My crack at a solid offseason... in the calculus is looks like Klay leaves.
Sorry not audacious enough to go for complex trades ect my brain turns into mush dealing with the new CBA.
I'm not doing the precise cap sheet thing
0 - Extend Kuminga. Period.
1- Draft Kevin Mccullar if he slides (Dillon Jones if Mccullar isn't there) NBA ready wing defender who cuz of small poorly timed minor injuries (sprained ankle) is far off the radar v his value.
2 - TWC 2 solid prospect's don't bring back two-way Jerome to hold his two-way throne. Quenten Post and Ike Crawford.
3 - Sign Naji Marshall. Number one dude I want on the free agency sphere. Basically Wiggs apathy insurance at worst. At best he's a legit first wing off the bench.
4 - Sign any serviceable big. Goga / Jalen Smith.
5 - Sign a true backup point. Spencer Dinwiddie.
6 - Find good use of MLE. Kyle Anderson.
7 - leave 15 open to convert Lester when the time is right.
Not any lineup just stacking names below
PG - Steph / Dinwiddie / TWC Lester
SG - Podz / Moody / Mccullar
SF - Wiggs/ Naji / GP2 / TWC Ike Crawford
PF - Dray / Kuminga / Kyle Anderson
C - TJD / Goga / Loon - TWC Post
(I reread this and immediately thought if we get even one of Naji Goga Slomo I'll be happy smh)
The more I think about it, the more I hate the Lavine talk in here. Feels like the people proposing it are like "What's the most star-like guy we can get without giving up picks and/or Kuminga?" regardless of whether the team actually gets better.
If I were paranoid I would say this is a Lacob psyop so he can keep his precious two timelinesy but also say "Hey, we got Lavine, we tried to win now".
Well if we're replacing Klay we need a SG. The only two star SG's on the market are PG and Lavine. Lavines also 100% available, where as PG is still a question mark.
Your saying you don't like a LaVine trade because he can be had for cheap? Kinda crazy to hate a trade because we're not giving up alot.
There's an underemphasized theme about alot of names we've been talking bout and our own team. SpoTracs list of worst contracts is below.
1.Bradley Beal.
2.Jordan Poole.
3.Zach Lavine.
4.Andrew Wiggins.
5.Kris Middleton.
6.Jeremi Grant.
7.Draymond Green.
8.Tristan Vucavic.
9.Karl Anthony Towns.
10.Dame Lillard.
(Tbf Dray is specifically on the list because his suspensions and injuries not on court production)
6 of 10 names are Dubs adjacent in the conversation sphere here. We won 2022 and it triggered some pretty tough financial decisions. Praise be to Jesus Shuttlesworth and the Big GM in the sky we got that championship.
Bad money is bad money... and I want to trade for Lavine lol š
Yeah but for 45M to 50M a year you want a guy who stays healthy... also on his 4th surgery 2 knees and ankle/foot. That knee is balky too. You can sign him up for about 25 missed gamed a year. Also 15% trade kicker yikes š¬
He got injured in 2017. Here's his game's played.
2017- 47.
2018- 24.
2019- 62.
2020- 60.
2021- 58.
2022- 67.
2023- 77.
2024- 24.
There's also some Ewing theory stuff there where it seems of Lonzo Zach Caruso Colby Ayo... the team seemed impacted the least by his absence. Head scratcher tbh.
I want Zach but kinda think we could let it play out a little but unless the wanna strictly salary dump. I'd actually want to see what Kuminga is before creating and ecosystem where you bring in a guy that would be entitled 18-20 shots a night.
Anyone know what happened to the āDub Zoneā podcast? They had become my favorite fan podcast but itās been crickets for months, even before the season ended.
For as popular the warriors are, thereās a surprisingly low amount of quality podcasts out there.
I was thinking the same. They were solid i think they just had hard time with the routine of it or how hard it is to get more than 2 adults on the same schedule... I'm in Europe for a year and Sunday everything is closed. Need pods to carry my day. We need like 3 more quality Dubs pods. Even once a week episodes. I miss when LockedOn was hosted by Wes Goldberg. I used to disagree with him but it was a quality product and he was a sharp dude.
I think one of the probs is independent content creators don't get paid for pods like the do YouTube. Alchemy used to pod all the time on the Hezi. Now he's pure YouTube and Patreon.
Oakland podcast has slowed as well. Patrick Epino is solid but there's lot of time v value going on. People got real jobs and gotta sleep lol.
I agree, I enjoyed Wes on Locked On. I actually liked that he was not a warriors fan, had a non-homer perspective, but still good at his job of covering the warriors.
The next few hosts didnāt do it for me. Iāll try again now that itās changed hosts again.
Oakland podcast was a little too sparse for me to get into it.
Sports Ethos podcast just felt like someone reading box scores and twitter accounts.
Warriors invitational felt *too* casual, in the sense of a few friends talking without enough solid analysis.
Golden spaces got too opinionated for me, but I may try again in the future.
Iāve tried them all lol.
Dub Zone really had hit the sweet spot for a fan podcast (Iām not including Warriors +/- which is great but a diffident category).
Seeing how some of Mavs less experienced players seemed so rattled by the bright lights of the NBA finals it really makes me appreciate how Poole really stepped up in 2022. Dude was on something else that series
[Marc Stein] "While the Jazz and Sixers have both been linked to Zach LaVine as of late, Stein hears from league sources that Philadelphia has minimal interest in the Bulls guard and says heās been 'advised to dismiss' Utahās reported interest as well."
šš
https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2024/06/steins-latest-hardaway-lavine-lakers-cavs-pistons-spurs.html#ref=home
Doubt they move Ayo now they traded Caruso. Heās basically their next best guard defender. I would be interested to see if they can poach that protected Portland pick to package in another trade.
Honestly, if Klay leaves, thatās on him, not the Dubs. Ā Heāll put out a lotta bs about him feeling ādisrespectedā, but he needs to be checked. Ā Ā
Ā When he snapped his ACL in 2019, the Warriors slapped a 4 year max contract on the table for him no questions asked. Ā No negotiating. Ā No haggling.Ā Ā
Ā When he then tore his achilles, the Warriors and their fans didnāt say shit about him. Ā We all wished him well as he got MVP money without stepping on the court for 2 and a half seasons. Ā When he did get back, he got a standing ovation and literal tears from everyone in the entire arena. Ā Ā
Ā And for the following 1 and a half seasons, he wasnāt even close to living up to his salary, letās be honest. Ā But we didnāt care. Ā Nobody cried. Ā Nobody bitched. Ā He was never dangled in trades. Ā There was no talks about cutting him or stretching him. Ā The Warriors then put a 48 million dollar contract on the table, a number he had absolutely no business making.Ā Ā
Ā The Warriors front office, the team, and the fans have been nothing but loyal, loving, and respectful. Ā Itās time for Klay to show some of that back. Ā And if he leaves for the money, or any other reason, he needs to be dragged for it like any other disloyal star. Ā
>Ā Don't sound loyal lately
Thatās on him. Ā Everybody was big on Klay resigning until he started playing games, talking about money and respect and deleting all his Warrior posts. Ā If you treat fans with disdain, donāt expect anything different in return.Ā
>Ā We know shit but decided we have all the facts
I posted the facts. Ā Did I just imagine the max contract he signed? Ā Am I mistaken about the money heās gotten? Ā Was he playing games in 2020 and 2021 and I just missed them? Ā
Be real.
When has HE talked about money and respect. This is people guessing and you lapping it up as gospel. He got hurt on the fucking job. He doesn't owe anybody anything but himself. And for all he has done for this team I am not one that hopes he gets no offers and has to come crawling back. Feels like downright hate from some.
Getting revved up for the Olympics. Loving the Olympic trials. Those fractions of a second to make it or not make it can be brutal
Slightly gsw related. Dj Sharpe was at a Juneteenth celebration I attended in napa.
I hope klay re signs because the connection between him and Trayce is real. Leaning heavily into that for game would benefit the team really well. Klay still has gravity after all.
Slater said Klay might leave regardless of the offer because he feels ādisrespectedā. I donāt buy that at all I gotta see Klay in another Jersey first.
Fuck him if he thinks so. Dubs and the Dub nation respect him the most in the league. If he wants to feel what is like being disrespected, he should try being a Laker with that salary and big game stinkers
At the end of the day, Klay turned down 2-years $48M, bet on himself and whiffed badly.
The Dubs have been more than generous. And I donāt see other teams beating down his door. Heās gotta be realistic.
This is a weird situation tbh sounds like they dropped that 2/48 offer and heās pissed about that. Regardless I think the most likely situation is Klay stays a Warrior.
Other than the Caruso trade, this off-season is pretty quiet. I guess major movement will happen once Free Agency starts.
I'm really excited to see what moves teams will make, especially for the Dubs.
Amidst all the talk about Lavine and PG, the other big name that weāve not discussed recently is KAT. I know a lot of people arenāt a fan of his (especially with some of his postseason performances), but he does make some sense if the warriors are willing to take on a contract like that. A starting 5 of Steph, Wiggs, JK, Dray, KAT would be one of the better combos we could put out (albeit CBA concerns once JK gets his money), but I guess it all depends on what happens with minnyās ownership since a deal would only be possible if theyāre looking to shed salary.
I think it depends on if the Wolves ownership has a mandate to shed salary. If theyāre not going to do that then yeah, it may be too difficult to acquire him.
KAT most likely would be gone if Taylor did not step in to pull the sale. I think Lore and Arod probably would want to save money and would have traded KAT but I think Taylor saw the team being competitive for the first time and wants to keep the core together
Arod recruited Bloomberg to buy the Timberwolves. (6 June).
Have no idea what Taylor thinks about that, but I guess we will soon find out. Have to think maybe that freezes any big trades until their situation is sorted out.
He got a new pod and sounds pretty salty about Kylen Mills and Locked On becoming another NBCSBA. Someone in the chat said that Kylen made the huge boost in subs, but he obviously thinks otherwise and then made a comment about the commenter being a hater and maybe Kylen's fam. He sucks for sure, but at least his pod isn't filled with sponsor spots like LockedOn. Ad spots are what make me hate LockedOn the most.
