This occurred to me while looking at the west standings. The majority of the “Old Guard” stars play out west. I define “Old Guard” as stars drafted before 2013, so players with 10+ years of experience. There are 5 teams with stars that are “OG”; Lebron, AD, KD, Beal, Kyrie, Gobert, Curry, Klay, Draymond, Kawhi, Harden, PG, and WB.
The majority of the stars are teamed up together. The exceptions to this are Minnesota, Phoenix, and Dallas, who all have a younger star(s) around these OGs. It’s early in the season but it looks like the clippers, lakers, and Warriors will remain at the bottom of the playoff bracket for the majority of the season. The thing I can’t wrap my head around is why do OGs seem to avoid pairing with younger stars? The proof is in the standings, after 30-32 OGs need young Stars to help them win titles. How long do we think it will be before all of the OGs are no longer viable as stars.
The warriors had an opportunity to pair young talent with their OGs organically they just botched the picks. The best case scenario the warriors could have Lamelo, Sengun, and Franz Wagner had they drafted properly