The Warriors kept the small program theme going in the second round, trading up to add a pick and roll guard. With their final pick, they made what seems to be a draft-and-stash selection.
My thoughts on PBJ: it’s likely that the mismatch between his shoot mechanics and his %, and between his physique and his D effectiveness, are due to his emotional state in being coached by his dad. I feel that his qualities will unlock, as usual, when dipping into Dubs Reforge Method.
Listening to Timpf's season ending takeaways, and he loves the Dubs. He talks about their free agents, and in the middle of talking about Looney, he drops this bomb:
"There's a lot of intel with Wiseman that he doesn't even like basketball all that much."
Timpf is not local? True, but he's just repeating scuttlebutt. So, is EA saying that Timpf is making this up, or is he saying that Timpf has sources who probably don't follow the Dubs closely, because he's a national guy, and so his sources are probably national, too?
My take is that there is no way the national guys are hearing anything that the local guys haven’t heard.
Now until proven wrong, I don’t think of Jason Timpf as even a “national guy”. I don’t know of any independently sourced story that he broke. As far as I can tell he was a Lakers blogger that has worked hard to get a Volume platform.
So I’m not saying it’s true or false (though this word “intel” is doing a ton of work). This is on the level of gossip than every single local reporter has not viewed worthy of reporting.
However, it would be very interesting to ask one of the local folks about this, maybe when their mailbags come back.
Yeah, I haven't heard a hint about any of that from anybody connected to the Warriors.
Besides, you would think a team that saw KD and Klay rupture their achillies coming back from an injury would take extra precautions to be uber careful with Wiseman's rehab.
My hope for the iCore is not just more minutes, but more consistent minutes. The Warriors were all over the map with rotations last year and admittedly that probably helped them make seamless adjustments in the playoffs. But for development, you want the young guys to have some regular rotation minutes. To know that they are coming in every game at the same time, that they will have a baseline for minutes such that they know they will be allowed to play through some mistakes. If JFK has a bad run in the first half, he should expect to have a chance to redeem himself in the 2nd half. (or not miss the next 3 games to boot).
It's going to be easy to load manage Steph and Klay all year. They take a game off, Poole starts and Moody, D Lee (and Rollins) pick up rotation minutes. No problem here. The tricky one is Draymond. If anyone needs load management it is him and him being out impacts the way the Dubs play more than anyone else. If Steph DNPs on a back to back, I'm sitting Green, too. I would tie those two together on Load manage DNPs. Otherwise, I would like to see Green get down to 28-30 minutes a game. We have to think long term and not burn this guy's tread in the regular season. Honestly, I have always felt that the best plan for Draymond is to transition to be the new (old) Andre. Ultimately come off the bench, close, average 28 min, be the vet in the second unit at times. Not quite yet, but once JFK & Wiseman can tie their own shoes, Dray can transition to full Vet mode and this could extend his career.
Maybe. Dubs were much better off (my nerves notwithstanding) winning 53 with the injury-forced rest their payers rather than winning 63 this past year. You've got to stay out of the play-in, which was 49 wins this year, but beyond that rest is often more valuable than wins with an older team. 60's Celtics strategy.
Yeah, the Warriors definitely peaked at the right time.
I said somewhere else but it would be great if they could pull a 2014 (?) Spurs and get through the regular season with nobody playing over 30 minutes.
Luck. Before embarking on our new journey, just want to say a word about last year and Luck. Because of how the season played out Curry did not get the load management he should have. But he got injured and was forced to rest to end the season and was ready to play again first game of the playoffs. That's fortuitous. Draymond had the most long term tire tread use of the core. He lost a significant chunk of time but was able to get back up to speed (he needs a longer runway than Steph) in time for the playoffs. Klay's return was delayed, but ultimately his game came together nicely to close the season. Kris Middleton was injured. Bad luck. Chris Paul is Chris Paul, why do you think he is the face of Sate Farm? He's an injury or accident waiting to happen. We know the injury luck of past Finals, both good and bad.
This year was amazing. And those who have good fortune have typically worked their asses off to be in a position to receive good fortune. Were the Warriors really the worst team in the league 3 years ago? No. Were they the best team last year? Maybe not. But they were good enough, and worked hard enough, to be there when the ball bounced their way. And moving forward, this is all we can ask. Just remain in the Finals neighborhood year after year and be ready for that pocket pass from the basketball Gods. Hard work, humility, respect for the game (cashing receipts aside), unselfishness, joy and always a little bit of Luck. The ball won't always bounce the Warriors way, but when it does, they have shown time and time again that they know how to use it.
