Kurtenbach: This season, the Warriors achieved all they wanted to.

 Warriors: While Golden State's offseason is imminent, don't write off this season because of their play-in tournament loss to the Grizzlies.

Kurtenbach: This season, the Warriors achieved all they wanted to.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — The Warriors' season may be over, but the truth is that Golden State had already accomplished all it wanted to in the 2021 season before Friday's game against the Memphis Grizzlies.

But it wouldn't have made a difference if the Warriors played a true seven-game playoff series — or two — heading into next season.

This mid-pandemic 2021 season was a bridge effort, an opportunity to re-establish the Warriors as a winning team after a devastating 2019-2020 season.

It was close for a bit, but they managed to pull it off.

So, while the outcome was undoubtedly disappointing, there is no indictment to be drawn from Friday's defeat. Nothing the Warriors accomplished this season was tainted by their defeats in the play-in tournament.

Let us not forget what they demonstrated.

Steph Curry, at the age of 33, proved to the league that he is indeed one of the best players in the league. He had his best offensive season of his Hall of Fame career, won the scoring crown, and was a finalist for the MVP award while playing with a roster of cast-offs and unprovens.

And he ended the season on a high note, despite suffering a "hairline fracture" on his tailbone as a result of a bad fall in Houston, according to Kent Bazemore.

The Warriors still have a chance with him leading the way, and he seems to have years of gasp-inducing, elite play left in him.

Draymond Green, Curry's tag-team partner, also made an impression this season.

Green's offensive game is undeniably restricted in the most critical field — shooting — but no one who has watched the Warriors this season would argue that he is anything other than one of the league's best operators.

Green was once again one of the league's top defenders after a losing season in 2019-2020. (He's a Defensive Player of the Year finalist.) He was also one of the best point guards in the NBA, averaging the same number of assists per game as Chris Paul, the Point God, of the Phoenix Suns.

Those two, as a duo, demonstrated that they are still a formidable force in a league where duos are the norm.

Green said, "We've got a lot more hell to cause." “It's something I'm looking forward to.”

Give them a little more support than they got this year, and put them in the mix in what could be a flat Western Conference next year, and they could go on another tear.

In terms of that assistance, the Warriors could be closer than outside observers believe.

After a full season with Andrew Wiggins, the Warriors have completely committed to him. I'm not saying it's unlikely that he'll play for another team next season — anything can happen in the NBA — but it'll take a no-brainer deal for the Warriors to let him go.

Is he getting too much money? The chances are good. Was he too laid-back on offence this year? Yes, it happens all the time. But, as a third choice behind Curry and Klay Thompson, he was a super-coachable and solid two-way winger for the Dubs this season. An offer will have to blow the Warriors away once again.

In addition to Curry, Green, Wiggins, and Thompson, the Warriors have found a couple of suitable rotation bits. Thompson is looking to reclaim the form he had before two leg injuries cost him the last two seasons.

Though Wiggins and Green struggled in a must-win game on Friday, second-year combo guard Jordan Poole was outstanding. He's either overconfident or too young to realise he shouldn't be, but whatever the case, he was a revelation for the Warriors in the final weeks of the season and again on Friday, scoring 19 points.

He's going to be a keeper.

So is Juan Toscano-Anderson, who gives the Dubs a little bit of everything and has the grit and wisdom to lead them to victory. JTA, like Green, isn't the type of player that can be properly judged by box score, but as the season progressed and he was eventually given a chance to play, he began to fill up the stat sheet as well.

So is Juan Toscano-Anderson, who gives the Dubs a little bit of everything and has the grit and wisdom to lead them to victory. JTA, like Green, isn't the type of player that can be properly judged by box score, but as the season progressed and he was eventually given a chance to play, he began to fill up the stat sheet as well.

Add in Kevon Looney, who has been so consistent this season that it's easy to overlook him (as I did in this column by not mentioning him until now), and the Warriors have a solid foundation.

Bring back Bazemore for another year — you won't find that kind of corner 3-point shooting and defence for the league minimum anywhere else — and maybe Damion Lee (who missed the final month of the season with COVID), and you've got yourself some nice bits.

Add another expert (or two) to the mix, as well as a ready-to-contribute (but not crazy) young player from the draught, and you've got a roster that shouldn't be taken lightly.

Isn't that doable?

It's also worth noting that the Warriors have rediscovered their identity this season. The Dubs' season was made exciting by smallball, and they should note that heading into the offseason.

What this means for rookie centre James Wiseman, the No. 2 overall pick in last year's draught whose season-ending knee injury marked the start of the Warriors' late-season surge, will be decided in the months ahead.

The Warriors' ceiling is even higher if they can do with Wiseman what they did with Poole, who returned from a stint in the G-League as a more-than-viable off-the-bench microwave. The Warriors would have the same result if they move on from him and bring back a good seasoned depth piece.

The Warriors will spend the next few weeks watching the playoffs on TV, but during that period, they will plan how to take advantage of a summer that promises to be even more chaotic than last year's.

The Dubs have a major summer ahead of them, one that could either put them in title contention or put them back in this play-in tournament next year. However, only because the offseason begins in the spring does not imply that the season was a flop.

Green explained, "We're not in the playoffs, so we're a long way away." “However, we aren't that far away.”