After a record-setting, 73-win season, the Golden State Warriors suffered a shocking loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.
What moves should the Warriors make to get back to the top? Should they bring back Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli?
Our NBA Insiders debate the future of the Warriors.
1. What do you foresee and advise for the Warriors this offseason?
Tom Haberstroh, ESPN Insider: A quiet summer of tranquility, rest and rehabilitation. This team needs to take some time off and make moves on the margins, rather than reinventing the wheel. Also, it's time to hand the starting gig over to Andre Iguodala instead of Harrison Barnes.
Amin Elhassan, ESPN Insider: There is no need to get locked in to the current roster for relative perpetuity. Although bringing everyone back is nice, I'd keep flexible to entertain the possibilities free agency will bring, including names such as Al Horford, Nic Batum, Joakim Noah and Jared Dudley.
Jeremias Engelmann, ESPN Insider: I'd let Harrison Barnes walk, assuming he gets an offer close to the max from some other team. I'd try to re-sign Festus Ezeli to a reasonable deal -- $12 million per year sounds fair. To replace Barnes, I'd try to sign one of the following: Nicolas Batum, Luol Deng, Marvin Williams, Jared Dudley and Matt Barnes.
Bradford Doolittle, ESPN Insider: Assuming Joe Lacob is willing to foot the bill, the objective has to be to keep the team together. The Kevin Durant scenario feels far-fetched, but given that the Warriors didn't extend Barnes or Festus Ezeli last fall, you might as well kick the tires. Otherwise, status quo is appropriate, if expensive. Winning 88 games comes with a price.
Kevin Pelton, ESPN Insider: A relatively quiet offseason. The Kevin Durant dream should be dead now, and I don't see any other free agent the Warriors could add as being worth the necessary hit to their depth and chemistry. I think Golden State matches a max offer to Barnes, re-signs Ezeli and maybe tweaks around the margins to get more shot creation in the second unit.
2. Fact or fiction: The Warriors should pay Harrison Barnes the max, if necessary.
Elhassan: Fact, but only if the other options on the market have been exhausted. Although Barnes is only 24, Golden State's window for championships is now. The Warriors must do whatever they can do to exploit this window, even if that means letting a talented young player walk to gain several more pieces.
Doolittle: Pay him. An underrated component of the Warriors' success has been getting star-level talents such as Barnes and Klay Thompson to fill roles that don't allow them to fully produce like they might in other situations. Barnes is not easily replaced. The perception that Barnes can do much more than he has been asked also gives him trade value down the line, if needed.
Engelmann: Fiction. Barnes has a Real Plus-Minus of minus-0.85, which is 33rd among small forwards. Barnes is below average in every box score statistic except turnovers. His true shooting percentage -- which is inflated from playing with Curry and Thompson -- has been average in the regular season and was below 52 percent in the playoffs. Why would anyone pay him the max?
Pelton: Fact. Though stardom might not be in the cards for Barnes, his ability to slide down to power forward is crucial to the Warriors' ability to play small, and he's a fine role player. Is he worth more than Golden State's other starters? No, obviously not -- and concerns about how a max deal for Barnes plays in the locker room are the only valid reason to answer fiction, in my opinion -- but such a contract would be tradable, if need be.
Haberstroh: Fiction. The Warriors are great with Harrison Barnes -- not because of him. Although it's true that the new cap will create inflated salaries and we all need to adjust to that new reality, I cringe to think what it would do to team chemistry if Barnes is by far the highest paid player on a 73-win team.
3. Fact or fiction: The Warriors should pay Festus Ezeli $15 million per season, if necessary.
Haberstroh: Fact. That's the very top of what I'd offer. He's a solid replacement for Bogut when the Australian big man hits free agency next summer. Ezeli has health concerns, but there are few 26-year-olds with a 17.7 player efficiency rating, vertical spacing and experience with a winning brand of basketball.
Pelton: Fiction. I'm less convinced on Ezeli, despite the needed athleticism he brings to the Warriors' frontcourt rotation. His history of knee problems means a big contract could become a millstone, which might require the Warriors to give up draft picks if they need to move it. Given that Steve Kerr still doesn't trust Ezeli with regular minutes, I'd rather take a flyer on a cheap big man such as Dewayne Dedmon or Willie Reed.
