But again, this was just one day. Many other things can and certainly will happen in this period. The Warriors need a center, and might add Al Horford, though, at 39, he\u2019d hardly reset anybody\u2019s timeline. The Lakers, guess what, also need a center, and maybe they\u2019ll get Deandre Ayton, if that means much. <\/p>\n
None of that, though, is all that important when Houston, San Antonio, Denver, and OKC \u2014 especially OKC \u2014 are sitting there in the West and getting better in the West.<\/p>\n
Yes, the Warriors and Lakers already made their huge moves last winter by acquiring Butler and Doncic, respectively, and it\u2019s unfair to expect these aging teams to get younger and stronger in a blink. But there\u2019s also a gravitational pull to this kind of stuff \u2014 once you\u2019re perceived to be a bit stuck in place, it\u2019s hard to push yourself into the most exciting transactions.<\/p>\n
And let\u2019s be clear: It\u2019d be worse for the long and short term if Mike Dunleavy and Joe Lacob risked it all by throwing their valuable future first-round picks (as I keep saying, they\u2019re valuable for a reason) or tied up too much money in risky propositions.<\/p>\n
Also, the Warriors have been down and nearly written off several other times, starting five or six years ago; in that time, they\u2019ve won the fourth championship of this era, lived through the rise and fall of the Sacramento Kings, and outplayed and outlasted the Memphis Grizzlies, among others. Dunleavy also picked up Butler in the middle of one of their worst periods last season, which revved up the entire franchise.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s still possible. This was just one day. It might all work out just fine. Dunleavy has done a lot of solid stuff in the secondary days of free agency over the last few years.<\/p>\n