When thinking about the dominance of the Golden State Warriors in recent years, it’s impossible to avoid bringing up the “d” word.

The word (dynasty) absolutely applies to them since they won three out of the last four NBA championships.


Considering the fact that they were up 3-1 in the 2016 Finals and ended up losing, there was a very realistic chance that they could have been going for a five-peat in the upcoming season.

With all of the talent in today’s NBA, their success has been astounding.

Perhaps what has been most impressive is the culture that’s been created and cultivated in Golden State. Star players like Kevin Durant have taken pay cuts in order to keep the core in tact. A former All-Star caliber player like Andre Iguodala gladly accepted a sixth man role. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson accepted lesser roles when the team signed Durant.

Sacrifices, both from financial and basketball perspectives, have been made.

But, the end result has been something magical.

After Curry and Durant re-signed, the focus is now on Thompson and Green. Both will soon be eligible for maximum extensions. If one (or both) decides to leave to take on an expanded role elsewhere, it could spell the end of the dominance.

But, as president of basketball operations Bob Myers recently stated, there's no guarantee that they’ll demand the maximum amounts.

Presumed financial sacrifices

“Look, we know the numbers,” Myers said, per Tim Kawakami of The Athletic. “I don’t think we’re running from those things. … (But) we’ve got a group of players and an ownership group that wants to keep it together. That’s very competitive. Both sides. You’ve heard Klay’s comments (saying he might take less than his max to stay with the Warriors). You’ve been around Draymond. He wants to keep winning.”

Myers clearly appreciates the flexibility that both players have indicated thus far in their careers.

“We’ll keep talking about it (with Thompson). We talked about that last year (during preseason) in China, we’ll continue to talk about it. For those guys, it’s their choice. We’ll try to pay them what’s fair. And it takes two. I know and understand, they’ve gotta like the deal, too. … “I’ll tell you this, Klay’s not driven monetarily. I think he wants to be paid fairly," Myers explained.

“I think Draymond’s the same way,” Myers continued. “And obviously Kevin, he’s shown it, that he doesn’t have to have every last penny. … I feel like if we can create a place that gives them a chance to win a championship, get paid well, enjoy going to work every day — and people think an NBA player loves going to work every day. That’s not true; maybe it should be, but it isn’t. If we can create a place where players enjoy it, the hope is they want to continue to do that.”

Unfortunately for the rest of the NBA, it seems like the Warriors’ original core of Curry, Thompson and Green could remain together for the foreseeable future.