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The 2020-21 NBA season is a few weeks away and training camp is underway. The Golden State Warriors entered draft day feeling good at No. 2 overall. Unfortunately, the big news came before the draft even started. SG Klay Thompson suffered an injury to his right leg, a torn Achilles that would require season-ending surgery. This comes a year after he tore his ACL in his left knee and was forced to miss all of 2019-20.
The Warriors had championship aspirations that were given a gut punch after the Klay news. As a result, they drafted C James Wiseman at No. 2 overall and acquired Kelly Oubre Jr. from the Thunder to fill some of the void left by Thompson. With a healthy Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, plus more depth and youth than before, the Dubs should remain contenders. Here we’re going to take a look at the Warriors’ offseason, plus look ahead to the 2020-21 season.
2020 offseason
Key additions
Kelly Oubre Jr., G/F (trade)
James Wiseman, C (draft)
Kent Bazemore, SG (free agency)
Brad Wanamaker, G (free agency)
Key losses
Klay Thompson, SG (injury)
2020-21 odds
Title odds: +3000
Win percentage: O/U 54.5
Stephen Curry MVP odds: +800
Draymond Green DPOTY odds: +5000
James Wiseman ROTY odds: +600
2020-21 roster
Depth Chart
PG: Stephen Curry, Brad Wanamaker, Jordan Poole
SG: Andrew Wiggins, Damion Lee, Jordan Poole
SF: Kelly Oubre Jr., Kent Bazemore, Juan Toscano-Anderson
PF: Draymond Green, Eric Paschall, Kelly Oubre Jr.
C: James Wiseman, Marquese Chriss, Kevon Looney
Roster battles
Starting C: James Wiseman vs. Marquese Chriss vs. Kevon Looney
Fantasy basketball
Best Sleeper
Eric Paschall — You can make a case for Wiseman in this spot but we don’t know how much the rookie will play in Year 1. Paschall was among the more surprising rookies last season and we could see Steve Kerr opt for lineups with Draymond at the 5 and Paschall at the 4 in crunch time. Paschall needs to improve his outside shooting, but could see more looks from deep with Thompson out. In around 27 minutes per game, Paschall averaged 14 points and 4.6 rebounds on around 50 percent shooting from the floor.
Likely Bust
Andrew Wiggins — Everyone will be pointing at Wiggins to step up with Thompson out. The thing is Wiggins isn’t anything close to Klay and never will be. We’ve been waiting a while for Wiggins to “break out” and it hasn’t happened. He provide some scoring but that’s about it. I wouldn’t overdraft him in season-long and he’d be a situational DFS play if the Dubs sustain any injuries.