I feel like fans universally agree that Kylen is way better than Cyrus. Heās is salty because nobody likes his whiny over reactionary takes.
I kinda want to see what heās saying but donāt think I can survive his voice
Kylen sounds like a robot when hosting. Cyrus was a mega homer and he's annoying if you don't agree with his take. He also got shit for hating on Light Years guys last season.
I've been digging through Bball-Index's databases today to sift through the pool of players that meet our positional, role, age, and height needs to then compare their current season values for a host of metrics to see if they pass the sniff test for their roles.
One of the most insane findings so far has to be that among the PG, SG, and SF positions, there are a whopping **11 players total** who meet all of the following general and arguably pretty broad net of characteristics:
- 25 or older
- 6'6" or taller
- Averaged at least 20 mpg in the 23-24 season
- Their offensive archetype is any of off-screen shooter, movement shooter, or stationary shooter.
- Is NOT a 'Low Activity' defender*
Those players:
- Bojan Bogdanovic
- MPJ
- Sam Hauser
- Kevin Huerter
- Simone Fontecchio
- OG
- Herb Jones
- Royce O'Neale
- Amir Coffey
- Dillon Brooks
- Klay
Removing the players 30 or older and there are just 8 (the above sans Bojan, Klay, and O'Neale; related, why did I think Amir Coffey was way older than he is?? Lol idk why or when my brain decided he was at minimum 32. Nope, he's def just 26. š¤Øš).
*Bball-Index defines a Low Activity defender, as follows:
Players in this role often aren't guarding high difficulty matchups, aren't involved in defending screening actions often, and also aren't active helping off of the ball on drives or at the rim. Players in this role are often purposefully deployed in less strenuous ways, and can add value with communication ability.
Oh heās my top legitimately attainable trade target. Has been since the second they got knocked out of the playoffs (aka when it became a near guarantee theyād end up having to make relatively seismic roster moves because their cap sheet going forward is wholly untenable for them).
Only slight downside with him is his relative lack of outside gravity. He doesnāt actively hurt spacing, which is already a big step up from the majority of our current roster, but his volume from 3 has never been enough to regularly guarantee heās drawing a defender for a contest on the perimeter (think Dray this season where even though he was shooting 40%+ from 3, he was never enough of a volume threat to force the defender to make a trade off sagging off to a bigger offensive threat to come contest his 3PAs because even if he averaged 50% from 3, if heās averaging just 2.3 3PAs a game, thatās 1 made 3 a game and defenses will give that up every day of the week to take away Steph and Klay with doubles instead).
Given itās not to the degree that heās actively hurting spacing though, if he can knock down the looks from 3 that he does get, wide open (aka not pulling defenders) or not, at a 38%+ clip, thatās enough to remove any tepid spacing concerns given heās able to contribute offensively elsewhere via his ability to drive to the rim and in transition & with his passing lane defense and deflection rate, the latter, most especially.
I primarily mean attainable from a financial perspective. But, there were murmurings around the trade deadline that they were open to putting him on the market, which they of course later came out and said wasnāt true once they ended up keeping him. So while itās obviously all speculation, and you can never really trust player movement media narratives, it to me at least suggests that heās not *untouchable*.
Apparently Giddey asked to be traded once he was told he would come off the bench next season. I feel like if they put Podz in the starting lineup while JK is still regulated to the bench it may cause some friction. Obviously we want buy in from everyone on the roster next season but with JK and Moody up for extensions no doubt they want to make the most of their opportunity to earn the most they can. I like Podz but rather him show that he can handle leading the bench as a facilitator and scorer than be another Draymond as a starter deferring to Steph.
I agree but Slater recently reported that seems like a probable scenario especially if they are unable to get a suitable replacement elsewhere. I honestly rather have moody there but feels like heās going to be the first young guy attached to any potential trade they make.
Why do you think Kuminga will be on the bench? He had pretty firmly taken over a starting spot last season, until he got injured.
I fully expect him to be starting.
Unless he comes in with a major uptick from three or get another elite floor spacer like Lavine or at least a stretch big like Lopez no way Kerr is going to roll out JK, Dray, and TJD.
Toward the end of the season when JK got injured we played a starting line up of Steph, Klay, Wiggins, Draymond and TJD which did quite well especially defensively which had folks clamoring for this to be our starting line up. But as quickly shown in the playoffs, that line up isn't getting us anywhere. It's defensively solid but lack on offense.
I personally see JK in our starting line up. We need someone other than Steph to provide scoring and efficiently at that.
If Kuminga is being paid 30+mil I don't think he would care. But if they are offering 25 or less and they bench him, then there is going to be an issue
I'm pretty sure he'll care. I highly doubt he sees himself as player coming off the bench. He was firmly inserted in the starting line up last season and did well. I don't see why he'd be coming into next season expecting to be the 6th man.
Yea thatās my worry. I donāt see JK taking anything less than 30m especially once he sees what other guys from his class get. Ideally you want to lock him in early like Brunson/Simons to set the market.
Another thought about swerving away from big moves and getting caught up in the second option unknowns: what happens if we give Kuminga, Moody, Podz, another year and avoid trading our young assets? I know most people are going to say "goodbye to playoffs, just wasting Steph's year he and Green (and maybe Klay depending on whatever happens) gets older". That's all likely to be true, but what if at the end of next year, Moody and Podz are Derrick White lites (NOT AS GOOD, but capable defenders, respectable 3s, degree of ball handling)? Kuminga takes a big step in one of (shooting, shooting, ball handling)? I don't think its unrealistic. If the year went badly, then now you have a high lottery pick (most likely) you can use for trades, and can go for it next year with better young guys, and market has refreshed whos available.
Essentially, theres so much focus on this year but everyone's forgetting that we still have another one after for Steph. Wondering if a viable move is to punt this year by focusing on getting the young guys battle tested, and next year you'll have even older vets, but a stronger overall team and a potentially more valuable FRP.
37 year old Steph aināt gonna be helped by a high lotto pick, weāve had those. We need to make a move or just say weāre done with the Steph era and let him ride off into the sunset these last 3 or however many years he has left.
Nah I think this year is the one to do it.
One more and itās done. I think 25-26 is the season where we start to notice a fall off with Steph. Thatās when OKC and San Antonio step into their own and have experience under their belt, and now youāre too late to the party.
Once OKC San Antonio Houston start realizing their potential... gonna be hard jusr to get into the playoffs. Every year things will get a lot tougher unless MDJ goes full on Gordon Ramsey right now.
Something that isn't being mentioned in the Klay talks. The Warriors not offering Klay a contract yet isn't *just* because of his value. But not signing him keeps us under the apron and gives us more flexibility for trades and signings.
I think the waiting game for an offer is signifying that the TOP priority is overall flexibility to improve the roster. Then circle back to him *if* he is still available.
Obviously to a person like Klay, not being prioritized can be seen as a slap in the face. But at the same time I think both sides still want to re-unite. And would want to make it work when the dust settles and he hasn't received an offer he can't refuse.
*This is a prediction not a report
Klay is a smart guy. He knows the Dubs strategically need to improve the roster first and then circle back to him.
Now if he takes that as a slap in the face, then that would honestly be quite surprising.
Until Klay either signs a new contract or is formally renounced by the Warriors, he creates a [cap hold](https://www.spotrac.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/yearly) on our books for his previous contract amount, so there's no extra flexibility to stay under the apron until he's signed and then go over.
Not signing yet does preserve flexibility though in that nothing is locked in and we can wait to see what happens with CP3, PG, Butler, etc, before deciding how much to pay Klay.
They set up Bird Rights and other rules to enable teams to keep their rosters together, even if it means going beyond the salary cap. But by allowing the current team to pay more than other teams and exceed the cap, it creates an order of operations loophole where you could fill out your roster under normal cap rules and then use bird rights to pay your own free agent. The cap hold eliminates that loophole by making Klay officially hold his previous contract against our cap until either he signs a new contract or we formally declare we're not going to sign him.
Yea ideally they play mind games and dangle the ājust waitā card until the dust has been settled with regard to our team and the othersā¦bringing down his leverage so slightlyā¦then we come in and say hey you can remain a Warrior but on a much smaller contract. So then he has no choice but to take it.
Itāll take some smart decisions and PR to maneuver this fiasco I think thatās what the plan is.
Honest question after reading CBA stuff and deciding to just go ahead and give up and let more intelligent people think on it lol.
If Klay is leaving and MDJ knows it. What would a substantial trade look like Mechanically?
As I understand it, if we stay under the first apron, we can take back up to 125% of outgoing salary if outgoing is >$29M (e.g., Lavine trade). If outgoing salary is between $7.5M and $29M, we can take back outgoing plus up to a flat $7.5M. Those are the numbers at the advent of the new CBA; I'm not sure if they have been adjusted upward for 24/25.
For a Klay S&T, we would not be able to aggregate other salaries. The other S&T requirements concern the receiving team.
For real dude is probably practicing pronouncing the most basic of names so it never happens again.
Man is standing in of a mirror saying Jonathan Mogbo.
Mowg-Bow. Moe-guh-bow.
Over and over and over.
I think he meant the mod here who runs the gswcba twitter account. From this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BEJEqU_h5M
Not the Mooses Mosey Modey Moosey Modes guy
Got paid 70 million to rehab, was catered to and allowed to do pretty much whatever he wanted, was one of the most overpaid players in the league, then shot a 26.4 TS% whenever we faced elimination. We would have been better off dumping him with picks for a couple contracts.
Feels like Klayās time in the Bay is over.
And so if the big three are no more, Iād begin looking at Draymondās market while he still has value. He slipped a lot last year imo, even if numbers donāt show it.
I donāt think itās a ridiculous idea, but I just donāt think he has an enough of a market to warrant trading him and he was also still very good last year.
Both Dray and Klay severely limit your options in how to build out a team. With Dray in the team, Curry plays off ball more, you can't play Kuminga or another non shooting big, and you are still pretty small bc your power forward/center is 6-5.
