Man, it was a fun season in Golden State. Really, the fun started last offseason before the CSL Draft as the team scrambled to see which young players could turn the franchise around. Ultimately, in a weaker draft, the Warriors ended up with two guards in Coby White and Zhaire Smith. We'll get into their performances a little later on. The Warriors also made another move near the draft when they acquired Chimezie Metu and Dillon Brooks in exchange for a future Trail Blazers 1st Round Pick. Risky? Yes. But did the Warriors really like Metu? Yes.
As the offseason progressed, it was well known the Warriors were after the likes of Jake Layman and Aleksander Vezenkov with the switch to the new engine. Both players ended up signing elsewhere, but little did they know an opportunity would show up for the Warriors to get their hands on Layman after all. Rather than handing out some contracts just for the heck of it, the Warriors to a more strategic approach and signed Damian Lillard, Klay Thompson, and Enes Kanter to one year deals.
For most of the season, the Warriors really hung around .500. They got off to a good start, then struggled a bit on the road, and then worked their way back up to a 40-42 record. They matched up with the hottest team in the league in the first round in Phoenix, and got swept under the carpet in 4 games. It was a tough pill to swallow for the young Warriors, but the season can still be deemed fairly successful.
As mentioned earlier, there was quite a bit of action along the way. Lets give a reminder of the trades that happened during the season:
- January 1st 2025: Golden State trades Klay Thompson to Miami for Jake Layman
- January 3rd 2025: Golden State trades Dillon Brooks and 2026 2nd Round Pick to Washington for PJ Washington
- February 8th 2025: Golden State trades Enes Kanter to Toronto for Antonius Cleveland, Darion Atkins, Rodney Purvis, Dean Wade, 2025 2nd round pick(ATL via TOR), 2025 2nd round pick (UTA via TOR)
- February 8th 2025: Golden State trades Giannis Antetokounmpo to Houston for Aaron White and 2026 2nd round pick (SAS via HOU)
- February 8th 2025: Golden State trades Damian Lillard and 2025 2nd round pick (UTA) to Washington for Marquese Chriss
Lets take a quick look at some of the players:
PJ 'PG' Dozier: 30.5 mpg, 22.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 4.3 apg, 1.7 spg, 45.4% FG, 38.5% 3pt
- Dozier does it all man. He played multiple positions for the Warriors this season from 1-3 and earned himself the nickname PG Dozier after he went on a tremendous stretch of averaging 30+ ppg when he slotted in at starting point guard. The one knock on Dozier previously was his lack of outside shooting, but the Warriors worked with him a lot this season and he shot a very respectable 38.5% from three on 200 attempts. At 23, Dozier will become a restricted free agent this offseason and it's a smart bet to say he'll be the face of the Warriors for many years to come.
Chimezie Metu: 25.2 mpg, 6.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.7 bpg, 53.5% FG
- We wanted to highlight Metu since he was our first ever acquisition, and a pretty pricey one. Metu played an important role for the Warriors and this was only his sophomore season. He isn't quite at the Nerlens Noel level of defense yet, but Metu was the anchor off the bench up front. The Warriors hope they can continue to improve his offense in the future.
Coby White: 23.2 mpg, 5.9 ppg, 4.2 apg, 34.9% FG, 27.4% 3pt
- Ugh. The shooting woes for White are real. He actually shot the ball fairly well from 3 to start the season so the Warriors had him focus on that area, but then it back fired. He totally lost his stroke and couldn't hit the side of a barn for the majority of the season. It was one of those cases where the Warriors needed to play him to help him develop, but ultimately he was probably hurting them on the court. Next season will be huge for White as the Warriors continue to assess what they have in the young guard.
Zhaire Smith: 24.1 mpg, 10.1 ppg, 3.3 apg, 38.5% FG, 29.6% 3pt
- Smith is a very interesting player. Down the stretch, the young man exploded for a 41 point guard showing what potential he has as a scorer in this league. While he may be given the 'chucker' label, he did provide the Warriors with a spark sometimes when they needed it. He's a pretty darn good playmaker too, so it will be interesting to see how he progresses next season.
A lot of other guys include Layman and Chriss finished the season strong. It's tough to say what the Warriors will look like next season. They have a pretty full young roster and will also have the 15th overall pick in the upcoming draft.
