The Golden State Warriors must win three consecutive elimination games beginning tonight against the Minnesota Timberwolves to keep their season alive. It's a tall task made even taller by the absence of Stephen Curry, who is still recovering from a hamstring injury. All season the conversation has been about the franchise's reliance on aging players, which didn't strike many as entirely sustainable toward the goal of winning another championship. If the Warriors do bow out, there will be even more confidence among the pundit class that their dynasty is truly over.

Stephen A. Smith & Co. looked into the issue on Wednesday's First Take with ESPN's most prominent voice helpfully pinpointing the exact moment the window officially closed for Golden State.

"I think the second we really, really knew in our hearts this was it [for the Warriors] was when they didn't get Kevin Durant to come back," Smith said. "I think we've seen the last of Steph Curry as a champion in Golden State."

Considering the fact that Curry is 37 years-old and the Warriors were barely able to escape the Play-In tournament—and the very obvious passing of the torch that would come with Anthony Edwards reaching the mountaintop this season—it's not exactly a wild limb for Smith to go out on. The Warriors' pursuit of Durant earlier this year was not successful and ultimately ended up with Jimmy Butler coming to the Bay Area. It's not immediately clear if somehow getting Durant would have changed Golden State's long odds of reaching and winning the NBA Finals. And Curry's injury more than likely ruined any realistic chance of them tacking on another title to their résumé.

Perhaps Smith is correct. Or perhaps Curry and Green got older and Klay Thompson is getting older in Dallas now. Time comes for us all and answering that question with an older player like Durant may not have been the fix needed.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Stephen A. Smith Had Brutally Honest Line About Steph Curry’s NBA Future.

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