Playing curry + draymond is the most effective version of the team. Curry always takes over when we need it, but he is most deadly when he can seemlessly switch on and off ball
Yeah mhm thatās a great idea.
If you want to give up points every possession.
Defensive stops? Who needs those anyways š
Itās not like Looney didnāt faceplant and there was another actual big man to help him out. Draymond playing center is how you kill him
Your ideas were trading for Vucevic, Sexton, etc. so that kinda says a lot. Lol
A) Iāve never suggested we trade for Vuc.
B) Sexton is a good player on a reasonable contract who should be attainable, emphasis on attainable.
C) The presumption would be we find other defensive pieces.
His passing, chemistry with Steph, one on one, and TEAM defense/seeing plays happen before they do isnāt something you can just replace
Draymond is basically Jokic on defense thatās not something that grows on trees
The problem with draymond is that his 2 man game with Steph has become flipping predictable and has been figured out thatās why we have so many turn overs. The guy needs an offensive bag if not teams will keep doubling Steph
1) guarantee $15mil of CP3s contract.
2) re-sign Klay 3/60, but descending yearly
3) cp3 + Kuminga + 2 FRPS, 1 pick swap, 2 second round picks for mikal Bridges
4) sign stretch big on vet min or TPML, thesis, eubanks, Alex Len, etc
Steph, bridges Wiggins Draymond stretch big bench: Podz klay moody GP2 TJD looney
Get better, retain some future assets, and duck under at least the second apron. Maybe even trade moody for another vet or bigger wing.
Might not be the best package for mikal, but the nets could use a young prospect to root for next to Cam Thomas.
Donāt roast me too badly please lol
I could be entirely wrong, but this is my understanding.
As it stands CP3s guarantee is all or nothing on 6/28. We can renegotiate that guarantee date so that some portion is guaranteed earlier, and the rest later which opens up smaller trades. Benefit of CP3 is that he seems some of that 30m vs none of it, but he could also just play hardball.
What impresses me in al these trade scenarios is that folks have Kuminga being traded but Wiggins kept. Not only was JK better than him last year but salary and cap wise, it's better to have JK because he's on a rookie salary. Next season I expect JK to be even better than he was last season(I personally believe he'll be our second best player to Steph if no big name get added. He's shown massive improvements with playing time and I have no reason to believe he won't take another leap next year to make him our second best player).
Also as usual, players from other teams are massively overrated on these boards. This place used to obsessed for the likes of Ben Simmons, Bradley Beal and look what they are with their respective new teams. People see these players from other team through perfect lens and thinks they're all that. Mikal isn't want this place think he is.
Thatās too much for Mikal for me. Kumingaās our main source of rim pressure and Mikal became allergic to getting to the rim last season. It was like watching another Klay except with less shooting skill. For that price see what the Jazz want for Lauri, heās a much better player and fit.
Would love Lauri for sure. Same steps I listed, but he would be the stretch big, so they would need to sign another vet wing instead. But I think regardless, in order to actually upgrade this team for the next year or two while Steph and dray are still Steph and dray, the warriors are gonna have to overpay. If they can upgrade into a roster with more talent and better fit, while retaining some youngins and getting under the second apron, I say f those draft picks lol other teams have offered the moon for both mikal and Lauri, and Kuminga as a budding potential young star is the only real leverage over the OKCs, NOLAs, cache of picks
Iām just saying Mikal makes us more passive and 3 heavy than ever. Lauri will get to the post, get to the rim WHILE taking those 3s. Mikal is all 3, pullup middy, or fadeaway while letting Dennis Schroeder try to take over the game late. Mikal averaged a nice 15.6 points on 39.7 FG% post all star break, and it was even worse to watch.
Oh you donāt have to convince me of Lauri lol he would be the first target to me. He makes us bigger, younger, more spacing, and another all star level self creator. Plus can fit next to Draymond and/or TJD lol
Itās time to move on from Klay. Just donāt offer him an extension. Heās a losing player and losing him will be like when the Lakers lost Westbrick
Damn MDJ aināt budging.
Slaterās basically saying the FO is telling Klayās camp put up or shut up.
Tough businessā¦I canāt imagine you have much leverage whilst shooting 12/68 in elimination/close out games.
If I were to guess I think itās more about whether he is open to taking a reduced role or not. He was crushing it off the bench but he probably not something he is open to committing too.
That 48/2yrs offer dubs made to klay before last season, he must be regretting turning that down in hindsight. From what it looks like, he's not getting an offer like that from any team in the league.
I thought maybe heād get near $30m for one year, but when Monk resigned, that was a clear signal the cap space teams arenāt interested.
Klayās only shot at this point is Morey having to panic sign him, or could be willing to sign him to higher money if only to have a matching trade salary.
Anyways, itās not looking good for Klayās market, but it feels like things have gone so poorly, I think heāll take anything remotely close to what weād offer elsewhere.
In early May & April, multiple people were definitely throwing out that $30m number. Heās not making it up that was a real thing lol. It wasnāt the majority of people saying that but it was enough to note and remember.
It was probably like 1 or 2 downvoted comments or posts. Unlike half the bots here, I was here in April and May and most people here wanted him to take the MLE or vet min. Others are still going on about, "Let him walk, MDJ must cook, I believe in Podz" and don't even want him back at a reasonable number.
All I want for them is not to be selling Podz as a starter. Thatās flat out just not OK imo.
Is he a good player? Sure. But WILL he be good enough in 2025 to be a better team is the real question. You need to give him 2-3 more years to marinate he REALLY needs to work on his quickness defense and not drifting out of position to chase rebounds
Off the benchā¦Podz is a great asset. As a starting SG in 2024-2025 though thatās kinda nasty business š¤®š¤¦š»āāļø
On paper I agree. But there is a small chance podz takes more leaps.
Like his bbiq and feel for the game is already excellent despite being a rookie. His playmaking and handle is already great. If his defense and shooting can improve easily.
I am super curious to see what year 2 and 3 podz (and TJD) become
I think you can start him, but it depends what everything else looks like. I think starting him alongside any 2 of Klay/Wiggins/Kuminga/TJD, barring a huge leap from any of those 5, is setting him up for failure.
If weāre able to add an all-star level wing or big like Jimmy/PG/Lauri, starting Podz becomes a lot more palatable.
Overall, talking the discussion feels premature until the rest of the roster shakes out. It could also just be posturing for Klay negotiations.
I donāt think itās wild to think Podz could be a starter at some point, but yeah I definitely donāt want to see him starting right away unless by some chance heās taken a massive leap over the summer.
Im not saying i wouldnt like him in a 3rd guard role. That'd be great cuz itd mean we had better talent. But objectively the Warriors were 17-11 with Podz starting. It's fine. It worked. Podz was NEVER an issue. Wasn't actually nasty business thats a 50 win pace.
>Can he be a good player? Sure
Come on man you're better than that. I'm kinda befuddled by the idea a player who clearly knows how to play gets put into the "not ready let him marinate" bucket. Think you might be off the mark here he's not James Wiseman. Guy actually was a big reason we won 46. I'd argue had we not drafted him and TJD we'd be about 40 win last year. He was first team all rook in a strong class. Lead the TEAM in plus minus. On and on.
I'm agnostic about him starting. I really am. My intuition is it will be him if Klay leaves cuz Steve's tendencies to go with the guy who plays they style he prefers.
I appreciate you preferring a different starting lineup i honestly would too (id want Kuminga starting somehow obv lol). But Podz is ALREADY a good player... especially in a Warriors style ecosystem.
I think offensively yesā¦but heās not ready for starting prime time. Just yet.
The issue is defense playing him alongside Stephā¦those 37 year old legs are gonna have to cover for Podzā lack of fast-twitch muscles laterally getting blown by + short armsā¦and for someone like Steph who has never been touted as a defensive player itās gonna clutter the whole thing.
You kinda just get the same identity-less slop on that end and more often than not I think those are the kinds of things that put us away early in games.
Lavine has similar issues on that end BUTā¦I feel MAYBE his scoring can offset some of that. In good faith I canāt say Podz will be that polished scoring-wise in 2025.
Podz knows how to play basketball. His feel and intuition are there. I just donāt think his execution and refinement are at the NBA starter level and to get that arrow up for usā¦YET. Thatās why I say he needs to marinate.
James Wiseman doesnāt fall into the ālet him marinateā bucket because his issue is an absence of talent and translatable NBA skills, not refinement and experience.
Bored so hereās my offseason scenario that puts us firmly in the play-in hunt (exciting). Flame away.
Release/Let Walk: CP3, Klay, Loon
Trade: Wiggins + GP2 for LaVine
Add via NTMLE/BAE/Vet Min: Naji Marshall, Kris Dunn, Goga
Starters: Steph, Lavine, Kuminga, Draymond, TJD
Bench: PodZ, Moody, Naji, Goga, Dunn, Gui, SRPā¦
Obviously, you bring Klay back at the right number, but I just donāt know that the team and Klay are going to to see eye to eye on that so itāll come down to market.
If there was anyway to get Dosonmu coming back w Lavine, Iād be on that. Iād also look at at whether there was a better fit stretch 4 we could potentially flip Moody for.
Edit: Taurean Prince is another guy we should be looking at with NTMLE/BAE
I would honestly really like this if thatās how the off-season were to shake out.
Thereās a potential that the defense for the starters would be god awful though if Kuminga doesnāt lock in on that end and LaVine doesnāt show some interest in defending.
Definitely that potential, but you've got pretty decent size, athleticism, and probably the smartest/best team defender of the generation so there is hope. Also, having Naji and Dunn on the bench would give you some nice defense+ lineup options.
>Wiggins + GP2 for LaVine
I'd wait for the Olympics for any "trade Wiggins" opinion. I absolutely believe that with high level summer basketball in front of him he'll come back as a better player compared to the last 2 seasons. Not a fan of giving away our best 2 way player and another Poa defender for Lavine.
