Dubs in-depth: Paul Pierce ‘believes Warriors can win a title within next 3 years’

Former Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce is known for his outlandish takes as an NBA analyst on ESPN.

Before Game 6 of the 2019 Western Conference Finals, Pierce predicted that the Houston Rockets would beat the Golden State Warriors by 15-plus points.

We all saw how that turned out.

Pierce was asked about the future of the Warriors going into the 2020-21 season on a recent episode of ESPN’s “The Jump” and had this to say (h/t NBC Bay Area’s Drew Shiller):

“I really, truly believe they can win a title within the next three years. Even though we didn’t see (Steph) Curry (or) Klay (Thompson) this year. But you gotta admit — this is probably the best backcourt in all of basketball still. If they make the right moves ... they’re gonna get a nice draft pick that they can probably parlay into a good player, (or maybe) a very good player. All the infrastructure is in place for them to really build a championship team within the next three years.”

This is one of the first times I have actually agreed with Pierce. This is a huge offseason for general manager Bob Myers. Golden State has a championship core already in place with Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.

The Dubs can win a championship next season if Myers is able to add some talented pieces around the Big 3. We know the Warriors will have a top-five pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, but we don’t know if Myers will use the selection, or package it in a trade for another proven veteran.

With Curry, Thompson and Green all over the age of 30, the Warriors championship window will be open for another four or five years. Myers has the $17.2 million trade exception in his pocket as well, giving Golden State plenty of ammunition to reload for a championship run.

On to some more links:

It is blasphemous to suggest that the Dubs should trade Thompson. Brad Botkin of CBS Sports did a deep dive on the possibility that the Warriors could move Klay for another superstar.

Golden State had some of the best seasons in NBA history during its five-straight NBA Finals appearances. The Ringer’s Zach Kram put together a list of the five-best NBA teams of the past decade, and it’s no surprise which squad is No. 1.

The Bay Area has a rich sports history. Brian Witt of NBC Sports looked back at which uniforms are synonymous with some of the most iconic moments involving Bay Area teams.

With the Warriors’ season over, all of the focus is on the 2020 NBA Draft. Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley released his latest mock draft and has the Dubs taking a guard No. 1 overall.