In victory, don't forget to pour one out for Lady Luck. No Chip is ever won without her.
Hopefully it hasn’t been posted yet, but here’s a bit on Santos from the SF Chronicle:
“
Will Santos get stashed? Gui Santos, whom Golden State drafted out of Brazil with the 55thpick, said he would prefer to play for the Warriors this season because he’ll have the right resources at his disposal to improve quickly. And although the final decision isn’t up to him, he believes he has the skill set to contribute now.
“My experience, my energy, I’m a versatile guy,” Santos said. “I can play both sides of the court. I can drive, I can shoot. I can do what the team wants me to do. If they tell me to do one thing, I’ll do it.”
If they were going to go the two-way route, then I imagine they would want to get him on the Summer League team (I assume he can't be on it without signing one of the contract types available to second-rounders, presumably they'd lose his draft rights otherwise). But given the international aspect and the cap considerations (a 2nd-round contract longer than 2 years requires using cap space or part of an exception), I suppose it could take a little more time to get the contract sorted out, if he is indeed going to play in the U.S. this summer.
Myers can still make mistakes. This is reality as we saw with Chiozza and Avery Bradley being kept around for nothing. No one doubted the game that GP2 brought with him, plus his DNA. Of course they have to sign him now.
Any comparisons of Looney and Baldwin are greatly exaggerated. Looney is a scrapper, a fighter with an unathletic body. You have to be brave and smart to play like Looney. Very different games they have. Grit and perseverance were well displayed with Kevon and he has deserved my praise after years of injury. Perhaps the Warriors are hoping that a vet center will step up and sign for the vet minimum. We need one very badly as Wiseman provides no guarantee and possibly an expiry date written invisibly on his back. Nothing would make me happier than his smooth insertion into the rotation to be an instant rim protector and pnr guy. Now that's adding a dimension to our team worth getting excited about.
Myers has way more successes than mistakes, why don't you talk about those? And yes, plenty doubted GP2, which is why he filtered through so many teams and so many non-guaranteed contracts before finding a home with the Warriors this past season. And Avery Bradley literally wasn't "kept around for nothing" as he didn't spend a minute with the team after preseason. No need for revisionist history.
I have. Signing OPJ and Bjelica was very key to our success. Poole, too. But then again, there was Paschall and the other pick whose name I already forgot. Then the McCaw and Damian Jones flops. I was one of the loudest voices for GP2. They kept Bradley in the conversation until they let him go before the season began. No revisionist theory here, please. You can stop picking at me now.
Paschall was a resounding success relative to his draft position in the mid-second round at 41. He is still in the league and played meaningful minutes for the Jazz in the playoffs. That's a successful pick. Damian Jones has been a productive center for the Kings and played over 1000 minutes last year. He was a successful pick, especially given his late first-round selection. McCaw was a very productive player given his mid-second round pick draft slot, playing playoff minutes for 2 different championship teams. Another draft success. But to you, these are all "busts" because you want to undeservedly hate on Bob.
Yes, there is plenty of revisionist history in what you are saying because you are totally ignoring draft position as if it isn't supremely important in evaluating a pick. Neither are you stacking up Bob's success rate against other GMs who have picked in comparably low slots over the last 6-8 years or so. If you did, you would see that Bob does much better than most of them. Who cares if you were for keeping GP2? It was Bob who made the decision to keep him, and he made it over the stated wishes of the team's stars, demonstrating a belief in his judgement and competence. The fact that they played Bradley in the preseason means diddly squat since they didn't keep him on the roster, they kept GP2 which was a Bob decision. I'm not even going to bring up his FA record, which has FAR more successes on it than blemishes. Bob is an amazing GM and he has proven himself in both the draft and FA numerous times.
If you want people to stop "picking at you" then try saying something that isn't so laughably false and easily disprovable. You often make false claims about Bob or the FO or the CS and then get defensive when people poke holes in your arguments.
For me, the definition of a successful pick is making and sticking with the team that drafted you over the years or being traded for a higher quality player or player of need. Being in the league has no real meaning for me as a fan but I'm happy that they are becoming millionaires.
I want you to stop picking at me because I feel you are harboring a grudge and not able to let it go. I'm just another poster, no one special, and I'm also entitled to my opinions even if others don't agree. No big deal. No need to defend something relatively unimportant because you want to be right. Big difference from having a grudge to differing in opinion. The flavor of your posts to me reflect what I'm saying. Are you able to relate to me without your grudge and attitude? If so, great. If not, I won't respond at all to you from here on out.