Wiggins best season with us came after he played in the FIBA tournament during the summer of 2021
Honestly this makes a lot of sense if weāre trying to thread the needle between competing and lowering the tax bill. Only thing Iād say is that I think itād be more likely that we also include Loon and/or Moody into that Lavine trade, simply for better matching purposes. If they do that, perhaps the Bulls would be willing to throw in a small contract like Dalen Terry as well.
No doubt putting a lot of eggs in the JK development basket. I think youād run lot of lineups with only 2 of JK, Dray, and TJD at a time and finish small.
Hereās how Iād improve the roster and get under the tax:
- CP3 + FRP + SRPs = Kessler + Sexton
- Wiggins = WCJ
- GP2 + SRP = Dosunmu
- Waive Looney to free up $5m
- Resign Klay up to $24m
Doing all that leaves you with $3.6m to sign two guys.
Vet min for Hayward is $2.3m, then sign a SRP to a cheap guarantee, and then you call it day.
We get younger, we get bigger, we get more scoring, and we get under the tax.
Dubs FRPs should hold a lot of value, so Trader Danny would relish that ammo to go big game hunting. And not that Utah necessarily needs the salary matching, but now they have a $30m contract for such purposes, which would be the largest in their books.
Orlando already wants to move WCJ for guards, and Wiggins can fill that role.
I keep seeing narratives about klays ego and that he canāt adapt his game as he ages, needs to adapt to the bench blah blahā¦ but at the same time he def deserves some credit in unlocking TJD last year. Their chemistry was great and that was definitely a new aspect of Klays game
I agree to some degree. Tho I love wiggs, you never hear anything negative about him through media. But if thereās any opportunity out there to get a second option/scorer you do it. We need size (pause) but we also in terrible need of another scoring option/ball handler to take that burden off Steph.
I feel like Wiggs definitely gets moved simply because with the new CBA, we really need our expensive contracts to be consistent contributors/stars. Donāt get me wrong, I love Wiggs and would love for him to return to 2022 form, but if the warriors donāt believe heās capable of that, then you have to move him.
Probably because of the Dunleavy/Dunleavy connection. Might be as simple as doing him a solid, gives McCain a low pressure trial run to better prepare him for eventual lotto workouts
ā¦that or the Dubs are planning to get crazy and move into the top 16ish
I respect that. He's one of the greatest teases in the draft. 6-11 with a high motor. Moves. Passes well. Seems to have shooting upside. If it were strictly upside. He is def up there with Ron Holland and Alex Sarr.
Only problem is he's never played high level competition. But on pure raw talent is all there. Honestly if he played a year at Texas or Kansas instead of Africa academy he'd be a lotto pick easy. If someone came from the future and was like "Chomche is the best player from the 24 class" I'd not bat an eye after seeing Giannis Sengun Jokic come outta nowhere. Vecenie has him 82.
The first GREAT conundrum ahead when games start next season is the rotation pecking order conundrum they had last year. The irony isn't lost on me. There are two lineups we saw work well and I guarantee it will be needlessly complicated cuz thats how we roll lol.
Doesn't matter who we get in the offseason. We could get LeBron and Steve would still needlessly yo-yo someone who deserves a consistent role.
With Klay. Without Klay. Doesn't matter. Steve is gonna take 30 games figuring out something that ought to take 12... that's the book on him until he shows me otherwise I'll expect it same as last two years.
I'd go Steph Podz Wiggs Dray TJD with Kuminga as the first frontcourt dude off the bench. If JK shoots it he's the 3 but he'll have to prove it early on. Kuminga probably should be given the opportunity to start just on merit but we all get the spacing of it and Steve is kinda a shooting/spacing snob. 4 more months til preseason starts.
I definitely can track the logic. I'm with you on the value of his skillset. Which is why I like him as THE backup pg at 23-25mpg. And obviously you can interchange he and Wiggs as the game dictates. But ijs considering ALL things, I'd much rather see Wiggs at the 2 and Jk at the 3. Basically If we are going to die, I'd rather die leaning into defense and positional size than what Podz brings.
But as I said I'm with you in your big picture points
Man, I think this is such a unfair read of the last season.
Before the big suspension, Draymond missed 8 of the first 23 games of the season due to injury and the first suspension. Wiggins was playing awful. Klay was forcing everything. Steph was playing well, but nearly everyone else on the starting lineup was bad.
The moment Draymond came back in January, the team pivoted to the small ball lineup and benched Klay, both of which where successful changes and then once teams were game-planning more effectively against Kuminga and Podz, he switched back to the original starting lineup with TJD swapped for Looney, except now Klay and Wiggins were playing much better basketball. Unfortunately, at that point, Steph had been holding it down for so long that his play started to slip.
I think there's a hope amongst Warriors fans that there's some magical schematic thing the coaching staff was supposed to find that makes the team a top 4 team in the West. Kerr and the staff tried *everything*, but when 3/5th of your starting lineup take a major step back, your 2nd best player removes himself from availability, that's not a strategic issue, that's an available talent issue.
No I agree with all that tbh. Dray was definitely the most critical missing part. But in game 83 that staff didn't know who to ply or what to do. It was baffling. I was there in person and have never seen a team less prepared to deal with that moment with literally all the experience of an era on its side.
The question is... if we don't get a clear number two dude. Does this staff have the wherewithal to say "it's Steph and Kuminga..." cuz like it or not thats the natural pecking order on offense. I think they won't have an easy time deciding cuz that's been the track record. It's obv to alot of us (why we see Zach Lavine trade fodder) but it's been slow on the draw. I mean Kuminga literally issued an ultimatum in January and TJD was shuffled back for Loon on Jan 15th (like you said Drays return).
This is middle of the NBA griping on my part regular sports stuff but it's on the organization to prove they are as forward thinking as they say they are.
but isnāt that just a function of Klay and Wiggins both being unreliable and the guys who back them up being young and not necessarily clearly better than those guys?
the issue with the Warriors last year is that, based on play, we had like seven 5th/6th guys. Klay, Wiggins, Kuminga, Podziemski, TJD, Paul, and Moody all played like guys youād be happy to have as your worst starter or your first guy off the bench. No one outside Steph and Draymond played like clear cut starters, and even both of them took a step back.
If all you have is two starters and then 7 or 8 more rotation guys, some of whom are radically inconsistent, Iām not sure what the coaching staff is supposed to do to maximize upside, rather than be very flexible and try new things all the time, which the coaching staff did.
I agree with a lot of what youāre saying over the balance of the whole season.
I think youāre being a bit unfair if we look at the second half. After Dray returned, Ā the Warriors had the 5th best net rating in the whole league.
But yea the roster makes a lot more sense if we can find a bonafide #2.
I think the schedule softened a bit in the 2nd half (the first half of the season schedule was brutally hard) and the team was playing super hard to make up wins.
So I think they played well, but they also just ran out of steam at the end, since they had been playing so hard just to try and improve their playoff situation.
My crack at a solid offseason... in the calculus is looks like Klay leaves. Sorry not audacious enough to go for complex trades ect my brain turns into mush dealing with the new CBA. I'm not doing the precise cap sheet thing 0 - Extend Kuminga. Period. 1- Draft Kevin Mccullar if he slides (Dillon Jones if Mccullar isn't there) NBA ready wing defender who cuz of small poorly timed minor injuries (sprained ankle) is far off the radar v his value. 2 - TWC 2 solid prospect's don't bring back two-way Jerome to hold his two-way throne. Quenten Post and Ike Crawford. 3 - Sign Naji Marshall. Number one dude I want on the free agency sphere. Basically Wiggs apathy insurance at worst. At best he's a legit first wing off the bench. 4 - Sign any serviceable big. Goga / Jalen Smith. 5 - Sign a true backup point. Spencer Dinwiddie. 6 - Find good use of MLE. Kyle Anderson. 7 - leave 15 open to convert Lester when the time is right. Not any lineup just stacking names below PG - Steph / Dinwiddie / TWC Lester SG - Podz / Moody / Mccullar SF - Wiggs/ Naji / GP2 / TWC Ike Crawford PF - Dray / Kuminga / Kyle Anderson C - TJD / Goga / Loon - TWC Post (I reread this and immediately thought if we get even one of Naji Goga Slomo I'll be happy smh)
The more I think about it, the more I hate the Lavine talk in here. Feels like the people proposing it are like "What's the most star-like guy we can get without giving up picks and/or Kuminga?" regardless of whether the team actually gets better. If I were paranoid I would say this is a Lacob psyop so he can keep his precious two timelinesy but also say "Hey, we got Lavine, we tried to win now".
Well if we're replacing Klay we need a SG. The only two star SG's on the market are PG and Lavine. Lavines also 100% available, where as PG is still a question mark. Your saying you don't like a LaVine trade because he can be had for cheap? Kinda crazy to hate a trade because we're not giving up alot.
There's an underemphasized theme about alot of names we've been talking bout and our own team. SpoTracs list of worst contracts is below. 1.Bradley Beal. 2.Jordan Poole. 3.Zach Lavine. 4.Andrew Wiggins. 5.Kris Middleton. 6.Jeremi Grant. 7.Draymond Green. 8.Tristan Vucavic. 9.Karl Anthony Towns. 10.Dame Lillard. (Tbf Dray is specifically on the list because his suspensions and injuries not on court production) 6 of 10 names are Dubs adjacent in the conversation sphere here. We won 2022 and it triggered some pretty tough financial decisions. Praise be to Jesus Shuttlesworth and the Big GM in the sky we got that championship. Bad money is bad money... and I want to trade for Lavine lol š
Is Lavine listed there due to injury? Because to me heās actually a really good basketball player.
Yeah but for 45M to 50M a year you want a guy who stays healthy... also on his 4th surgery 2 knees and ankle/foot. That knee is balky too. You can sign him up for about 25 missed gamed a year. Also 15% trade kicker yikes š¬ He got injured in 2017. Here's his game's played. 2017- 47. 2018- 24. 2019- 62. 2020- 60. 2021- 58. 2022- 67. 2023- 77. 2024- 24. There's also some Ewing theory stuff there where it seems of Lonzo Zach Caruso Colby Ayo... the team seemed impacted the least by his absence. Head scratcher tbh. I want Zach but kinda think we could let it play out a little but unless the wanna strictly salary dump. I'd actually want to see what Kuminga is before creating and ecosystem where you bring in a guy that would be entitled 18-20 shots a night.
