The Golden State Warriors have been called a dying dynasty by many analysts this season. At 31-28, they’re such an average team that nobody expects to win the NBA Finals. Steph Curry is doing everything he can, but the team hasn’t done the best job at drafting and surrounding him with other young stars in recent years.
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Now, with Curry injured, the Warriors have gone 4-6 in their last ten and seem destined for the play-in tournament. During that time, they’ve had five different guys lead games in scoring.
That’s why analyst Marc J. Spears joked that the Warriors continue to fully hitch their wagon to Curry for the present and future. He knows that they have some decent young players like Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski. But he doesn’t envision them as franchise-altering players.
“When you make it to the NBA, man, I respect that greatly. That’s a very hard thing to do,” Spears told 95.7 The Game before stating the cold, hard truth. “They’re all complementary players. I think Moody is a really good starter. [Brandin] Podziemski certainly has potential to start. But there’s nobody you’re hitching your wagon to.”
The Warriors have certainly formed a reputation for struggling with their high-end draft picks during the Curry era. In 2020, they tanked for the number two pick and selected James Wiseman, who failed to develop and was eventually traded to the Detroit Pistons. Then, in 2021, they selected Jonathan Kuminga seventh overall, and he showed flashes of potential, but contract issues led to him being traded this season.
Of the young Warriors, who do they want to hitch their wagon to?
“Steph Curry…They’re all complementary players. I think Moody is really, really good. Podziemski has potential to start, but there’s nobody you’re hitching your wagon to.”
– @MarcJSpears on @WillardAndDibs. pic.twitter.com/eoGLclHJ07
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) February 27, 2026
As mentioned, Moody has been solid and was a lottery pick in 2021. Podziemski, the 19th overall pick in 2023, has also been good recently as he continues to develop. But they both seem more like high-end role players rather than future stars.
There are many reasons why the Warriors have struggled with the Draft during Curry’s era. The biggest one is that they tried to compete for championships while developing young lottery picks. It ultimately created a difficult environment for the rookies to learn.
At the end of the day, Curry is the greatest shooter in NBA history. We applaud the Warriors for attempting to sustain their success past the Steph, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green golden era. But they just haven’t made the right decisions in Drafts, passing on multiple current All-Stars.
Still, Golden State was able to capture a title in 2021/22 in the dying days of the dynasty. One player that contributed a lot to that run, other than Curry, was Jordan Poole, who they selected in the first round in 2019. At least the Warriors can say they hit a home run on that pick. Just don’t ask them how that relationship ended.
