The Warriors' parallel-timeline experiment failed miserably, and they might double down

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First of all, congrats to the Denver Nuggets for their first championship in franchise history. It was an impressive run, and I think they have the pieces to go on a Golden State Warriors-like run of dominance.

Speaking of the Warriors, one of the most fascinating things about their dynasty of the past decade is the recent measures they took in an attempt to extend their title window, adding young talent in the draft to bolster and maybe even replace their core players as they declined.

Since 2019, they’ve added five first-round picks to the roster, including three in the lottery — James Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody — and they’re set to pick 19th in next week’s draft.

One of those players, Jordan Poole, was even a key contributor to last year’s title run. In hindsight, that was actually the first sign that the dual-timeline experiment was failing.

Golden State’s return from a two-year playoff drought in 2022 was more about the greatness of Stephen Curry, the addition of Andrew Wiggins and the resolve of their other vets than it was about any young players. Even Poole’s production dropped in the finals.

But Poole wasn’t supposed to be the draft pick who cracked the rotation anyway. Wiseman, Kuminga and Moody were supposed to help keep the Warriors afloat. Instead, none were major contributors this past postseason, and the highest pick of them all, Wiseman, wasn’t even on the roster. Another could be gone soon.

After sending Wiseman to Detroit in February, the Warriors are now exploring the option of trading another “young prospect” in exchange for a high draft pick, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony reported as part of his latest mock draft. And while he only mentioned Kuminga by name, Moody and 2022 first-rounder Patrick Baldwin qualify as a young prospects too.

If the Warriors offload another one of these first-rounders, it would essentially be an admittance of getting it wrong. That makes it all the more interesting to see them potentially double-down on the failed strategy by attempting to land another lottery pick without completely launching a rebuild.

In order for young players to grow and develop, they need time to play and make mistakes. But as long as Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green are leading a team coached by Steve Kerr, they don’t have room to allow for that. Maybe the Warriors should try a different strategy.

Now that the season is over, it’s time to turn our attention to the NBA Draft. The list of players who will be in the green room at Barclays Center on June 22 is starting to come together and features Duke center Dereck Lively, who FTW’s Bryan Kalbrosky recently interviewed as part of his prospect series.

The 7-foot-1 Lively has the potential to be an NBA All-Defense candidate one day after his play as a freshman put him in some elite company.

Lively is one of just six high-major freshmen with a defensive box plus-minus higher than 6.0 while also holding an offensive box plus-minus less than 0.0, per Bart Torvik. The other five are just Joel Embiid, Anthony Davis, Karl-Anthony Towns, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Nerlens Noel.

How exactly was Lively able to join such an elite group of players?

“It’s a little bit about scouting. Then it just comes down to no matter how hard someone hits you, you’re not going to back down. No matter how hard someone tries to elbow you in the chest or try to lower their shoulder into you, you ain’t going to back off. You’re going to meet them or you’re going to push back harder than they’re going to push you.” — Derek Lively

Be sure to check out the full profile at FTW.

Shootaround

— NBA Twitter reacts to Bradley Beal trade rumors

— Curtis: It’s time for the Pelicans to trade Zion Williamson

— Jokic’s advice on failure applies to more than just basketball

— 7 teams most likely to end their title droughts next