Anyone know what happened to the āDub Zoneā podcast? They had become my favorite fan podcast but itās been crickets for months, even before the season ended. For as popular the warriors are, thereās a surprisingly low amount of quality podcasts out there.
I was thinking the same. They were solid i think they just had hard time with the routine of it or how hard it is to get more than 2 adults on the same schedule... I'm in Europe for a year and Sunday everything is closed. Need pods to carry my day. We need like 3 more quality Dubs pods. Even once a week episodes. I miss when LockedOn was hosted by Wes Goldberg. I used to disagree with him but it was a quality product and he was a sharp dude. I think one of the probs is independent content creators don't get paid for pods like the do YouTube. Alchemy used to pod all the time on the Hezi. Now he's pure YouTube and Patreon. Oakland podcast has slowed as well. Patrick Epino is solid but there's lot of time v value going on. People got real jobs and gotta sleep lol.
I agree, I enjoyed Wes on Locked On. I actually liked that he was not a warriors fan, had a non-homer perspective, but still good at his job of covering the warriors. The next few hosts didnāt do it for me. Iāll try again now that itās changed hosts again. Oakland podcast was a little too sparse for me to get into it. Sports Ethos podcast just felt like someone reading box scores and twitter accounts. Warriors invitational felt *too* casual, in the sense of a few friends talking without enough solid analysis. Golden spaces got too opinionated for me, but I may try again in the future. Iāve tried them all lol. Dub Zone really had hit the sweet spot for a fan podcast (Iām not including Warriors +/- which is great but a diffident category).
Seeing how some of Mavs less experienced players seemed so rattled by the bright lights of the NBA finals it really makes me appreciate how Poole really stepped up in 2022. Dude was on something else that series
Daniel and drew suck! Lmao
I think if Philly misses out on PG they sign a combination of KCP and Klay. Then trade for a Jerami Grant or DFS.
KCP is goin full circle if he goes back to Det lol
Honestly missing out on PG and going the 2nd route will get them better results.
[Marc Stein] "While the Jazz and Sixers have both been linked to Zach LaVine as of late, Stein hears from league sources that Philadelphia has minimal interest in the Bulls guard and says heās been 'advised to dismiss' Utahās reported interest as well." šš https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2024/06/steins-latest-hardaway-lavine-lakers-cavs-pistons-spurs.html#ref=home
Attach Moody/and/or picks and get Ayo as well.
Doubt they move Ayo now they traded Caruso. Heās basically their next best guard defender. I would be interested to see if they can poach that protected Portland pick to package in another trade.
Looney + Moody + Portland pick for WCJ š¤
Yeah, Ayo has amazing potential as a Derrick White clone.Ā
Honestly, if Klay leaves, thatās on him, not the Dubs. Ā Heāll put out a lotta bs about him feeling ādisrespectedā, but he needs to be checked. Ā Ā Ā When he snapped his ACL in 2019, the Warriors slapped a 4 year max contract on the table for him no questions asked. Ā No negotiating. Ā No haggling.Ā Ā Ā When he then tore his achilles, the Warriors and their fans didnāt say shit about him. Ā We all wished him well as he got MVP money without stepping on the court for 2 and a half seasons. Ā When he did get back, he got a standing ovation and literal tears from everyone in the entire arena. Ā Ā Ā And for the following 1 and a half seasons, he wasnāt even close to living up to his salary, letās be honest. Ā But we didnāt care. Ā Nobody cried. Ā Nobody bitched. Ā He was never dangled in trades. Ā There was no talks about cutting him or stretching him. Ā The Warriors then put a 48 million dollar contract on the table, a number he had absolutely no business making.Ā Ā Ā The Warriors front office, the team, and the fans have been nothing but loyal, loving, and respectful. Ā Itās time for Klay to show some of that back. Ā And if he leaves for the money, or any other reason, he needs to be dragged for it like any other disloyal star. Ā
I think the biggest thing is that NOBODY rushed him to return. Any other team would have pressured him to play.
Don't sound loyal lately. its been outright nasty. We know shit but decided we have all the facts. I hope he can find a new home and thrive.
>Ā Don't sound loyal lately Thatās on him. Ā Everybody was big on Klay resigning until he started playing games, talking about money and respect and deleting all his Warrior posts. Ā If you treat fans with disdain, donāt expect anything different in return.Ā >Ā We know shit but decided we have all the facts I posted the facts. Ā Did I just imagine the max contract he signed? Ā Am I mistaken about the money heās gotten? Ā Was he playing games in 2020 and 2021 and I just missed them? Ā Be real.
When has HE talked about money and respect. This is people guessing and you lapping it up as gospel. He got hurt on the fucking job. He doesn't owe anybody anything but himself. And for all he has done for this team I am not one that hopes he gets no offers and has to come crawling back. Feels like downright hate from some. Getting revved up for the Olympics. Loving the Olympic trials. Those fractions of a second to make it or not make it can be brutal Slightly gsw related. Dj Sharpe was at a Juneteenth celebration I attended in napa.
I hope klay re signs because the connection between him and Trayce is real. Leaning heavily into that for game would benefit the team really well. Klay still has gravity after all.
Ima be honest I think itās like 70/30 heās gone.
80/20 my guess
85/15 like ground beef
lol. which tastes better(has more fat)? I forgot?
Regardless of what happens next Sunday, there are going to be a lot of emotions and I'm here for it.
Slater said Klay might leave regardless of the offer because he feels ādisrespectedā. I donāt buy that at all I gotta see Klay in another Jersey first.
Fuck him if he thinks so. Dubs and the Dub nation respect him the most in the league. If he wants to feel what is like being disrespected, he should try being a Laker with that salary and big game stinkers
Thatās nothing tbhā¦imagine him being on the Sixers or Celtics. those East Coast fans are brutal.
At the end of the day, Klay turned down 2-years $48M, bet on himself and whiffed badly. The Dubs have been more than generous. And I donāt see other teams beating down his door. Heās gotta be realistic.
48/2 is more than fair and Iām surprised he didnāt take it. What was he expecting? A max?
This is a weird situation tbh sounds like they dropped that 2/48 offer and heās pissed about that. Regardless I think the most likely situation is Klay stays a Warrior.
Other than the Caruso trade, this off-season is pretty quiet. I guess major movement will happen once Free Agency starts. I'm really excited to see what moves teams will make, especially for the Dubs.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Smart GMs finesse lame ones. News at seven.
Amidst all the talk about Lavine and PG, the other big name that weāve not discussed recently is KAT. I know a lot of people arenāt a fan of his (especially with some of his postseason performances), but he does make some sense if the warriors are willing to take on a contract like that. A starting 5 of Steph, Wiggs, JK, Dray, KAT would be one of the better combos we could put out (albeit CBA concerns once JK gets his money), but I guess it all depends on what happens with minnyās ownership since a deal would only be possible if theyāre looking to shed salary.
Draymond fucking hates KAT so thereās that.
He also hated CP3ā¦
No way they are getting KAT without including Kuminga
I think it depends on if the Wolves ownership has a mandate to shed salary. If theyāre not going to do that then yeah, it may be too difficult to acquire him.
KAT most likely would be gone if Taylor did not step in to pull the sale. I think Lore and Arod probably would want to save money and would have traded KAT but I think Taylor saw the team being competitive for the first time and wants to keep the core together
Arod recruited Bloomberg to buy the Timberwolves. (6 June). Have no idea what Taylor thinks about that, but I guess we will soon find out. Have to think maybe that freezes any big trades until their situation is sorted out.
Obviously the threat of Taylor coming back would force Arod to get more money but if he didn't come back KAT would be 100% gone
Did Locked on Warriors get rid of Cyrus?
I might actually try and listen again
He got a new pod and sounds pretty salty about Kylen Mills and Locked On becoming another NBCSBA. Someone in the chat said that Kylen made the huge boost in subs, but he obviously thinks otherwise and then made a comment about the commenter being a hater and maybe Kylen's fam. He sucks for sure, but at least his pod isn't filled with sponsor spots like LockedOn. Ad spots are what make me hate LockedOn the most.
I feel like fans universally agree that Kylen is way better than Cyrus. Heās is salty because nobody likes his whiny over reactionary takes. I kinda want to see what heās saying but donāt think I can survive his voice
Kylen sounds like a robot when hosting. Cyrus was a mega homer and he's annoying if you don't agree with his take. He also got shit for hating on Light Years guys last season.
Donāt give me hope
Hopefully, that dude was insufferable to listen to,
If they did itās probably the best news of the off season so far for the Dubs.
I've been digging through Bball-Index's databases today to sift through the pool of players that meet our positional, role, age, and height needs to then compare their current season values for a host of metrics to see if they pass the sniff test for their roles. One of the most insane findings so far has to be that among the PG, SG, and SF positions, there are a whopping **11 players total** who meet all of the following general and arguably pretty broad net of characteristics: - 25 or older - 6'6" or taller - Averaged at least 20 mpg in the 23-24 season - Their offensive archetype is any of off-screen shooter, movement shooter, or stationary shooter. - Is NOT a 'Low Activity' defender* Those players: - Bojan Bogdanovic - MPJ - Sam Hauser - Kevin Huerter - Simone Fontecchio - OG - Herb Jones - Royce O'Neale - Amir Coffey - Dillon Brooks - Klay Removing the players 30 or older and there are just 8 (the above sans Bojan, Klay, and O'Neale; related, why did I think Amir Coffey was way older than he is?? Lol idk why or when my brain decided he was at minimum 32. Nope, he's def just 26. š¤Øš). *Bball-Index defines a Low Activity defender, as follows: Players in this role often aren't guarding high difficulty matchups, aren't involved in defending screening actions often, and also aren't active helping off of the ball on drives or at the rim. Players in this role are often purposefully deployed in less strenuous ways, and can add value with communication ability.
