The Golden State Warriors lie at a crossroads. With the trade deadline under two weeks from now, and the team’s core in the latter stage of their career, tension has quietly simmered behind the scenes. The front office, led by Mike Dunleavy Jr., has tried to balance its contending status with the realities of the post-Stephen Curry era, and now, a voice suggests that all might not be well internally.

“Somebody in the building, Chase Center, told me about three weeks ago,” Warriors insider Monte Poole said on Dubs Talk. “They said, ‘We’ve really kind of screwed Steph over the past few years.'”

Poole laid out the problem clearly: the infamous two timelines approach. Under previous GM Bob Myers and continuing into the current regime, the team drafted players who needed development rather than immediate contributions while also managing the team’s championship-level core, trying to seamlessly bridge the two eras.

It’s an exceptionally difficult proposition, and one the team clearly did not succeed on.

Poole pointed out that none of the players the team drafted were immediate contributors. Even the lottery picks the team managed to land, particularly James Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga, and Moses Moody, all have unclear futures in terms of their ceiling.

Sure, they are all capable enough players, but for lottery picks, Wiseman and Kuminga especially have disappointed signifcantly.

“But none of those three are saying, you’re saying, ‘Okay, that guy is a cornerstone somewhere,'” Poole continued. “You’re not getting that. No doubt… And the way they bypassed some players where you had scouts and coaches saying one thing and people upstairs saying another thing.”

The misaligned decision-making has been a long-time rumor for the Warriors, with head coach Steve Kerr and Dunleavy‘s front office reportedly disagreeing on the pick that turned into Kuminga. What isn’t arguable is that their track record in the draft has significantly affected Curry’s competitive window.

Giannis Antetokounmpo Has Become Stephen Curry and the Warriors’ Course Correction

Giannis Antetokounmpo represents exactly what the Golden State Warriors have missed in recent seasons: immediate, transformative impact.

The timing has only amplified the scrutiny, with Antetokounmpo reportedly looking for a new team away from the Bucks at the deadline or the offseason, with him repeatedly linked to the Warriors.

Meanwhile, after Jimmy Butler‘s season-ending ACL injury and another injury to Kuminga, the Warriors are left sputtering, losing three of their last five games and with no clear secondary scoring option around Curry.

Unlike the team’s spotty drafting record, there’s no development curve they need to navigate; a player of Antetokounmpo’s caliber could complement Stephen Curry and Draymond Green and help shift the team into clear-cut contenders.

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The team has tradeable assets, including most of its post-Curry-era draft picks, young players, and matching salary. As Poole’s comments reveal, the Warriors seemingly recognize that their previous strategies didn’t serve Curry’s prime.

Whether an Antetokounmpo trade materializes or not, the team’s approach is now, hopefully, to maximize the window around their aging franchise cornerstone.