For months now, the Warriors have been trying to balance making the right moves to win in the present while also investing in their future.
It's a difficult line to walk, but an extremely important one. Steph Curry is still in his prime. Draymond Green put together one of his best defensive seasons in years. Klay Thompson will be returning after missing the last two seasons. And at the same time, Curry will be turning 34 next year, and Thompson and Green will both be 32.
So how can the Warriors take advantage of what those three still have left, while also setting themselves up for success after their done?
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SIGN UP HERE Thursday's draft was more directed to the latter. Moses Moody can probably help the Warriors a bit next season, but can't be expected to be the key to everything. Jonathan Kuminga is an extremely raw talent who needs a lot of development. Both are good draft picks, but don't address how the Warriors will get back to title contention.
That will come down to who they can add in free agency, which opens up on Monday.
"We need to add a couple guys," Warriors general manager Bob Myers told the media after the draft on Thursday. "We need some veterans. I don't know who that will be. We've got to find out if we can win a tie; if we offer somebody something, how do they feel about us? Like I said last year, we were close on some guys, but Klay's injury, I don't blame the players, they said, 'look, we're going to go somewhere else.' "
Myers was alluding to last summer, when some free agents were interested in joining the Warriors, but decided not to come to Golden State following news of Thompson's torn Achilles.
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The hope is that Thompon's imminent return, in addition to Curry's dominance and promising young players like Kuminga, Moody and James Wiseman, are attractive enough to bring some veterans to the Bay Area.
But the key for the Warriors will be finding veteran players who are willing to play for the veteran's minimum because they can't afford to pay anyone more than that.
"How hard it's going to be to get players, I don't know," Myers said. "It's an interesting market. There's not a lot of teams with cap space. Some teams use their mid-level, some teams don't. Some teams use their taxpayer. We'll be a little more selective. Our payroll is crazy. It's huge."
The criteria the Warriors are looking for is quite simple: "Try to get players that matter," Myers said.
What Myers means is that he wants to find free agents who fill specific needs, not just a general veteran player. He offered backup point guard as an example -- something the Warriors currently lack and didn't address through the draft. He also listed a veteran big and a veteran wing as needs.
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As for who those players are, as Myers said, remains to be seen. Teams can start making calls on Monday, and expect the Warriors to be active on the phones.
"I hope players want to come play for us, and players also want to make money and we have to gauge that," Myers said. "We're always competitive, but at the end of the day it has to break a certain way, but I'm pretty confident we'll get some guys."