Steve Kerr Defends the Warriors' "Two-Timeline" Strategy from Years Ago

Golden State Warriors’ owner Joe Lacob famously talked about his “two-timeline” process, where he attempted to bridge the gap from the end of Stephen Curry’s prime with a youth movement to build towards the future. Warriors fans have scrutinized this concept because instead of maximizing Curry’s present, they tried to build towards a future.

The two timelines didn’t really work out. They drafted James Wiseman with the second overall pick instead of trading that pick for veteran help. He is barely playing basketball anymore. Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody could still pan out, but they also could have been traded for real assets at the peak of their value. 

Steve Kerr recently spoke about this two-timeline failure, saying it might not have been as egregious as it seems. 

"When you look back at the whole two-timeline theory or whatever, I think it's easy to sort of question it, but I think you just have to keep in mind the circumstances. At the time, we didn't make the playoffs two years in a row. So when we drafted all those young guys, there was a real concern that the run had already ended. It made perfect sense to shoot for the stars with some lottery picks."

Sure, the Warriors had missed the playoffs two years in a row, but Stephen Curry was still showing that he was one of the top five or ten players in the league. Those lottery picks could have landed him veteran help and given him a better shot at competing for a title. 

That’s what the Warriors have done now. No more fliers on high-upside, low-floor guys. The Warriors traded for Jimmy Butler and indicated to Curry and the rest of the league: no more two-timelines, we are going for a championship right now.