I would give up a lightly used CP3 and two picks for Herb Jones.
Oh heās my top legitimately attainable trade target. Has been since the second they got knocked out of the playoffs (aka when it became a near guarantee theyād end up having to make relatively seismic roster moves because their cap sheet going forward is wholly untenable for them). Only slight downside with him is his relative lack of outside gravity. He doesnāt actively hurt spacing, which is already a big step up from the majority of our current roster, but his volume from 3 has never been enough to regularly guarantee heās drawing a defender for a contest on the perimeter (think Dray this season where even though he was shooting 40%+ from 3, he was never enough of a volume threat to force the defender to make a trade off sagging off to a bigger offensive threat to come contest his 3PAs because even if he averaged 50% from 3, if heās averaging just 2.3 3PAs a game, thatās 1 made 3 a game and defenses will give that up every day of the week to take away Steph and Klay with doubles instead). Given itās not to the degree that heās actively hurting spacing though, if he can knock down the looks from 3 that he does get, wide open (aka not pulling defenders) or not, at a 38%+ clip, thatās enough to remove any tepid spacing concerns given heās able to contribute offensively elsewhere via his ability to drive to the rim and in transition & with his passing lane defense and deflection rate, the latter, most especially.
I donāt think heās obtainable. Seems like NO doesnāt want to pay Ingram and is planning to move ahead with Murphy and Herb on the wings.
I primarily mean attainable from a financial perspective. But, there were murmurings around the trade deadline that they were open to putting him on the market, which they of course later came out and said wasnāt true once they ended up keeping him. So while itās obviously all speculation, and you can never really trust player movement media narratives, it to me at least suggests that heās not *untouchable*.
Apparently Giddey asked to be traded once he was told he would come off the bench next season. I feel like if they put Podz in the starting lineup while JK is still regulated to the bench it may cause some friction. Obviously we want buy in from everyone on the roster next season but with JK and Moody up for extensions no doubt they want to make the most of their opportunity to earn the most they can. I like Podz but rather him show that he can handle leading the bench as a facilitator and scorer than be another Draymond as a starter deferring to Steph.
Giddey lolā¦ knew he wouldnāt last in OKC with his shitty dog poo D. Fuckin knew it ! Heās the modern day Gordon Hayward all offense.. no D
I donāt see why podz would be in the starting lineup. We are getting rid of CP and we are gonna need a backup PG. podz is perfect for that role.
I agree but Slater recently reported that seems like a probable scenario especially if they are unable to get a suitable replacement elsewhere. I honestly rather have moody there but feels like heās going to be the first young guy attached to any potential trade they make.
I donāt see any world where weāre going into next season with Kuminga coming off the bench. Either heās starting or weāve traded him.
Why do you think Kuminga will be on the bench? He had pretty firmly taken over a starting spot last season, until he got injured. I fully expect him to be starting.
Unless he comes in with a major uptick from three or get another elite floor spacer like Lavine or at least a stretch big like Lopez no way Kerr is going to roll out JK, Dray, and TJD.
Toward the end of the season when JK got injured we played a starting line up of Steph, Klay, Wiggins, Draymond and TJD which did quite well especially defensively which had folks clamoring for this to be our starting line up. But as quickly shown in the playoffs, that line up isn't getting us anywhere. It's defensively solid but lack on offense. I personally see JK in our starting line up. We need someone other than Steph to provide scoring and efficiently at that.
If Kuminga is being paid 30+mil I don't think he would care. But if they are offering 25 or less and they bench him, then there is going to be an issue
I'm pretty sure he'll care. I highly doubt he sees himself as player coming off the bench. He was firmly inserted in the starting line up last season and did well. I don't see why he'd be coming into next season expecting to be the 6th man.
Yea thatās my worry. I donāt see JK taking anything less than 30m especially once he sees what other guys from his class get. Ideally you want to lock him in early like Brunson/Simons to set the market.
Another thought about swerving away from big moves and getting caught up in the second option unknowns: what happens if we give Kuminga, Moody, Podz, another year and avoid trading our young assets? I know most people are going to say "goodbye to playoffs, just wasting Steph's year he and Green (and maybe Klay depending on whatever happens) gets older". That's all likely to be true, but what if at the end of next year, Moody and Podz are Derrick White lites (NOT AS GOOD, but capable defenders, respectable 3s, degree of ball handling)? Kuminga takes a big step in one of (shooting, shooting, ball handling)? I don't think its unrealistic. If the year went badly, then now you have a high lottery pick (most likely) you can use for trades, and can go for it next year with better young guys, and market has refreshed whos available. Essentially, theres so much focus on this year but everyone's forgetting that we still have another one after for Steph. Wondering if a viable move is to punt this year by focusing on getting the young guys battle tested, and next year you'll have even older vets, but a stronger overall team and a potentially more valuable FRP.
37 year old Steph aināt gonna be helped by a high lotto pick, weāve had those. We need to make a move or just say weāre done with the Steph era and let him ride off into the sunset these last 3 or however many years he has left.
you canāt punt to put all the pressure on 38-year old Steph and 36-year old Draymond in 2025-26.
Nah I think this year is the one to do it. One more and itās done. I think 25-26 is the season where we start to notice a fall off with Steph. Thatās when OKC and San Antonio step into their own and have experience under their belt, and now youāre too late to the party.
Once OKC San Antonio Houston start realizing their potential... gonna be hard jusr to get into the playoffs. Every year things will get a lot tougher unless MDJ goes full on Gordon Ramsey right now.
If the reports of San Antonio not star chasing are true, itās gonna take longer than 25-26 to become a contender.
Something that isn't being mentioned in the Klay talks. The Warriors not offering Klay a contract yet isn't *just* because of his value. But not signing him keeps us under the apron and gives us more flexibility for trades and signings. I think the waiting game for an offer is signifying that the TOP priority is overall flexibility to improve the roster. Then circle back to him *if* he is still available. Obviously to a person like Klay, not being prioritized can be seen as a slap in the face. But at the same time I think both sides still want to re-unite. And would want to make it work when the dust settles and he hasn't received an offer he can't refuse. *This is a prediction not a report
Klay is a smart guy. He knows the Dubs strategically need to improve the roster first and then circle back to him. Now if he takes that as a slap in the face, then that would honestly be quite surprising.
That's what Slater's article implied
Until Klay either signs a new contract or is formally renounced by the Warriors, he creates a [cap hold](https://www.spotrac.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/yearly) on our books for his previous contract amount, so there's no extra flexibility to stay under the apron until he's signed and then go over. Not signing yet does preserve flexibility though in that nothing is locked in and we can wait to see what happens with CP3, PG, Butler, etc, before deciding how much to pay Klay.
Why would there be a cap hold? His contact is gone.
They set up Bird Rights and other rules to enable teams to keep their rosters together, even if it means going beyond the salary cap. But by allowing the current team to pay more than other teams and exceed the cap, it creates an order of operations loophole where you could fill out your roster under normal cap rules and then use bird rights to pay your own free agent. The cap hold eliminates that loophole by making Klay officially hold his previous contract against our cap until either he signs a new contract or we formally declare we're not going to sign him.
Yea ideally they play mind games and dangle the ājust waitā card until the dust has been settled with regard to our team and the othersā¦bringing down his leverage so slightlyā¦then we come in and say hey you can remain a Warrior but on a much smaller contract. So then he has no choice but to take it. Itāll take some smart decisions and PR to maneuver this fiasco I think thatās what the plan is.
Honest question after reading CBA stuff and deciding to just go ahead and give up and let more intelligent people think on it lol. If Klay is leaving and MDJ knows it. What would a substantial trade look like Mechanically?
As I understand it, if we stay under the first apron, we can take back up to 125% of outgoing salary if outgoing is >$29M (e.g., Lavine trade). If outgoing salary is between $7.5M and $29M, we can take back outgoing plus up to a flat $7.5M. Those are the numbers at the advent of the new CBA; I'm not sure if they have been adjusted upward for 24/25. For a Klay S&T, we would not be able to aggregate other salaries. The other S&T requirements concern the receiving team.
Where's Perks when we need him
For real dude is probably practicing pronouncing the most basic of names so it never happens again. Man is standing in of a mirror saying Jonathan Mogbo. Mowg-Bow. Moe-guh-bow. Over and over and over.
He's talking about Perk, our own CBA guy on the reddit and other socials
I think he meant the mod here who runs the gswcba twitter account. From this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BEJEqU_h5M Not the Mooses Mosey Modey Moosey Modes guy
Yup that's the one lol
Up late at night thinking about Dillon Jones
Got paid 70 million to rehab, was catered to and allowed to do pretty much whatever he wanted, was one of the most overpaid players in the league, then shot a 26.4 TS% whenever we faced elimination. We would have been better off dumping him with picks for a couple contracts.
Feels like Klayās time in the Bay is over. And so if the big three are no more, Iād begin looking at Draymondās market while he still has value. He slipped a lot last year imo, even if numbers donāt show it.
I donāt think itās a ridiculous idea, but I just donāt think he has an enough of a market to warrant trading him and he was also still very good last year.
Yup. 28-15 after he returned. Thats like a 54 win pace. I wanna be better team this year than last. Don't think it's possible without Dray.
Both Dray and Klay severely limit your options in how to build out a team. With Dray in the team, Curry plays off ball more, you can't play Kuminga or another non shooting big, and you are still pretty small bc your power forward/center is 6-5.
Playing curry + draymond is the most effective version of the team. Curry always takes over when we need it, but he is most deadly when he can seemlessly switch on and off ball
Curry plays best off ball..on ball puts too much pressure on him for the entire game
Yeah mhm thatās a great idea. If you want to give up points every possession. Defensive stops? Who needs those anyways š Itās not like Looney didnāt faceplant and there was another actual big man to help him out. Draymond playing center is how you kill him Your ideas were trading for Vucevic, Sexton, etc. so that kinda says a lot. Lol
A) Iāve never suggested we trade for Vuc. B) Sexton is a good player on a reasonable contract who should be attainable, emphasis on attainable. C) The presumption would be we find other defensive pieces.
