Draymond is in the fold, that's not an issue. "Recruiting KD" and his seeking them was a glove-in-hand fit. Insanely rare opportunity in the post-cap era for a team that level to be able to outright sign a player that level, could be once in a lifetime (we'll see how the next TV contract times and comes in though). I can't believe we're still even discussing that. As far as him "killing their psyche" or them growing overly dependent on him, I mean they also lost the bulk of their bench AND Klay, so I'm not really buying this speech. The tank thing, eh, if you tank properly you're still guaranteed your position+3 (e.g. team that finishes with third worst record picks sixth at worst, worst record picks fourth at worst) so the "adjudication" isn't really the issue (BTW the NBA's obsession with tanking is ridiculous, and they haven't really solved the nearly non-existent problem at all, anyway).

Now, that said, on the fundamental premises here that 1) the Warriors will not win any more titles and 2) the draft will not help them win more titles, we agree, it's just two different rationales.

Mine is a lot more straightforward. All three of their big stars will be 30 or older by season's end if I am not mistaken. Klay is coming off a major injury that will surely impact him next season if not for the rest of his career (all that is also true and then some of KD had he stayed BTW). Getting a player in the draft means getting a 19-year-old kid with practically no seasoning in an average draft. I think Maledon is the only guy who could *potentially* step onto a contender and make an impact, and even that is far from a sure thing. So yeah maybe they luck out and get Wiseman, for example, but by the time he's coming into his own their stars are going to on the brink of being washed.

The Spurs got absurdly lucky with the timing of Robinson's injury; the presence of Duncan, a polished four-year player, in the draft; and with ping pong balls. Perfect storm. Nothing like that even has the possibility of happening here.

Now the only caveat here is if they pull a rabbit out of a hat trading Russell. He doesn't really fit there, they just got him for the sake of asset management to mitigate KD's departure. He won't be long for the Dubs, and if they can get a steal in return for him, they might be back in business.