Draymond Doesn't Believe the Warriors Will Tank No Matter What

Should the Golden State Warriors tank the rest of the season? It’s a question that some people around the NBA are starting to ask. As of Friday, the Warriors are the 8th seed in the Western Conference with a record of 32-30. They’ve been stuck in the same spot in the standings all season, and with Stephen Curry out with a knee injury, it doesn’t seem like they will be climbing the standings anytime soon. 

That’s why some think the Warriors should just tank the rest of the season. They aren’t going to win much as presently constructed, and with Curry dealing with a nagging knee injury, it could be the safest move. 

Draymond Green doesn’t think the Warriors will do it. He recently spoke on his podcast about the possibility of the Warriors giving up the rest of the way. 

“I can also assure you, Joe Lacob isn’t going to tank. I saw Matt Ishbia say, ‘It’s never gonna be in my DNA to tank. You get better, and if we end up bad and get a good draft pick, we get a good draft pick. We’re not going to tank.’ That’s Joe Lacob for sure. You could have just changed the face, wiped Matt’s face off that comment and plastered it on the wall, and I would have guessed it was Joe Lacob as well. He’s never going to take that approach if it’s hard to win games when you don’t have Steph Curry, when you don’t have Jimmy Butler. And so I’d say, if we were to naturally just lose, then that happens. But it won’t be because this organization is gonna be like, ‘Oh man, we’re throwing in the towel.’ This tank situation, that ain’t going to happen. I don’t foresee that happening.”

The Warriors might be too proud to tank. They also may realize that losing a bunch of games might not make a big difference. They already have eight fewer losses than the Grizzlies in the 11th seed. The chances they can out-tank the bottom five teams in the West are slim to none. So for now, they will keep fighting for a better spot in the Play-In Tournament.