The Golden State Warriors have been called a dying dynasty by many analysts this season. At 31-28, they’re such an average team that nobody expects to win the NBA Finals.

The Golden State Warriors are in a weird phase of their franchise. The dynasty years are long over. But Steve Kerr always has his squad playing hard and meaningful basketball.

It has been 10 years since the Golden State Warriors benefitted from a quirk in NBA financial rules–a spike in the league’s income–that allowed for a flood of cap space going to the defending Western Conference champions, cap space that allowed the team to sign star Kevin Durant and create a superteam that won back-to-back championships.

Kristaps Porzingis is expected to return for the Golden State Warriors against the Los Angeles Lakers after missing games with illness.

An Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball star lands with the Golden State Warriors in a recent NBA mock draft.

With only about a quarter of the season remaining, it's getting harder to dismiss trends as the result of small samples. That is particularly true for a set of players who have failed to match last year's standards and are now dealing with more prolonged declines.

The Warriors keep getting linked to Lakers star LeBron James. But one exec says the scenario would be a longshot, at best.