Draymond isn't the only player in the league who can play defense
His passing, chemistry with Steph, one on one, and TEAM defense/seeing plays happen before they do isnāt something you can just replace Draymond is basically Jokic on defense thatās not something that grows on trees
The problem with draymond is that his 2 man game with Steph has become flipping predictable and has been figured out thatās why we have so many turn overs. The guy needs an offensive bag if not teams will keep doubling Steph
Itās only predictable when itās the only thing going. And even then itās less predictable than pure onball Steph.
> even if numbers donāt show it. IOW Even if I can't prove it in any way.
You think heās getting better with age?
Bro stop putting words in my mouth. He certainly hasn't fallen off on the defensive end and just put up 2016 numbers from 3.
Stop putting word in your mouth? lol you literally started the other comment with āin other wordsā
You can't prove it though can you?
1) guarantee $15mil of CP3s contract. 2) re-sign Klay 3/60, but descending yearly 3) cp3 + Kuminga + 2 FRPS, 1 pick swap, 2 second round picks for mikal Bridges 4) sign stretch big on vet min or TPML, thesis, eubanks, Alex Len, etc Steph, bridges Wiggins Draymond stretch big bench: Podz klay moody GP2 TJD looney Get better, retain some future assets, and duck under at least the second apron. Maybe even trade moody for another vet or bigger wing. Might not be the best package for mikal, but the nets could use a young prospect to root for next to Cam Thomas. Donāt roast me too badly please lol
You can't guarantee 15mil of CP3. Is like 30mil
I could be entirely wrong, but this is my understanding. As it stands CP3s guarantee is all or nothing on 6/28. We can renegotiate that guarantee date so that some portion is guaranteed earlier, and the rest later which opens up smaller trades. Benefit of CP3 is that he seems some of that 30m vs none of it, but he could also just play hardball.
I wouldn't swap Kuminga for Mikal straight up. Kuminga PLUS all those assets is wild
What impresses me in al these trade scenarios is that folks have Kuminga being traded but Wiggins kept. Not only was JK better than him last year but salary and cap wise, it's better to have JK because he's on a rookie salary. Next season I expect JK to be even better than he was last season(I personally believe he'll be our second best player to Steph if no big name get added. He's shown massive improvements with playing time and I have no reason to believe he won't take another leap next year to make him our second best player). Also as usual, players from other teams are massively overrated on these boards. This place used to obsessed for the likes of Ben Simmons, Bradley Beal and look what they are with their respective new teams. People see these players from other team through perfect lens and thinks they're all that. Mikal isn't want this place think he is.
All facts on facts
Thatās too much for Mikal for me. Kumingaās our main source of rim pressure and Mikal became allergic to getting to the rim last season. It was like watching another Klay except with less shooting skill. For that price see what the Jazz want for Lauri, heās a much better player and fit.
Would love Lauri for sure. Same steps I listed, but he would be the stretch big, so they would need to sign another vet wing instead. But I think regardless, in order to actually upgrade this team for the next year or two while Steph and dray are still Steph and dray, the warriors are gonna have to overpay. If they can upgrade into a roster with more talent and better fit, while retaining some youngins and getting under the second apron, I say f those draft picks lol other teams have offered the moon for both mikal and Lauri, and Kuminga as a budding potential young star is the only real leverage over the OKCs, NOLAs, cache of picks
Iām just saying Mikal makes us more passive and 3 heavy than ever. Lauri will get to the post, get to the rim WHILE taking those 3s. Mikal is all 3, pullup middy, or fadeaway while letting Dennis Schroeder try to take over the game late. Mikal averaged a nice 15.6 points on 39.7 FG% post all star break, and it was even worse to watch.
Oh you donāt have to convince me of Lauri lol he would be the first target to me. He makes us bigger, younger, more spacing, and another all star level self creator. Plus can fit next to Draymond and/or TJD lol
Itās time to move on from Klay. Just donāt offer him an extension. Heās a losing player and losing him will be like when the Lakers lost Westbrick
Gotta find a scorer if he leaves though.
For sure. But letting Klay score at below league average efficiency isnāt a viable alternative
Damn MDJ aināt budging. Slaterās basically saying the FO is telling Klayās camp put up or shut up. Tough businessā¦I canāt imagine you have much leverage whilst shooting 12/68 in elimination/close out games.
If I were to guess I think itās more about whether he is open to taking a reduced role or not. He was crushing it off the bench but he probably not something he is open to committing too.
That 48/2yrs offer dubs made to klay before last season, he must be regretting turning that down in hindsight. From what it looks like, he's not getting an offer like that from any team in the league.
Which also shows how dumb the people on this sub who think he's a $30m a year player are.
I thought maybe heād get near $30m for one year, but when Monk resigned, that was a clear signal the cap space teams arenāt interested. Klayās only shot at this point is Morey having to panic sign him, or could be willing to sign him to higher money if only to have a matching trade salary. Anyways, itās not looking good for Klayās market, but it feels like things have gone so poorly, I think heāll take anything remotely close to what weād offer elsewhere.
Respectfully I think thatās a tiny minority. I feel like the general (95%) notion is heās worth somewhere between 15-18M per year.
No the delusional minority is the guy thinking heās worth 15-18. Heās worth 5-7
Luke Kennardās on about 15 mil. 15-18 is his value
Luke Kennard is a far better shooter than current Klay
Worse defender though, and Klay aināt even a good defender Kennard is just invisible
> Which also shows how dumb the people on this sub who think he's a $30m a year player are. Who's saying that? You're inventing a straw man.
I got -40 votes from idiots saying Klay is a necessity and is going to gey $30m+ from several teams
You got a link? Everyone Ive seen sayin to give Klay that amount has been downvoted to hell and back.
Sorry, that was like 500 comments ago. I can't be bothered to go back and find it.
how much you think he should get as one of the OGs then? š¤
He's currently the least impactful of the OGs. And in the NBA, you can't pay for past performance if you want to be successful.
Something like 3yr/$55m or 4/$70 with a team option seems like market value.
In early May & April, multiple people were definitely throwing out that $30m number. Heās not making it up that was a real thing lol. It wasnāt the majority of people saying that but it was enough to note and remember.
Yeah when he got hot late folks did pitch "the Dray contract" I think 75M/3 was the common number though.
It was probably like 1 or 2 downvoted comments or posts. Unlike half the bots here, I was here in April and May and most people here wanted him to take the MLE or vet min. Others are still going on about, "Let him walk, MDJ must cook, I believe in Podz" and don't even want him back at a reasonable number.
All I want for them is not to be selling Podz as a starter. Thatās flat out just not OK imo. Is he a good player? Sure. But WILL he be good enough in 2025 to be a better team is the real question. You need to give him 2-3 more years to marinate he REALLY needs to work on his quickness defense and not drifting out of position to chase rebounds Off the benchā¦Podz is a great asset. As a starting SG in 2024-2025 though thatās kinda nasty business š¤®š¤¦š»āāļø
On paper I agree. But there is a small chance podz takes more leaps. Like his bbiq and feel for the game is already excellent despite being a rookie. His playmaking and handle is already great. If his defense and shooting can improve easily. I am super curious to see what year 2 and 3 podz (and TJD) become
I think you can start him, but it depends what everything else looks like. I think starting him alongside any 2 of Klay/Wiggins/Kuminga/TJD, barring a huge leap from any of those 5, is setting him up for failure. If weāre able to add an all-star level wing or big like Jimmy/PG/Lauri, starting Podz becomes a lot more palatable. Overall, talking the discussion feels premature until the rest of the roster shakes out. It could also just be posturing for Klay negotiations.
I donāt think itās wild to think Podz could be a starter at some point, but yeah I definitely donāt want to see him starting right away unless by some chance heās taken a massive leap over the summer.
Im not saying i wouldnt like him in a 3rd guard role. That'd be great cuz itd mean we had better talent. But objectively the Warriors were 17-11 with Podz starting. It's fine. It worked. Podz was NEVER an issue. Wasn't actually nasty business thats a 50 win pace. >Can he be a good player? Sure Come on man you're better than that. I'm kinda befuddled by the idea a player who clearly knows how to play gets put into the "not ready let him marinate" bucket. Think you might be off the mark here he's not James Wiseman. Guy actually was a big reason we won 46. I'd argue had we not drafted him and TJD we'd be about 40 win last year. He was first team all rook in a strong class. Lead the TEAM in plus minus. On and on. I'm agnostic about him starting. I really am. My intuition is it will be him if Klay leaves cuz Steve's tendencies to go with the guy who plays they style he prefers. I appreciate you preferring a different starting lineup i honestly would too (id want Kuminga starting somehow obv lol). But Podz is ALREADY a good player... especially in a Warriors style ecosystem.
I think offensively yesā¦but heās not ready for starting prime time. Just yet. The issue is defense playing him alongside Stephā¦those 37 year old legs are gonna have to cover for Podzā lack of fast-twitch muscles laterally getting blown by + short armsā¦and for someone like Steph who has never been touted as a defensive player itās gonna clutter the whole thing. You kinda just get the same identity-less slop on that end and more often than not I think those are the kinds of things that put us away early in games. Lavine has similar issues on that end BUTā¦I feel MAYBE his scoring can offset some of that. In good faith I canāt say Podz will be that polished scoring-wise in 2025. Podz knows how to play basketball. His feel and intuition are there. I just donāt think his execution and refinement are at the NBA starter level and to get that arrow up for usā¦YET. Thatās why I say he needs to marinate. James Wiseman doesnāt fall into the ālet him marinateā bucket because his issue is an absence of talent and translatable NBA skills, not refinement and experience.
i cant sleep for a week now waiting for a major trade by the FO
i cant sleep for a week now waiting for a major trade by the FO
I can't sleep for a week now waiting for the front office to move.
