The recent ugly loss to the Memphis Griz, lacking their star players, is now being hailed as The Demise of the Dub's Decade. One might have said the same thing the season after the '22 Warrior NBA Championship. Do Not Weep for the Dubs, Argentina! The Warriors have won Four (Count them, 4) NBA Championships since 2015. The Warriors' owners and fans were treated to a lot of great hoops. A new arena was built in San Francisco, bringing the team back to its roots, while remaining Golden.
As we look at the team right now, things appear pretty grim. It seems that we will have to leave The Dubs to their place in history and begin the process of building a new history. Allow me to humbly suggest that they not panic and start forcing trades before the February deadline. The way some of the tradeable guys are playing, they will never bring back the value the Warriors need to become a contender again. Right now, the Warriors need to start playing DEFENSE. They need to STOP MAKING TURNOVERS and they need to STOP TEAMS FROM GETIING SECOND SHOTS. These are not impossible goals, given that the season is not quite half over. If they accomplish these goals, the offense will flow as it flows historically and organically following energy and toughness.
Whatever happens by the end of the season will be the responsibility of the players and coaches, but at the end of the season, the Warriors must bite the bullet. Owners and GM must REBUILD. They have some young players that can become the nucleus for a new generation of Dubs. But they must be willing to let go of the past. I will always remember my old coach, Alex Hannum telling me: "Tom, you know I love your game, but I would trade you in a second if I thought it would make the team better." If I sign off my blog with this quote, call it cowardice because the Warriors MUST be willing to trade EVERY SINGLE PLAYER on the team in order to make the transition work for the future of the franchise. That's going to mean withstanding the slings and arrows and an arena of BOOING as the transition takes place. It will mean saying a fond farewell to iconic Warriors' faces. Do not weep for them, Warriors' fans. Their banners will hang in the rafters for you to see and remember with gratitude and joy for four (Count them, 4) NBA Championships in eight years and 7 (Count them, 7) Western Conference Championships.
I just sent this poem by Richard Hugo to Ron Adams, an assistant coach of the Warriors. He's in the poem and he approves this message.
MISSOULA SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT Richard Hugo
And no wind playing flash and dazzle
In the cottonwoods, music of the Clark Fork stale,
I’ve gone back to the old ways of defeat,
The softball field, familiar dust and thud,
pitchr winging dips and rises, and wives,
The beautifuful wies in the stand, basic, used,
Screeching runners home, infants unattended
In the dirt. A long triple sails into right center,
Two men on. Shouts from dugout, go, Ron, go.
Life is better run from. Distance to the fence,
Both foul lines and dead center, is displayed.
Is hit and run the pulling of the ear?
The ump gives pichers too much low inside.
Injustce? Fraud? Ancient problems focus
In the heat. Bad hop on routine grounder.
Close play missed by the team you want to win.
Players from first game, high on beer,
Ride players in the field. Their laughter
Falls short of the wall. Under lights, the moths
Are momentary stars, and wives, the beautiful wives,
In the stands now take the interest they once feigned,
Oh, long ago, their marriage just begun, years
Of helping husbands feel important just begun,
The srimping, the anger brought home evenings
From degrading jobs. This poem goes out to them.
Is steal-of-home the touching of he heart?
Last pich. A soft fly. A can of corn
The players say. Routine, like morning,
Like the week. They shake hands on the mound,
Nice grab on that shot to left. Good game, Good game.
Dust rotates in their headlight beams.
The wives, the beautiful wives are with their men.
