What a night full of possibilities Golden State Warriors Turned out to be a disaster. Owned by No. 2 overall with Wednesday draft and all the options that came with it, the owner lost his collective breath when the news broke. Clay Thompson Traumatic injury while working in Southern California. Thursday The The worst fears were confirmed: Thompson will miss all next season with a torn right heel tendon.

You want to talk about a gut fluff.

Beyond being a pity for Thompson, one of the most coveted players in the NBA, and a guy who really loves playing basketball, the first question is how this last-minute news might affect how the Warriors approached the draft. That did not seem to be the case as they took the player with whom they were constantly attached throughout the drafting process in James Wiseman.

It should be a night of celebration for the Warriors, who are fully expected to return to the championship Step curry And Thompson is healthy and the great man Wiseman is missing. Now that Thompson is out, so is that plan.

So what is Plan B? It starts with Kelly O’Brien Jr., who was acquired by the Warriors from Oklahoma City on Thursday. To Adrian Wozniacki of ESPN. To sign O’Brien as an over-cap team, the Warriors use the $ 17.2 million trade exception – through a deal that sent Andre Ecuodola to Memphis last year – to sign O’Brien’s $ 14.4 million in salary for next season. His contract is due at the end of this season, so the Warriors have not promised him beyond 2021, at which point Clay is expected to return.

You owe the owner of the Warriors. They put their money where the mouth is. As a group above the line, the Warriors have to eat up massive penalties for every dollar they spend. According to ESPN cap guru Bobby Marx, the Warriors pay O’Brien between his salary and the tax penalties it imposes:

Yes, you read that franchise: Warriors franchise, right now, could have saved $ 82 million if they had decided not to use that trade exception, which could easily have been rationalized in Thompson’s absence; Paying that kind of money to a team that no longer feels like a title contender can be reasonably considered borderline crazy.

But Joe Locob once vowed that the Warriors would never be outspoken, as long as he was, G.M. Money does not stop Bob Myers from being able to bring his best team to the ground, and he certainly keeps his word even in a brutal economy. Myers said Wednesday that he would be given the green light to spend that trade exemption even before Thompson was injured.

The Warriors did not spend. They still have a $ 6 million taxpayer medium-sized exemption to use, and will have more money to exit in the form of the 3.9 million disabled player exemption they applied for on Thursday, For ESPN’s scores. Longtime Warriors reporter Monte Poole told the Warriors Wednesday Keep their eyes on the four biggest human additions When the free company opens on Friday.

In other words, the Warriors have not given up this season. Starting right now, starting with Curry, O’Brien, Andrew Wiggins, Greene and Wiseman, with Kevin Looney (they may still be offloading) and Eric Pasal can get off the bench. It’s a team that can still compete, but the load on the curry Return to his occult ways Lots heavy.

In the end, there is no way to code this sugar. With Thompson out, the Warriors could have gone from a top three or four title rivals to a team that would have struggled to make the playoffs in a fully loaded Western conference. But in the wake of the Thompson news this season they have gone without any idea that they might jump half-heartedly. The Warriors are still going for it. No cost.