I don't know how you measure things like flavor, but in my responses to your posts I take care to be as factual as possible. I do the same to any poster whom I disagree with. I reread my post and do not see it as a personal attack on you, rather a call for you to defend your claims that you are making in a public forum. If you don't want to open your arguments to disagreement, why post them in the first place? So that only people who agree with you reply to your posts?
it's not the disagreement. It's the history of your replies to various comments of mine that you take as if you have personally been offended and reply with barbed disdain. Of course I am wrong at times. Everyone is.
You get “picked on” because your opinions are tenuously grounded in reality and you try to shift goalposts of any debate via strawman arguments, or try to end a discussion with nonsense like the above, where you act offended that someone called you out on your nonsense and claim that because you feel offended, you’re ending the debate.
Those are classic methods of warping any possibility of reasonable discussion to avoid being wrong.
I would be delighted if you didn’t respond to anybody, or anything, particularly articles, from here on out, in fact.
Everyone makes mistakes, but it seems a bit odd to assume this is a mistake before we have even seen anything from the kid. Also, I think there are certainly Myers mistakes that can be referenced (Smiley, Jacob Evans being some easy ones come to mind), but I don't really get the two examples you provided. Chiozza was on a 2way contract, and played top 10 NBA minutes of players on that contract type. Yes, he was not that good. But he provided minutes when needed, and the expectation for a 2 way is "worse than all 450 players with a regular contract", so I'd say he squarely met that expectation.
Avery Bradley was invited to camp, given a shot to compete for a spot, and lost out to GP2. So his big mistake was inviting a guy to camp?? Lots of guys get invited to camp and dont make a team, how is that a mistake?
As if the sweet glow of winning a championship wasn’t enough, at one point I have to admit I *also* found myself thinking, “surely this puts the Chiozza discussion to bed for once and for all lol”
Lol the only argument I could make is that cheese was a continuation of the wanamaker mistake which might have costed us the playoffs last year and possibly another championship
I mean, Jacob Evans and Jones were both late first round busts, but having a 50% hit rate on late first round picks is honestly amazing. That's like saying Steph fails because he misses over 5 out of every 10 3 pt shots.
Smiley was a late 2nd round pick, so that logic applies even more so to him. One could argue that their hit rate on 2nd rounders with Dray, McCaw and Bell is much better than league average, too.
The mistake with Smiley, IMO, was probably not cutting him a year early and freeing up the roster spot for another project. But even during those lost years, they still found Lee, JTA, and GP2, so their hit rate on UFA's and reclamation projects is pretty great, regardless.
Jones wasn't even as bad of a bust as he initially seemed. He's still in the league and can contribute to an NBA team. He's decent for a late 1st rounder. Smiley was Lacob the Younger's guy, and I think Bob could afford to take a flier on him to accommodate the boss. Evans was a bust but at least Bob made lemonade by turning him into filler in the Wiggs deal. Hey, it's something anyway.
As for PBJ, I don't know what to think yet so I'm going to wait and see and hope he turns out to be a steal. The Dubs are patient with injuries, thankfully, so I doubt we'll see him anytime soon. They do have experience with ankle issues!
Hmm. The way you write it seems that you have mostly written off JW and PBJ. Sure there's plenty of room for doubt, but you certainly can't be comparing anything to PBJ, really. You haven't seen him play. And he's a rookie (think rookie Poole vs now) so even if he's healthy I doubt the organization is hoping for anything from him next season. And sure it's a gamble. May not work. Feels like you have passed the boundary from skepticism into pessimism. Your right, of course, but pessimism seems unwarranted at the moment.
The end of your post at least leaves a window open for JW so I guess we'll see, but I think you're going to be disappointed in the veteran center department. That's just not they way they seem to see the path forward for the team.
Oh, and of course Meyers can make mistakes. In fact, he's almost sure to from time to time, especially in drafting because it's such an inexact science. That fact that he can is not an argument that he has in any specific case.
I spent some time watching highlight videos of our 4 new dubs. For 3 low picks we ended up with 4 players that look alright. I don’t know what they will look like in NBA non highlight videos, I
But I will be excited to see what these guys can do.
I think he’s less likely to be back. He won’t cost much, he’s a good locker room presence, and he can hit 3s and play competent enough team defense. Exactly the kind of player someone will want to give $5-6m for a year.
