Programming note: Watch Wednesday night's Warriors-Thunder game streaming live at 7:30 p.m. PT on the MyTeams app.
The week of Monday, Nov. 12 to Sunday, Nov. 18 was...
... really bad for the Warriors. They went 1-4 and had to deal with some major drama between Kevin Durant and Draymond Green (and they will probably deal with the fallout for the rest of the season). Now that the week is finally over and the next game is not until Wednesday, we have some time for reflection. So let's reflect.
With our All Access Daily newsletter, stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams!
SIGN UP HERE Durant will become an unrestricted free agent in July and his future with the Warriors is very much up in the air. Many people in the basketball world believe the two-time champion is definitely leaving Golden State in free agency, and that was before his verbal altercation with Draymond.
[RELATED: Ex-Cavs GM changes his mind on Kevin Durant's future with Warriors]
We all know that Draymond wants to stay with Golden State for the long haul and would love to retire as a Warrior. We also know that Draymond wants to win about 4,000 NBA championships and there is a better chance of that happening if Durant is also with the Warriors for the long haul.
But Draymond has received no indication from the two-time Finals MVP that they are going to be teammates beyond this season. And that is probably very frustrating for the 2017 Defensive Player of the Year (even though Durant doesn't owe him that answer right now).
Golden State Warriors
Find the latest Golden State Warriors news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.
This whole situation got me thinking about the final question Draymond was asked during his Media Day press conference on Sept. 24:
Tim Kawakami of The Athletic: "With Durant signing another 1-year deal, is a little bit up in the air in your mind whether this group is going to continue past this year?"
Draymond: "I don't think about it like that. Also, I study the business side of the league. I don't just go play and say my agent will figure it out ... I could be reading it wrong, and if I am I am. But me knowing the business side of things -- I understand what he did. We'll see where it all ends up."
So how is Draymond reading things? The assumption here is that the optimist in him believes Durant signed another 1-year deal so that way the Warriors will have Durant's "Full Bird" rights next summer (a player must be with a team for three seasons to attain "Full Bird" rights). By going this route, Durant now has the option of signing the 5-year max extension for about $221 million, whereas the largest deal he could sign elsewhere is for about $164 million over four years.
[RELATED: Steph Curry explains why it's harder for Warriors to move past drama]
At this very second, it seems unlikely that Durant would lock himself in to five more seasons with Golden State, but you can't rule it out completely. On the flip side, however, as Draymond said, he could be reading things wrong. And it's possible that Durant signed a 1-year deal because he knew back in July that the 2018-19 season would be his last with the Warriors. It's also entirely possible that Durant has no clue what choice he's going to make in a little over six months.
"It's one of those things where you're just confident in your skills and you kinda want to just take it year-by-year," Durant told reporters at Media Day. "And I think to keep my options open -- it was the best thing for me. I could have easily signed a long-term deal but I just wanted to take it season-by-season."
But the biggest long-term deal he could have signed was for about $158 million over four years. So from a financial standpoint, it absolutely made sense for Durant to go down the 1-year path. And as he said, he maintains flexibility and the opportunity to reassess things in the summer of 2019.
Also, with the salary cap expected to jump from $109 million in 2019-20 to $116 million in 2020-21, don't completely rule out the possibility of Durant signing another 1+1 with the Warriors in July. But given what transpired last week, that scenario seems unlikely.
[REWIND: Kevin Durant admits he's thinking about one thing with NBA free agency]
Durant, Draymond and the Warriors are going through some adversity and they will need to navigate some stormy waters moving forward. Eventually, Steph Curry will return and the team will start winning a lot of games again. And as Draymond said at Media Day:
"Our focus is trying to win a championship this year and what comes after this year -- whether we want to focus on it or not -- it's not coming until the year is over. So we need to embrace this year and try to win a championship. And I know that's everyone's goal coming through this door."
Drew Shiller is the co-host of Warriors Outsiders. Follow him on Twitter @DrewShiller