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Lowe highlights the difference in quality on the Warriors’ roster

Looking through the Warriors’ roster, apart from 36-year-old Steph Curry and veteran Draymond Green, a huge talent disparity exists. “Warriors have a lot of good players. They had a lot of good players last year too. It actually reminds me of last year’s team, they had like a lot of good players, but the drop off from their best player to the jumble of good players below him (Curry) is just like a Grand Canyon-level Chasm and six of those players are to are total to partial non-shooters,” Lowe argued.

A closer inspection of the roster shows that glue guys like Kyle Anderson, Gary Payton, Kevon Looney, and Trayce Jackson-Davis are capable rotation options but the lack of shooters can force Steve Kerr to shift from his ways of shoot-at-sight play. Their reluctance to do so is evident through their market activities and the major indication of that is why they want to chase Lauri Markkanen.

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“They are in this Lauri Markkanen stalled hunt, basically. I think they’re probably the premier team that has had the best package on the table. I think if Lauri Markkanen had been traded at this point, we all agree it would be the Warriors,” Anthony Slater of The Athletic reported.

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Time is of the essence for the Warriors as the focus will shift back to the market once the Paris Olympics conclude. Will they be able to save Curry’s dynasty, or is it curtains for the Warriors? Let us know your thoughts!

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what brand maker, Leonard Armato, had to say about the deadly duo, Shaq and Kobe, check out this video

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Written by

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Subhajit Chowdhury

294 Articles

Subhajit is an NBA beat writer for EssentiallySports. He started his writing journey almost a decade ago and after exploring and tinkering with the numbers associated with the game of soccer, his knack of analysizing every small detail landed him in the realm of hoopers, where he closely looks at trade numbers, analyzes players' averages and finds the hidden narratives behind those numbers. While he might not be able to dunk, his ball knowledge helps him get into all things related to basketball. In his spare time, he immerses himself in the world of classic audio stories. The documentary junkie in him also pushes him to consume multi-hour on-screen action covering sports icons, in turn making his literal big brain even bigger.

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Abhishek Rajan

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