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After Friday, the Golden State Warriors will have 22 games to end the NBA's longest current playoff drought.

All the Warriors would have to do is 1) mount a late-season run without their top two point guards (the injured Speedy Claxton and Nick Van Exel), 2) reverse the West's second-worst road record and 3) leapfrog four teams in the standings in the league's strongest conference.

In other words, book that roundtrip for Secaucus.

So here the Warriors are, sitting closer to the West's worst record than the West's last playoff spot and facing their 10th straight trip to the lottery in a draft in which there's no LeBron James or Carmelo Anthony. Not even Dwight Howard and Emeka Okafor can be described as a sure-fire franchise player.

Whoever is calling the shots in the Warriors' front office these days -- whether it's general manager Garry St. Jean, special assistant Chris Mullin or owner Chris Cohan -- the following question must be answered: Who is their franchise player?

Finding one, then establishing him as one, is the first step every championship hopeful takes. The franchise player not only performs like an All-Star but also raises the skill and confidence of his teammates. He doesn't need to be an MVP. He just needs to act like one.

Is Jason Richardson the franchise? No longer having to wait for Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison to pass him the ball, Richardson has been productive being The Man, posting career bests in scoring (18.9 points a game), rebounding (6.4) and shooting percentage (.446). He even hit a game-winning 3-pointer to beat Minnesota on the road in December.

But for all of his dunking prowess, Richardson isn't among the NBA's shooting guard elite. He's still lax on defense and his assist-to-turnover ratio (1.09) resembles one of a backup center. Richardson has the game of a future All-Star, but his mental makeup and skills suggest he'd feel better as the Pippen to someone else's Jordan.

Is Mike Dunleavy the franchise player? The former No. 3 overall pick fits the description skills-wise with his ability to shoot, rebound and pass the ball, but no one knows what Dunleavy is capable of because he never gets to play in crunch time.

Coach Eric Musselman obviously thinks he knows something because, when the games still mattered, he kept Dunleavy on the bench, giving fourth-quarter minutes to Brian Cardinal and Calbert Cheaney instead. A spat between Dunleavy and Musselman during Tuesday's practice probably won't help Dunleavy's case for more playing time.

Is Erick Dampier the franchise? At 29, he's become the double-double threat the Warriors hoped he'd be, but now Dampier is expected to exercise his opt-out and seek a cushy All-Star center spot in the East. After suffering through seven losing seasons in Oakland, he can't be blamed for bolting for a better team and potentially bigger bucks.

Is Claxton the guy? Can't be. He was brought in to be Arenas' replacement at point guard, but a month after he signed a three-year, $10 million contract, the Warriors acquired Van Exel from Dallas to be their new go-to guy. Claxton's stellar play since the break confirmed he could be a starter in this league, but not a franchise anchor.

What's really odd about the Warriors is that, when healthy, they have lots of above-average talent. Not having enough minutes to go around is one reason why Musselman has had the occasional run-in over playing time. "That," said Troy Murphy of having so much quality players wanting quantity in PT, "can never be a good thing."

It's worse when none of them are building blocks but not the foundation.

Joe Lago is the NBA editor at ESPN.com.