Amidst Warriors Potential Ending Dynasty, Spurs May be in Highest Favor

It's hard to remember a time where the Golden State Warriors didn't run the NBA.

Since 2015 Golden State has acquired four Larry O'Brien trophies together. The common thread? Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.

These three future Hall of Famers have created one of the league's all-time greatest dynasties, going down as the dominant force that partly defined the 2010s era. But now in 2024, their time together is potentially coming to a close.

The Warriors endured a massively frustrating season, finishing as the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference and losing their first game of the Play-In Tournament to the No. 9-seeded Sacramento Kings. The times of them taking the lead of the West is likely over, leading to suspicions of the core finally breaking up.

Thompson is the most likely piece of the core to be moved, if any. He is coming off a 17.9 points per game season on 43.2/38.7/92.7% shooting splits, one of his weakest campaigns of his entire career. Approaching unrestricted free agency, if both sides can't come to a mutual agreement, it might be time for both sides to finally move on from each other.

The services of Chris Paul could also be on the way out, who will likely be waived by Golden State once the off-season hits. Although he still played quality basketball at the age of 38, his number of $30 million isn't in its best interest for another season.

The potential team to snag Thompson and/or Chris Paul away? The San Antonio Spurs.

With a desperate need to surround its franchise rookie, Victor Wembanyama, with veteran talent, both Warriors seem like logical fits in San Antonio. Both bring heaping amounts of playoff experience, while contributing different areas of basketball that the Spurs lack in.

Even though Thompson's offensive production has dipped dramatically since his All-Star days, it would still bring up San Antonio's 34.7 3-point percentage, the third worst in the NBA last season. It has very little shooters that can space the floor for Wembanyama, a requirement that has to be filled going forward in his career. Thompson is one of the greatest shooters in the history of the league, no matter his decline.

Sure Golden State and Thompson have a long history together, but the price might not be right for both sides going forward. The Spurs have a significant amount of money to spend compared to the Warriors, so the potential contract the 34-year-old could get is a whole lot more lucrative.

Should Thompson receive even close to a max at his current level? Definitely not. But with the current predicament San Antonio sits in, offering the closest to that value could pay off in the end. He would make for a top catch-and-shoot option behind the arc for Wembanyama to find in double teams, something that the rookie needs as teams incrase the focus on him defensively.

If loyalty becomes too big of a factor, Paul is a much more realistic option.

The career of "CP3" is slowly coming to a close. Although his eyes have been narrowly focused on winning an NBA championship for most of his career, that possibility seems less and less likely as Paul's age increases. Instead of taking less money to be on a contender, his other option is taking more money and helping out younger talent — sort of what he did with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2020.

Like Thompson, Paul's production has dwindled drastically since his prime. He served as the sixth man for Golden State last year, albeit a very good one. He wouldn't be able to provide the Spurs with much more than 10 points and seven assists per game, but that's all they would really need from him.

San Antonio doesn't have much in the form of guard play to really command its offense and create quality plays for Wembanyama, which is exactly what Paul is so elite it. He's one of the greatest playmakers and floor generals of time, attaining a mountain-high basketball IQ. Combined with the mind of Gregg Popovich, the knowledge surrounding the center would be astounding.

It all depends on what Paul values most at this place in his career, but with a decent contract and pitch to play with Wembanyama, the possibility has to be at least considered.

Time will truly tell if the Warriors dynasty actually gets split up, but in the case that it does, the Spurs will be frontrunners for those who leave "Dub Nation."