Warriors' Lacob defends decision to not trade for star in offseason

Ahead of the Golden State Warriors' sixth NBA Finals appearance in eight seasons, owner Joe Lacob defended the team's decision to keep its two lottery picks in the 2021 draft.

"The organization took some criticism from people (who said) that we should trade all our draft choices, that we had to get one more great player. I was very adamant ... that that was not the path we were going down," Lacob told reporters, including The Athletic's Anthony Slater, on Friday.

"Young guys … can help in spots and ultimately be very important if they're good enough. We do feel extremely strongly about Moses Moody and Jonathan Kuminga," he added.

Golden State selected forward Kuminga with the seventh pick and guard Moody at No. 14. The 19-year-olds suited up in a combined 122 regular-season games and have been on the floor in big moments over their team's playoff run.

Both rookies rank in the all-time top 12 in points scored during a single postseason as a teenager.

Lacob added that the main reason the franchise stayed the course was to focus on the trio of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green.

"We felt we already had our investment in our core of great players, and they're still young enough to perform," said Lacob. "Our success this year was always going to depend, primarily, on Steph, Klay - when he came back - and Draymond."

Following five straight finals appearances from 2015 to 2019, a spell of injuries pushed Golden State out of the playoff spots in the previous two seasons. Curry, Thompson, and Green didn't play a single game together over that span, as Thompson made his way back from multiple serious injuries.

The organization's trust in its stars paid off, with Golden State finishing third in the Western Conference at 53-29 and blowing past the Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies, and Dallas Mavericks in the first three rounds of the postseason.