The Baldwin pick is still the most questionable for me. Take away the bad ankle, here's a guy who hasn't put together anything basketball-wise in college. He does have a beautiful shot but can't score with any consistency. Very little playmaking or defensive skills that stood out. Making a 3 point shot is important in the NBA but not the end-all for a player. If you don't aspire to a complete game, why would the Warriors want him? Hype? Potential? Sure, those come in to the equation, but when there are more fully serviceable picks left on the board that would also fill a team's needs, I would think those players should have won out over Baldwin. I can only sit back and see how the Warriors deal with the free agents, some look like they are not coming back, and who they can add after a championship run that should attract frustrated FA's who want a ring. That will be exciting to see. If it took 2 years for Poole to break out of his shooting woes having been terrific in college, how long will it take Baldwin to become an NBA player?
As far as the other two picks we got, I have no problem with them. If Santos is under the wing of Barbosa, this bodes well and I like Rollins game. He's a player.
The Warriors tried to go for the safe bet at 28 once before. They got Jacob Evans, who is in the G league now. They went for a riskier pick at 28 with Jordan Poole, who just played key minutes in the playoffs and averaged double digit scoring on high efficiency. They have been validated very recently and very visibly for taking a bigger risk. There are no guarantees that the "safer" picks that were available can play in the NBA, either. Good front offices don't build good teams by being cowards about taking risks.
But Poole showed a very nice game in college. His pick was justified, imo. What was perplexing was his inability to shoot when he got to the Warriors. I've never seen anything like that. But, from the getgo, you could see him moving with and without the ball using his tireless motor. Gleague was helpful in his case and the Warriors were patient.
Safer to me, means picking a player who has shown consistent elements in his game that will fill a role. That wasn't the case in Baldwin's college performance, but I will remain openly skeptical until we see him play with us. I haven't shut any doors. I thought there was a lot of talent left on the board this draft.
Hard to tell what Baldwin aspires to, just what he has done. Apparently, he played ~10 college games, and he's 19 years old. He's hardly had time to show what we wants to do (and even less what he'll be capable of).
Baldwin may have been a bad pick. We won't know for two years or so. But, the process of taking a flier, when we are already stacked, I like.
“If you don't aspire to a complete game, why would the Warriors want him?”
I mean … because he *does* aspire to a complete game? You’re begging the question. Myers and others have praised his passing, handles, feel for the game, and defense in addition to his three point shooting.
I mean, the chances of a #28 pick becoming an actual NBA rotation player are never better than 50-50. That’s just the nature of picks that low. But I don’t know why we wouldn’t extend Myers and co. the benefit of the doubt here.
I guess I was imagining some of the fans who have been slagging Poole, Wiggins, Kuminga, Moody, and others throughout their Warrior careers (and slagging the FO by association for acquiring them) might now be showing a modicum of humility, patience, and deference to the FO in light of what these guys just accomplished. But whatevs, people are gonna be themselves, which is cool.
Honestly, I think this was a way for Myers and Kerr to get some future depth, but still (tacitly) acknowledge that next season is really about getting the 2021 guys (and Wiseman) fully integrated into (hopefully) a modified future 8-man core playoff rotation. Kuminga, especially, needs to be ready to take on more in next year's playoffs. (Wiseman will probably be brought on a bit slowly (because his basically a rookie still game-wise, and for medical reasons)).
If Baldwin turns out like Looney (and his injury is nothing like Looney has gone through so far), great. If not, it's ok to take a swing since Poole truned into a 'free' rotation addition this year. If Baldwin takes 2+ yrs, fine, because in that time, Kuminga and Moody will be regulars playing heavy playoff minutes (we hope anyway). Even if Baldwin is basically benched for a year, that's fine, he can learn the system in SF, or shuttle back and forth to Santa Cruz to rehab/work on stuff.
If he becomes a star in 3 years, wonderful. If not, he's not taking any time from a ring-chaser trying to integrate into the team. Obviously, though, Myers must at least see a lot of what Duke scouts saw a few years ago, or it would be pointless to draft Baldwin. So while it's kinda weird to have Rollins play and Baldwin not, just pretend that Rollins is the real 1st-rounder and Baldwin is the 2nd-rounder.
