How the Thunder can build a championship roster
2015 Golden State Warriors
The 2015 Warriors are what the Thunder hoped to be during their peak years with Durant and Westbrook, a home-grown team with multiple superstars and valuable role players off the bench.
When analyzing the Warriors, the discussion has to start with Stephen Curry. With questions about his size and skill coming from a small school in Davidson, Curry fell to the Warriors as the 7th pick in the 2009 NBA draft. Curry’s career got off to a rocky start. After a decent first two seasons, Curry missed 40 of 66 games during his third year. He had surgery on his ankle that had torn ligaments as a result of multiple sprains. Curry had another surgery later that season for a strained tendon and concerns about his durability arose.
As a result of his lingering ankle issues, the Warriors were able to sign Curry to a cheap four-year 44 million dollar deal. This helped the Warriors spend money on locking up the rest of the team and getting quality role players. So while Curry’s injury history was scary for Golden State at first, it ended up being the best thing for them.
Related Story: Teaching the Warriors a couple of lessons
The Warriors continued to grow by nailing their draft selections. In 2011, the team selected Klay Thompson 11th overall. The Warriors almost traded Thompson for Kevin Love, but decided to hold onto him. Thompson continued to improve and is now arguably the best all-around shooting guard in the league.
The Warriors 2012 draft could go down as one of the best for any team in NBA history. They selected Harrison Barnes 6th overall, who became a quality starter for the team during its title run. At the end of the first round, they nabbed Festus Ezeli, who while plagued with Injuries, was a key backup big for the ’15 title time. And last but certainly not least, the Warriors drafted Draymond Green in the second round with the 35th overall pick. Green is now arguably the best defensive player in the NBA and has been the Warriors motivational leader for the team. His offensive and defensive versatility made the Warriors the hardest team to guard and prepare for.
Three key player moves completed the Warriors dominant roster. During the middle of the 2012 season, the Warriors traded fan favorite shooting guard Monta Ellis as part of a package to the Bucks for center Andrew Bogut. Another player with a glaring injury history, Bogut stayed relatively healthy and provided the necessary physicality and rim protection the Warriors needed.
Two free agent signings completed the team’s core. They signed Andre Iguodala to a four-year deal in 2013. The 2015 Finals MVP provided more defensive versatility and helped shut down LeBron James in the finals. In 2014 they signed Shaun Livingston, a quality backup point guard, who at 6’7 was able to guard multiple positions.
The final move that unlocked the Warriors full potential was hiring coach Steve Kerr. The team was devastated when Mark Jackson was fired, but Kerr ultimately proved to be the correct choice. He had the idea of putting Green in the starting lineup as a power forward instead of a backup wing. This move allowed the Warriors to play small, while still being able to handle bigger opponents. Kerr along with assistant coach Alvin Gentry brought out the best offense for Golden State that saw a barrage of three pointers from arguably the best shooting backcourt in NBA history.