In a three-game losing streak, the Warriors not only ruined their previous five-game winning streak, but they also ceded the fifth place in the West. What's more frustrating is that the current Warriors and the Timberwolves and Lone Rangers have exactly the same record, and they are temporarily ranked sixth by relying on the win-loss relationship between the two sides, but the Warriors will face championship teams such as the Bucks and Suns one after another, continue to lose, and the Warriors enter the play-off zone, which is easy to encounter. The Warriors have been performing poorly on the road this season, and they have more away games than at home, and there are many strong opponents at home, and it is difficult for the Warriors to secure the top six in the West in the face of such a schedule. 4-year top salary, your contract extension leaves the Warriors with no way back, the regression is obvious, and Curry carries the weight for you.
A three-game losing streak, Curry was put on the cusp. No way, from the perspective of the ending, the Warriors did play a five-game winning streak before Curry's return, and suffered a three-game losing streak after Curry's return. Zooming in on the sample, throughout the regular season, when Curry was absent, the Warriors were 14-12, with a 53.8 percent win rate, which is a winning percentage that can be firmly placed in the fifth place in the West at the current West. When Curry played, the Warriors were only 20-21, with a 48.8 percent win rate, a percentage that could barely rank ninth in the current West. However, if you look at the progress, you will find that this season's Curry, to some extent, he has become a victim of the Warriors.
The most critical reason lies in Poole. Due to the Boxing incident in Dream Green, in order to appease Poole, the Warriors handed the latter a four-year, $140 million early contract extension in advance. The four-year contract has been key to limiting the Warriors' improvement this season. In terms of rules, as a rookie for the Warriors, the Warriors can follow the Suns' treatment of Ayton when it comes to treating Poole's contract extension, making him a restricted free agent and going to the market to ask for offers. Either way, the Warriors have the right to forcibly match any team's contract and keep Poole. In the end, the Suns kept Ayton on a four-year, $133 million contract, and Poole could only sign a four-year, $140 million contract at most in the offseason.
If the Warriors don't renew Poole, they could have reduced his playing time if Poole didn't perform well, and his poor performance would only affect his market value. However, after the Warriors gave Poole a top salary in advance, the Warriors had no choice, they could only pray that Poole could play for a price, and when Poole did not perform well, in order not to reduce his value, the Warriors could only give enough playing time, which led to the Warriors not having much room for change, in order to make Poole have close to 30 minutes of playing time per game, the Warriors could only resist the pressure of record and roster deformity, let Poole grow.
The Warriors' attitude towards Poole made the latter unscrupulous. From the performance and attitude on the field, many fans can see that once Poole's possession is lowered and his status is reduced, he will look very negative, the offensive end does not work, and the defensive end is directly rotten. And from Poole's point of view, there are traces of him doing this. As a young player, Poole has won a championship, he has also received a top salary contract, he no longer needs to perform well for a contract this season, what he wants to pursue now is the core position that Warriors management has promised him, he wants to be the boss, enter the All-Star, and pursue other personal honors, which is Poole's current personal goal.
Another key factor, according to NBA salary expert Max, the Warriors gave Poole a contract, of which $123 million is guaranteed, and the remaining 17 million is a bonus part. And in the bonus part, there are 5 million similar to the attendance rate, Poole should be able to get, the remaining 12 million, the probability is that Poole can't get, probably Poole needs to be selected for the best team, get the MVP, or the Warriors to the Finals and so on. If you want to get this part of the bonus, there is no doubt that if Poole is only the sixth man of the Warriors, this part of the money is basically not with him. If it were you, you would also want absolute centrality.
Whenever the Warriors have a core player with injury problems, it is basically Poole who enters the starting lineup. Take this Kuminga injury as an example, it is clear that the Warriors have 4 frontcourt players on the bench, and as a result, Kerr still replaced Kuminga's starting position with Poole, which led to the Warriors opening with an exaggerated four-guard position, and none of the starting lineups were more than 2 meters tall, and the lineup was very deformed. Today, Poole's contract has become a dead hole for the Warriors, except for Poole's own recognition of positioning, "generosity" to give up personal interests, put the team first, the Warriors have no other way, this 4-year maximum salary contract, directly locked the Warriors' future operating space, while making them have to reuse Poole.