Wouldn't you say Jessup was a better gamble than Baldwin? I would. He looked like he was approaching a complete player and great scorer. Brought him into the summer league and he began to fail spectacularly dashing any hopes he would even get a two way contract. Many here were gung ho on him. We'll just have to see what he looks like. I like the idea of him more than the reality of him. I'm even tilted this way about JFK. I'm not convinced he can play in Kerr's system and feel like himself.
Very, very few people would say Jessup was a “better gamble” than Baldwin. Baldwin was literally the **#1 prospect in the country** for two straight years before he messed up his ankle and had a nightmare 11-game Freshman season. And he’s still just 19, an age after which players often blossom big time (viz. Poole, Giannis, Loon, Booker, Brown, Tatum, et al.)
Jessup was a 22 year old shooting specialist from an obscure school who put up decent numbers as a grown man against middling competition, but came with major doubts about his ability to handle NBA level athleticism. Vecenie had him at #78 on his big board in 2020, while ESPN had him #82. As you note, the doubts about him seemed valid basically from the moment we saw him in summer league, and are no less valid now with him putting up meh numbers in Australia at age 24.
Many posters were fascinated by Jessup and wanted him on the roster as soon as possible. But when he finally got a shot, he didn't impress. We'll probably never see him in a Warriors uniform again. All Baldwin's hype comes from high school. He kinda bombed in the 11 games he played in college. To me, this is not nearly enough to warrant much hope about his NBA game. He's a project, at best, with a beautiful shooting form from the 3 but missing accuracy. If the Warriors deem him good enough to develop, I'm in. We'll find out soon enough so I don't want to spend the time analyzing him. It's just a first impression. I hope he can prove himself as we could use his size.
I mean, all 19 year olds are "projects," especially ones that are available at #28.
The only bar Baldwin has to clear in this specific discussion is whether he's "a better gamble" than Jessup — which he obviously is. By the overwhelming consensus among draft experts and observers, he's just a completely different caliber of prospect from Jessup, with a qualitatively higher upside.
"Baldwin revealed Friday to reporters at his Warriors introductory press conference that he was whistled for his first technical foul ever for the no-look three."
"Rollins revealed Friday that the Warriors even tried to move up to No. 30 overall, the last pick in the first round, to snatch him."
Also: "Santos called it "amazing" to continue to learn from Barbosa and be around him even more. The recently turned 20-year-old forward played with Barbosa for the Brazilian club Minas in the 2019-20 season when Barbosa led the league in scoring at 37 years old. The two quickly formed a big brother, little brother bond with Barbosa taking Santos under his wings."
I missed the intros today, but there's a short summary article on NBC Bay Area:
Hmmm....for vet min deal dream scenario: Rubio, Lopez. I don't want drama from Drummond. Maybe McGee instead of Lopez. Good sparring practice for Wiseman. But need a backup PG.
All right I am sick in bed so I just looked over a list of unrestricted free agents. I don't see any realistic "ring chasing" vets out there that I want more than our guys. (By realistic I mean, for example, Serge Ibaka is a free agent but seems unlikely he won't be back with the Bucks).
I think the best semi realistic option is Hartenstein, maybe? Who else you all got in mind if we got a spot? 'Cause I think we will make almost no splash in the free agent market not counting re-signing our own.
edit: never mind on Hartenstein. See responses. So who?
Even if he didn't, will he be ready to play and back to his old self after his injury? That's a lot of if's. I don't consider him a realistic option. I would be happy to be wrong.
Yeah, thinking about it, I agree. That's why I wrote semi realistic. We never know until it happens who will sign for what so it's hard to guess what is even realistic.
Yeah, ok. He's realistic, probably. Better then Bjeliça for us? He'd basically just be insurance as long as we re-sign Looney, 'cause he wouldn't play as long as JW and Loon are available. (unless JW bombs, but they're gonna give him a lot of rope first).
And thinking about it, that argument kind of applies to Hartenstein, too but I think his skills would kind of be better then Bjeliça so maybe ...
Also, it would be Belly back in a second year in the system. I'm a strong believer that GS' offense and defense both generally take more than a single season to really internalize, even for smart, experienced players (and Belly is one).
Really? How would you see him being used? We already have Poole. What do you see him settling for salary-wise? Would he be more use than Bjeliça to us? I know he wouldn't be better than OPJ.
It's more tongue-in-cheek, than anything, but backup PG is a need. JP is great, but there are two guard spots needed for backup (not counting GP as a guard - more of a wing/PF).
If Kemba's knee is healthy, and he'd be willing to take vet min, I'd say yes in a heartbeat.
