Where do the Warriors go from here?

Their champion core is now aged and embarrassed. Their young players are not good enough to protract the dynasty. The Warriors are stuck in between stations.

Add the NBA’s new, increasingly punitive (some could argue vindictive) luxury tax rules and a standard of excellence that won’t be compromised (not so long as Joe Lacob runs the team and Steph Curry is on it), and Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. might have the most challenging job in basketball.

There are a million directions he can go. But balancing all the Warriors’ needs, there’s one route — with three key steps — that seems most likely this offseason:

1: The Warriors re-sign Klay Thompson

This might not seem like a priority this summer, and truth be told, it’s not the most important thing the Warriors need to do — but it is an issue that needs to be resolved first.

Clarity with Thompson — one way or another — will define this offseason.

And in a weird, twisted way, Klay Thompson’s absolutely brutal 0-for-10, getting-burned-on-the-perimeter-by-Trey-Lyles game could prove to benefit the Warriors. How much money did Thompson lose himself with that performance? It’s a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately world.

The Warriors need to set a fair price and have a strict term limit. It makes sense to have Thompson’s new deal align with Steph Curry and Steve Kerr’s contracts (two years remaining), or with Draymond Green’s (two years, plus a player option).

“I have no reason to think that our ownership group aren’t going to take care of us,” Green said Tuesday. “There’s a lot of organizations that will only do what’s best for the organization. This isn’t one of them.”

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