Doolittle: Fact. Hey, it's not my money. This is a tough one. Keeping Ezeli feels especially important because Bogut's deal expires after next season. But $15 million? The notion gives me Jerome James flashbacks. Ezeli is a nice player on the upswing. If you think you want to keep Bogut beyond next season, that might change my thinking.
Engelmann: That's a tough one, but probably. According to Real Plus-Minus, Ezeli has been the 23rd-best center this season, which makes $15 million sound steep. On the other hand, the Warriors will soon need a replacement for Andrew Bogut, who's 31 years old and not exactly an iron man.
Elhassan: Fact, if he's healthy. At his best, Ezeli represents something the Warriors don't have: an above-the-rim, athletic big. Hassan Whiteside, Bismack Biyombo and Steven Adams have upped their value in the postseason. Although Ezeli hasn't been as good, those centers will set the market. Given the number of teams flush with cash, there will be more than a couple suitors willing to pay a premium for an athletic, defensive 7-footer.
For Golden State, Ezeli isn't the passer Bogut is, but he's more valuable, especially with the rise of the Death Lineup with Draymond Green at center. But that's true only if the injuries he has dealt with are not chronic in nature.
4. Rank these players in terms of how important they are to the Warriors going forward: Harrison Barnes, Andrew Bogut, Festus Ezeli, Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston.
Pelton: Barnes, Iguodala, Ezeli, Bogut, Livingston. All are useful; none is indispensable. Given that, I'm generally favoring youth and a long-term outlook over what they mean now. Iguodala is the exception to that, as his versatility unlocks so many things the Warriors do, both with their starters and with their reserves.
Engelmann: Iguodala, Bogut, Ezeli, Livingston, Barnes. I don't see the Warriors winning a title without Iguodala, an elite wing defender who guards the LeBron and Durant types. Bogut can be good but is rarely at full health. Ezeli needs to become a better free throw shooter. Livingston is OK, given the price tag. Barnes is expendable.
Elhassan: Iguodala, Livingston, Ezeli, Barnes, Bogut. Golden State's strength is not in its shooting but in its collective IQ, defensive versatility and passing. Iguodala and Livingston are both exemplary of all those attributes, and they push the team forward.
Ezeli is the only above-the-rim, athletic big man on the roster. Barnes has good value as a combo forward, but you can replace him in the lineup with different players. Bogut's age and deterioration make him a growing liability moving forward.
Doolittle: Barnes, Iguodala, Ezeli, Bogut, Livingston. Again, if you want to keep this thing going for the long term, you've got to keep a mix of youth and experience. Along with Kevon Looney, Barnes and Ezeli are guys who haven't yet hit their respective primes. Iggy is older, but his versatility is so important to Golden State's arsenal of lineups.
Haberstroh: Iguodala, Ezeli, Livingston, Bogut, Barnes. With handles, smarts and lockdown ability, Iguodala still ranks as one of the game's best two-way wings. He's getting up there in age, but he takes care of his body. He's a keeper.
5. If the Warriors were a stock and you were looking five years ahead, would you buy, sell or hold?
Haberstroh: Hold. It's hard to improve on 73 wins and a near-championship. The Warriors can sustain their juggernaut status as long as Curry, Thompson and Green are playing for Steve Kerr. This ain't over, but it ain't getting much better. May the 2013-14 Heat be a lesson that a dynasty isn't guaranteed.
Doolittle: Buy. If Lacob, as he has said, is truly willing to spend to keep the roster together, how is this not a premier team for at least the next half-decade? They are rich, smart and talented, and they have a tremendous fan base and a new arena on the way.
Elhassan: Buy. For all the hubris of owner Joe Lacob's quotes to the New York Times Magazine, there's some element of truth to his words. The Warriors' roster is deep, talented and smart, and so is the Warriors' front office.
Engelmann: Sell, for sure. There are so many random things that can happen to both the Warriors and their competitors. Curry or Green could leave or have trouble staying healthy, the Warriors might not find a decent replacement for Iguodala, some other super-team might arise. The list goes on and on.
Pelton: Buy. In the short term, the grind of a championship run and another run to Game 7 in the Finals could make winning another title more difficult in 2016-17. Beyond that, however, the relative youth of the Warriors' core and their cap flexibility gives Golden State a chance to be competitive for titles for years to come. I guess I have to agree with what majority owner Joe Lacob told the Times magazine: "We're going to be a handful for the rest of the NBA to deal with for a long time."