The Golden State Warriors find themselves in an unfamiliar position, one they haven't experienced much over the past decade. The team is off to a 1-3 start and has looked inconsistent through the opening week of the season.
There was a lack of major free agency signings this summer, and for some, the team's inactivity was infuriating. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has already made it clear that Golden State isn't going to sacrifice its future just to satisfy Curry.
“Do we throw away our entire future to build around a 39-year-old Steph? He turns 39 in March, right? Does it make sense now to throw away all those picks? H*ll no," Kerr said.
For Golden State, many have come to Curry's defense, arguing that he is being let down late in his career. The latest was former Warrior DeMarcus Cousins, who went off on general manager Mike Dunleavy.
“I think [Mike] Dunleavy has done a sh*t job as far as putting a roster around Steph Curry. Why this guy still has a job, I'll never know. They're still running the same outdated system as far as going extremely small... it doesn't work anymore. The system is outdated," Cousins said.
The one bright spot on the team outside of Curry has been rookie phenom Yaxel Lendeborg. Former ESPN writer Bill Simmons believes the rookie is saving the Curry era on his own.
“Yaxel might have single-handedly saved the Steph era, like for real, and I can't tell you how good he was in this Denver game last night . . . Yaxel looked like mid-2010's LeBron in this game. I don't say that lightly because mid-2010's LeBron was awesome. They're running the offense through him. He was all over the place on defense. He was rebounding. He was initiating stuff. He was getting to the basket whenever. It was unbelievable. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe how good he was,” Simmons said.
There is no doubt that Lendeborg has taken the bull by the horns for Golden State early this season. The kid doesn't fear anything. Just look back at his exchange with Luka Doncic in his first-ever game.
If the Warriors are going to make the playoffs, Lendeborg will need to continue producing at a high level until Jimmy Butler returns. For now, the rookie is helping keep the team's playoff hopes alive and, as Simmons believes, potentially keeping the Curry era alive as well.
