The Golden State Warriors' whirlwind 2024-25 season is officially over. After falling to the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games in the second round of the NBA Playoffs, the Warriors finished a season full of highs, lows, and optimism for the near future.

It was a season that began with Golden State and the rest of the Bay Area searching for a way to pivot following the departure of franchise legend Klay Thompson. And while the Dubs opened the season 12-2, it became quickly apparent that the Warriors were nowhere near contender status.

Questions about the roster, doubts about the young core, it seemed as though the fairytale ending for the dynasty had already happened in 2022, back in Boston. Despite their best efforts, the sentiment mid-season was that Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, or Steve Kerr could not save what was looking to be a dynasty at its final twilight.

That is until the opportunity to acquire Jimmy Butler came along and with it a hope of championship contention and one last Cinderella run. Following the blockbuster trade for Butler at the deadline, the Warriors went from outside of the playoff picture to the seventh seed in the playoffs with a miraculous 23-8 run to save their season.

But how we look back on this roller-coaster season isn't important yet. With Curry, Green, and Butler's contracts aligned, the Dubs have a two-year runway to chase that one last dance.

The Warriors' 2024-25 season will be defined by Curry's basketball mortality, a blockbuster Butler trade, and a playoff run derailed by fatigue, injuries, and roster construction.

Based on where they were at the start of the season, they have a lot to be proud of. But if they want to give Curry the storybook ending he deserves, they have several important offseason questions to answer.

Entering the offseason, the Warriors have to evaluate what was real and what wasn't when it comes to their young core. This was an up-and-down season for the Warriors' young core of Brandin Podziemski, Jonathan Kuminga, and Moses Moody.

All of them displayed glimpses of upside, glimmers of potential contender-level role players. But that's always been the trap of the Dubs' two-timeline plan.

Sure, there's no question Podziemski, Kuminga, and Moody are NBA-caliber players with genuine potential for elite status. However, can they reach that potential before the end of Curry, Green, and Butler's championship-contending windows?

Because as great as those future Hall of Famers' careers have been, they each showed their age this season. Injuries, fatigue, drops in consistency all plagued the Dubs' young core trio.

Podz looks the closest to being something. Despite his shooting woes, mainly his passiveness, he showed real flashes of secondary scoring in the postseason. Moody caught a hot streak in the post-Butler trade surge but disappeared largely afterwards. At their best, they both looked like key pieces next to the veteran core.

Kuminga, on the other hand, looks like he might have one foot out the door. He definitely showed star upside this season with his strides on offense. But his rocky relationship with Kerr throws a wrench in his future in the Bay. Due to his restricted free agency, the Warriors can match any offer sheet thrown his way. Both sides have to decide if a continuation is in their best interests.

When evaluating this young core, it not a process as simple as, “Trade whoever you decide you're low on.” First off, the Warriors would be selling low with that line of thinking. And secondly, who's trade target? A package around these three and picks for Giannis Antetokounmpo is not getting the job done.

Cam Johnson's long been coveted, but that's a complicated trade salary-wise. The Warriors' best bet to improve next season might be to double down on the two timelines

So the Warriors do have the roster flexibility to build along the edges in free agency.

Golden State enters the offseason with a $171 million projected salary, according to ESPN's Bobby Marks. That leaves them approximately $16.8 million below the luxury tax threshold, $24.9M below the first apron and $29.8M below the second apron. They also have a $14.1M nontax midlevel exception, an $8.8M and $2.2M trade exceptions, and their $5.5M biannual exception.

All of that gives the Warriors the salaries to address their urgent needs. The Houston and Minnesota series showed that they lack two things: consistent shooters and big options in the interior. And luckily for the Dubs, there are free agents that fit those profiles.

Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis are two players that would address both those needs in an ideal world. Butler's former teammate Duncan Robinson would fit in very easily in Kerr's movement-based motion offense.

A De'Anthony Melton reunion also could be in play. He'd be coming off of an ACL injury that quietly derailed the Dubs' 12-2 start, but he already showed he can seamlessly play next to Curry in the backcourt.

But back to the Johnson conversation. There is a potential Kuminga sign-and-trade outline with the Nets. That's likely the most meaningful way the Warriors can juice this roster with upper-tier talent.  However, like with the Buddy Hield-Kyle Anderson sign-and-trade this season, that would hard-cap the Warriors at the first apron.

Again, a Giannis trade is highly doubtful. That pipe dream hinges on Antetokounmpo demanding to only wanting to go to the Bay, the Bucks honoring that wish, no other team bidding their war chest, and the Dubs aggregating significant salaries to match his super-max. But the Warriors still have a pathway to improving the roster. It's all in Mike Dunleavy Jr.'s hands.

The Warriors' 23-8 run to close the regular season took way too much out of them. In their quest to make up lost ground, Curry, Butler, and Green played 35+ minutes for a month straight. The fatigue added up, and it showed in the playoffs, ending with Curry sustaining an injury he's never had before in his career.

The pathway to one final championship run depends on whether or not the Warriors have to fight for their playoff lives in March. The Warriors' 22-4 start at the beginning of their '22 title run is a big reason behind their playoff success. It gave them the cushion to coast in February, March, and April, especially when Curry missed some games.

With that in mind, Golden Stats has to gear all of their offseason plans around this simple question: how can we get our veteran stars to the postseason healthy and rested? Maybe that's impossible given the fact they've committed nearly 90% of their salary cap on these three players, especially in the crowded Western Conference.

But this season didn't end with the Warriors going down swinging. It ended with Curry watching his team fall apart in five games from the sidelines. Right now, the solution to this is murky. But compared to the beginning of this season, when it seemed like Curry would finish his career playing irrelevant basketball, the Dubs at least have a pathway toward contention.

It's a narrow one, reliant on some smart decisions, big leaps, and a little bit of luck. But that's the path of any NBA championship. And with Curry at the helm, anything is possible.