“There are 10 y’all here,” Green said to the number of journalists present at a media availability session. “In seasons past it would’ve been 80. So, there you have it.”
Green was referencing the Warriors’ three championship titles and five straight finals appearances since 2015.
But after losing to the Toronto Raptors in the 2019 NBA Finals, the Warriors also lost arguably two of their best players.
Klay Thompson suffered a torn ACL during Game 6 of the finals, causing him to miss the remainder of the games as well as potentially sitting out for the entire 2019-2020 season. The Warriors also saw the departure of their two-time NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant, after he signed a free agent deal with the Brooklyn Nets this past summer. The Warriors’ also lost a number of players who were integral parts of their title runs including Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston.
Despite the changes in personnel, Green remained optimistic about the team. In September, he laid out his expectations for ESPN’s Nick Friedell.
“I am not sure what everyone’s expectations are,” he said. “But I know what my expectations are. They don’t change from year to year. They are always the same.”
Green then doubled down on his faith in the team when asked if the Warriors could make another Finals run despite the loss of Durant and other key players. “Is Steph Curry on our team? Klay Thompson?” Green asked then answered himself by saying “Yup.”
At his most recent press conference, Green was happy about the small amount of media personnel who attended. “For us its obviously exciting, having a new challenge,” he said. “Only having 10 y’all here is exciting. That means someone’s doubting. Someone doesn’t want to hear what we have to say.”
Green may have been referencing to the recently-released NBA.com annual GM survey, which asked the league’s top decision makers to take their best guesses for the upcoming season. The survey projected the Warriors’ to be the sixth-best team in the Western Conference, even though they won the conference title for the past four years.
The survey also showed only one general manager predicting the Warriors to win the championship.
The Warriors open their season Thursday when they will face the Los Angeles Clippers, who have replaced the Warriors as the 2019-20 NBA Finals favorite, according to the GM survey.
