Considering the Warriors’ overall situation from the draft pick drama with Utah to the injury status of their best players, tanking marks the best strategy for the long-term success of the team. After all, the benefits of not tanking are fairly limited since this team cannot reasonably make a playoff run with their optimal healthy roster the rest of the season. I will say that the players on the court certainly seem to be playing their all and the fact that David Lee still plays as much as he does shows that the organization continues to try to win games, for better or for worse. It’s respectable even though the lottery system and pick protection makes the high road substantially less appealing.

Beyond the various moral problems with deliberately losing basketball games with almost one-third of the season left, the other major challenge with tanking is that it hurts both the watching and learning experience for the team and fans alike. (As a short aside, I see this reality fitting with the pre-season playoff guarantees by Joe Lacob and Mark Jackson as the primary reason for a largely season ticket holder crowd viciously booing Lacob on Monday) The challenge with either suboptimal lineups or suboptimal effort proves to be that no one can develop under those circumstances. It can be difficult enough to estimate how players are progressing even in perfect situations and is effectively impossible when one team wants to win and the other does not.

Some may focus on what this means for Warriors fans caring about their own team’s development, yet the same logic applies to those who go to specific games to see opponents. After all, seeing Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul battle the full-strength Warriors and a raucous Oracle crowd is a dramatically different experience than watching those same players against basically a split squad.

This conceit has also made writing about the Warriors a somewhat difficult endeavor. On a personal level, it feels hard to do any more than game recaps since the offseason dynamics still contain so much uncertainty and the overall roster situation should remain largely unchanged until that point. Keeping that in mind, the project for now must be to focus on what we can learn about the future of this team and what Warriors fans have to look forward to around the world of basketball as the NBA regular season lurches to its close. Luckily, there are still a few fascinating dynamics to pay attention to for the next few weeks.

1. Klay Thompson- The single best long-term prospect still playing for the Warriors, Thompson has the opportunity to both put up killer fantasy numbers and start to develop components of his long-term role with the team. Considering Stephen Curry was the best spot-up shooter in the NBA last season, it would stand to reason that the Warriors could benefit from having another player in the core who can handle the offense enough to get Curry some possessions without the ball. Both Andrew Bogut and Thompson could help in this capacity next season and Thompson will never get a lower downside chance to show what he has in terms of handling an offense on a possession-by-possession basis. A shooting guard who can help run the offense and also play somewhat decent defense while still stretching the defense would allow Golden State brass to feel more comfortable in four Opening Day starters next season if each can be healthy at that juncture. That kind of confidence would allow them to coalesce assets into a true answer at small forward and more specific niches deeper in the rotation.
2. Charles Jenkins- Can he be the answer at backup point guard next season? The combo guard from Hofstra has an excellent chance to make his case before the draft and free agency. Even though the Warriors should bring in another point guard (at least for depth purposes), a good showing by Jenkins that shows he has a grasp of offensive goals and can work effectively with both Thompson and Lee could go a long way towards making the team more comfortable in just getting a depth point guard instead of a more expensive backup.
3. The remainder of the NCAA Tournament- As I write this, the Sweet 16 continues to be whittled down to eight. It stands to reason that at least one player still going in the tourney will be with the Warriors next season, whether taken in the lottery, late first, or second round. The wide-open race for the middle of the lottery should make for some fun analysis and discussion before the draft in late June with now marking the last opportunity for most of us to see these players in real game competition.
4. Dominic McGuire- The most intriguing free agent for the Warriors this summer, McGuire provides a fascinating case study because his strengths and weaknesses are so glaring and unlikely to change. A truly elite defensive stopper provides a ton of value even off the bench while his horrendous shooting forces the team to compensate with enough perimeter firepower from the other three non-Centers. The decision on McGuire could affect the draft as a potential stretch-4 like Perry Jones makes more sense playing the three and the four if some of that time is spent playing with a versatile stopper like McGuire. Any way he can show his game makes the Warriors’ best defender more valuable to the Warriors and more marketable to any NBA team as he looks to capitalize on his first real chance to get in a good overall situation in the league.
5. Jeremy Tyler- He needs game experience more than any other player on the roster, possibly more than any other player in the league. Luckily, he should have all the time he needs if Jackson is willing to give it. Tyler showing a functioning motor and any semblance of a mid-range game would help him earn a spot in next season’s big man rotation while also teaching him exactly what needs improvement against elite competition.
6. Richard Jefferson- Warriors fans could learn a good deal about where in the rotation to expect Jefferson over the remaining two years of his contract. Some solid shooting performances and enough lateral quickness to defend small forwards are more than necessary to convince folks that he can be more than just another big salaried low-minute player on the 2012-13 Golden State Warriors.
7. Andris Biedrins- Speaking of big salaried low-minute players, Biedrins has the best chance he’ll likely get in the blue and yellow to resurrect his confidence and his career. He certainly has shown a few flashes over the last week or so and still has a place on this squad with a healthy Andrew Bogut. Rotation-level bigs provide a pivotal bridge in today’s NBA and the rebounding (potentially with some shot blocking) that a less broken Andris Biedrins can bring to the table would be much appreciated over the next two seasons.

The next few weeks will provide plenty of time to spill digital ink on the lottery, draft prospects, and what management can do with a pretty limited amount of financial freedom this offseason. Until then, there are enough storylines and dynamics to watch to keep the next little while at least somewhat interesting.