Joe Lacob Says Warriors Are 'Never Going to Bottom Out' in NBA: 'Not Doing That'

Despite the Golden State Warriors hovering around the .500 mark for much of the 2023-24 season, owner Joe Lacob has no interest in tearing down the roster and entering a rebuilding phase.

Speaking to ESPN's Baxter Holmes, Lacob rejected the idea of "bottoming out" and mentioned the Warriors' status as a coveted free-agent landing spot as a reason why they may be able to avoid that fate:

"It's the reason that I don't think we will ever, ever try to bottom out. We are the Golden State Warriors. I believe in the culture. I believe that word gets out. I could go on and on. I'm not trying to brag. I'm just saying, that's who we are.

"We're never going to bottom out. I won't settle for that. We're not doing that."

Entering play Thursday, the Dubs are 27-26 on the year, putting them 10th in the Western Conference, which is the final spot in the postseason play-in tournament.

Golden State won four championships and reached the NBA Finals six times in eight years from 2015 through 2022.

They were also highly competitive last season, going 44-38 and reaching the second round of the playoffs, but the 2023-24 campaign has undoubtedly been more of a struggle.

The Warriors have essentially been a .500 team, and since they trail the sixth-seeded New Orleans Pelicans by five games, it seems highly likely that their path to the playoffs will have to go through the play-in tournament.

With a veteran core led by Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Chris Paul, should the latter return from a hand injury, the Dubs have the type of experience that is coveted come playoff time.

All four of the aforementioned players are 33 years of age or older, though, which suggests the Warriors' championship window is quickly coming to a close.

Curry remains one of the best players in the NBA with averages of 28.0 points, 5.0 assists, 5.0 three-pointers made and 4.4 rebounds per game, but both Thompson and Paul are having down years, and Green doesn't typically put up huge stats anyway.

If the Warriors don't go on a deep playoff run this season, they may have to re-assess things and consider moving on the likes of Thompson, Green and Paul, while retooling around Curry.

Golden State has some talented, young pieces including Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski and Moses Moody, but simply upping their playing time probably won't be enough to get them into the championship mix.

During the Warriors' run of dominance, they had two seasons in which they missed the playoffs, and they were the worst team in the league in one of them when they went 15-50 in 2019-20.

It can be argued that the 2019-20 season was their "bottoming out" as it gave them the No. 2 overall pick in the draft and allowed them to select James Wiseman, but that selection didn't work out, as he was traded to the Detroit Pistons.

Also, the drop-off was due to Curry and Thompson missing essentially the entire season. When they were back to full health two seasons later, the Warriors won their fourth title in eight years.

The struggles this season are less about injuries and more about aging players seemingly exiting their prime and potentially reaching the latter stages of their careers.

The Warriors can retool on the fly and remain competitive without going into a complete rebuild, but doing so would likely require general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. to press all the right buttons when it comes to free agency, trades and the draft.