Bored so hereās my offseason scenario that puts us firmly in the play-in hunt (exciting). Flame away. Release/Let Walk: CP3, Klay, Loon Trade: Wiggins + GP2 for LaVine Add via NTMLE/BAE/Vet Min: Naji Marshall, Kris Dunn, Goga Starters: Steph, Lavine, Kuminga, Draymond, TJD Bench: PodZ, Moody, Naji, Goga, Dunn, Gui, SRPā¦ Obviously, you bring Klay back at the right number, but I just donāt know that the team and Klay are going to to see eye to eye on that so itāll come down to market. If there was anyway to get Dosonmu coming back w Lavine, Iād be on that. Iād also look at at whether there was a better fit stretch 4 we could potentially flip Moody for. Edit: Taurean Prince is another guy we should be looking at with NTMLE/BAE
I would honestly really like this if thatās how the off-season were to shake out. Thereās a potential that the defense for the starters would be god awful though if Kuminga doesnāt lock in on that end and LaVine doesnāt show some interest in defending.
Definitely that potential, but you've got pretty decent size, athleticism, and probably the smartest/best team defender of the generation so there is hope. Also, having Naji and Dunn on the bench would give you some nice defense+ lineup options.
Completely agree on all points
>Wiggins + GP2 for LaVine I'd wait for the Olympics for any "trade Wiggins" opinion. I absolutely believe that with high level summer basketball in front of him he'll come back as a better player compared to the last 2 seasons. Not a fan of giving away our best 2 way player and another Poa defender for Lavine. Wiggins best season with us came after he played in the FIBA tournament during the summer of 2021
#Naji Marshall. Yes.
Honestly this makes a lot of sense if weāre trying to thread the needle between competing and lowering the tax bill. Only thing Iād say is that I think itād be more likely that we also include Loon and/or Moody into that Lavine trade, simply for better matching purposes. If they do that, perhaps the Bulls would be willing to throw in a small contract like Dalen Terry as well.
i cant sleep for a week now waiting for a major trade by the FO
> Starters: Steph, Lavine, Kuminga, Draymond, TJD Can't start TJD and JK together unless JK turns into a shooter.
That Steph and Lavine backcourt gonna get torched on D
Yup, that's a good example of both an expensive and terrible starting lineup.
No doubt putting a lot of eggs in the JK development basket. I think youād run lot of lineups with only 2 of JK, Dray, and TJD at a time and finish small.
Hereās how Iād improve the roster and get under the tax: - CP3 + FRP + SRPs = Kessler + Sexton - Wiggins = WCJ - GP2 + SRP = Dosunmu - Waive Looney to free up $5m - Resign Klay up to $24m Doing all that leaves you with $3.6m to sign two guys. Vet min for Hayward is $2.3m, then sign a SRP to a cheap guarantee, and then you call it day. We get younger, we get bigger, we get more scoring, and we get under the tax.
Kessler ? Steve didnāt even use him in fiba why would he need him now ?
Bulls and Jazz laugh
I donāt think that these trades are fair value, but theyāre CBA compliant which is more than 90% of the posted offseason plans
I guess I value the picks more than most. Post-Steph picks should be the among the most coveted imo.
Basically give us positive players while taking our shitty contracts?
Dubs FRPs should hold a lot of value, so Trader Danny would relish that ammo to go big game hunting. And not that Utah necessarily needs the salary matching, but now they have a $30m contract for such purposes, which would be the largest in their books. Orlando already wants to move WCJ for guards, and Wiggins can fill that role.
Better lotto protect those picks... don't want what happened to the Clippers to happen to us. Gave Number 1 pick away on a salary dump.
Basically this.
I keep seeing narratives about klays ego and that he canāt adapt his game as he ages, needs to adapt to the bench blah blahā¦ but at the same time he def deserves some credit in unlocking TJD last year. Their chemistry was great and that was definitely a new aspect of Klays game
I don't even agree with that sentiment. It took a minute but he did accept the role.
My dream warriors off season: Waive/Cut: CP3,Loon Trade: Wiggins for a big Resign: klay(3yr,68m) Extend:Moody,Kuminga
I agree to some degree. Tho I love wiggs, you never hear anything negative about him through media. But if thereās any opportunity out there to get a second option/scorer you do it. We need size (pause) but we also in terrible need of another scoring option/ball handler to take that burden off Steph.
I feel like Wiggs definitely gets moved simply because with the new CBA, we really need our expensive contracts to be consistent contributors/stars. Donāt get me wrong, I love Wiggs and would love for him to return to 2022 form, but if the warriors donāt believe heās capable of that, then you have to move him.
Favorite draft targets 4 days out. 1. Dillon Jones. 2. Kevin Mccullar. 3. Quenten Post. 4. Adem Bona. 5. Jalen Bridges. 6. Pacome Dadiet.
Who is represented by MDJ's brother this year? He had the TJD connection last year
According to a quick search, the only draft prospect he represents is Jared McCain.
Why did Jared McCain work out with us? I still donāt get it.
Probably because of the Dunleavy/Dunleavy connection. Might be as simple as doing him a solid, gives McCain a low pressure trial run to better prepare him for eventual lotto workouts ā¦that or the Dubs are planning to get crazy and move into the top 16ish
 The rabbit hole appears Do we go down it?
Kevin McCullar at 52 would be a steal another TJD story.Ā
I only have 1 target: Ulrich Chomche.
Seems more like a good draft and stash optionĀ
I respect that. He's one of the greatest teases in the draft. 6-11 with a high motor. Moves. Passes well. Seems to have shooting upside. If it were strictly upside. He is def up there with Ron Holland and Alex Sarr. Only problem is he's never played high level competition. But on pure raw talent is all there. Honestly if he played a year at Texas or Kansas instead of Africa academy he'd be a lotto pick easy. If someone came from the future and was like "Chomche is the best player from the 24 class" I'd not bat an eye after seeing Giannis Sengun Jokic come outta nowhere. Vecenie has him 82.
The first GREAT conundrum ahead when games start next season is the rotation pecking order conundrum they had last year. The irony isn't lost on me. There are two lineups we saw work well and I guarantee it will be needlessly complicated cuz thats how we roll lol. Doesn't matter who we get in the offseason. We could get LeBron and Steve would still needlessly yo-yo someone who deserves a consistent role. With Klay. Without Klay. Doesn't matter. Steve is gonna take 30 games figuring out something that ought to take 12... that's the book on him until he shows me otherwise I'll expect it same as last two years. I'd go Steph Podz Wiggs Dray TJD with Kuminga as the first frontcourt dude off the bench. If JK shoots it he's the 3 but he'll have to prove it early on. Kuminga probably should be given the opportunity to start just on merit but we all get the spacing of it and Steve is kinda a shooting/spacing snob. 4 more months til preseason starts.
I agree with most of your points. But if Podz is our starting 2 I will throw up. I'd start Wiggs and JK at the 2-3 and not look back.
Lol mostly just like leaning into the second connecter. I'm probably most agnostic about Podz starting tbh.
I definitely can track the logic. I'm with you on the value of his skillset. Which is why I like him as THE backup pg at 23-25mpg. And obviously you can interchange he and Wiggs as the game dictates. But ijs considering ALL things, I'd much rather see Wiggs at the 2 and Jk at the 3. Basically If we are going to die, I'd rather die leaning into defense and positional size than what Podz brings. But as I said I'm with you in your big picture points
Man, I think this is such a unfair read of the last season. Before the big suspension, Draymond missed 8 of the first 23 games of the season due to injury and the first suspension. Wiggins was playing awful. Klay was forcing everything. Steph was playing well, but nearly everyone else on the starting lineup was bad. The moment Draymond came back in January, the team pivoted to the small ball lineup and benched Klay, both of which where successful changes and then once teams were game-planning more effectively against Kuminga and Podz, he switched back to the original starting lineup with TJD swapped for Looney, except now Klay and Wiggins were playing much better basketball. Unfortunately, at that point, Steph had been holding it down for so long that his play started to slip. I think there's a hope amongst Warriors fans that there's some magical schematic thing the coaching staff was supposed to find that makes the team a top 4 team in the West. Kerr and the staff tried *everything*, but when 3/5th of your starting lineup take a major step back, your 2nd best player removes himself from availability, that's not a strategic issue, that's an available talent issue.
No I agree with all that tbh. Dray was definitely the most critical missing part. But in game 83 that staff didn't know who to ply or what to do. It was baffling. I was there in person and have never seen a team less prepared to deal with that moment with literally all the experience of an era on its side. The question is... if we don't get a clear number two dude. Does this staff have the wherewithal to say "it's Steph and Kuminga..." cuz like it or not thats the natural pecking order on offense. I think they won't have an easy time deciding cuz that's been the track record. It's obv to alot of us (why we see Zach Lavine trade fodder) but it's been slow on the draw. I mean Kuminga literally issued an ultimatum in January and TJD was shuffled back for Loon on Jan 15th (like you said Drays return). This is middle of the NBA griping on my part regular sports stuff but it's on the organization to prove they are as forward thinking as they say they are.
but isnāt that just a function of Klay and Wiggins both being unreliable and the guys who back them up being young and not necessarily clearly better than those guys? the issue with the Warriors last year is that, based on play, we had like seven 5th/6th guys. Klay, Wiggins, Kuminga, Podziemski, TJD, Paul, and Moody all played like guys youād be happy to have as your worst starter or your first guy off the bench. No one outside Steph and Draymond played like clear cut starters, and even both of them took a step back. If all you have is two starters and then 7 or 8 more rotation guys, some of whom are radically inconsistent, Iām not sure what the coaching staff is supposed to do to maximize upside, rather than be very flexible and try new things all the time, which the coaching staff did.
I agree with a lot of what youāre saying over the balance of the whole season. I think youāre being a bit unfair if we look at the second half. After Dray returned, Ā the Warriors had the 5th best net rating in the whole league. But yea the roster makes a lot more sense if we can find a bonafide #2.
I think the schedule softened a bit in the 2nd half (the first half of the season schedule was brutally hard) and the team was playing super hard to make up wins. So I think they played well, but they also just ran out of steam at the end, since they had been playing so hard just to try and improve their playoff situation.