If Loon and GP2 are signed, would I say yes to KW instead of OPJ for the TPMLE? Not sure. I think I feel like MM and JK are both ready to take heavier wing minutes, but Rollins is much less likely to be ready to be backup G. So, the need there is arguably greater.
Fair. Salary aside, I would not take Kemba over OPJ cause I think ball handling is covered enough with Curry-Green-Poole and Moody-Lee in a pinch (agree that Rollins unlikely to be ready) and OPJ was awesome for us, but if Kemba will settle for vet min and is healthy (two big Ifs) then, yeah, I'd consider that.
Speaking of JJ Redick, I wonder who the best player with a negative wingspan is. Currently, maybe Herro? I think Bane might be negative also. And Brandon Clarke is either neutral or slighly negative.
What were Bane's defensive stats like? He's less likely to reach and if he does, it will be less effective. I would expect him to have far fewer deflections and steals than someone like Herro, or any Warrior.
My thoughts on PBJ: it’s likely that the mismatch between his shoot mechanics and his %, and between his physique and his D effectiveness, are due to his emotional state in being coached by his dad. I feel that his qualities will unlock, as usual, when dipping into Dubs Reforge Method.
Listening to Timpf's season ending takeaways, and he loves the Dubs. He talks about their free agents, and in the middle of talking about Looney, he drops this bomb:
"There's a lot of intel with Wiseman that he doesn't even like basketball all that much."
https://youtu.be/yQUrMG-hQdI?t=497
I mean, WTF? This is the first I've heard this rumor. Has anyone else heard it?
Yeah, WTF was my exact reaction to that.
This was brought up a couple of threads ago, I think. EA's take was that he's not a local reporter, and not to trust him.
Timpf is not local? True, but he's just repeating scuttlebutt. So, is EA saying that Timpf is making this up, or is he saying that Timpf has sources who probably don't follow the Dubs closely, because he's a national guy, and so his sources are probably national, too?
My take is that there is no way the national guys are hearing anything that the local guys haven’t heard.
Now until proven wrong, I don’t think of Jason Timpf as even a “national guy”. I don’t know of any independently sourced story that he broke. As far as I can tell he was a Lakers blogger that has worked hard to get a Volume platform.
So I’m not saying it’s true or false (though this word “intel” is doing a ton of work). This is on the level of gossip than every single local reporter has not viewed worthy of reporting.
However, it would be very interesting to ask one of the local folks about this, maybe when their mailbags come back.
apologies for misrepresenting what you said. It was from memory.
It's in the comments in this thread (pretty far down). First comment is by 'Badly Browned'
https://dubnationhq.com/p/dub-nation-hq-draft-tourney-wrap-a88/comments
Thanks. It was very buried in that thread. lol.
He also said "Everyone was so irritated when they saw him working out during the NBA Finals." Whuh? I didn't hear a hint of this. Has anyone else?
Yeah, I haven't heard a hint about any of that from anybody connected to the Warriors.
Besides, you would think a team that saw KD and Klay rupture their achillies coming back from an injury would take extra precautions to be uber careful with Wiseman's rehab.
Minutes.
My hope for the iCore is not just more minutes, but more consistent minutes. The Warriors were all over the map with rotations last year and admittedly that probably helped them make seamless adjustments in the playoffs. But for development, you want the young guys to have some regular rotation minutes. To know that they are coming in every game at the same time, that they will have a baseline for minutes such that they know they will be allowed to play through some mistakes. If JFK has a bad run in the first half, he should expect to have a chance to redeem himself in the 2nd half. (or not miss the next 3 games to boot).
It's going to be easy to load manage Steph and Klay all year. They take a game off, Poole starts and Moody, D Lee (and Rollins) pick up rotation minutes. No problem here. The tricky one is Draymond. If anyone needs load management it is him and him being out impacts the way the Dubs play more than anyone else. If Steph DNPs on a back to back, I'm sitting Green, too. I would tie those two together on Load manage DNPs. Otherwise, I would like to see Green get down to 28-30 minutes a game. We have to think long term and not burn this guy's tread in the regular season. Honestly, I have always felt that the best plan for Draymond is to transition to be the new (old) Andre. Ultimately come off the bench, close, average 28 min, be the vet in the second unit at times. Not quite yet, but once JFK & Wiseman can tie their own shoes, Dray can transition to full Vet mode and this could extend his career.
I'm fine with losing some games if the experience prepares the youth moment to contribute in the post season and rest the old guard.
If not this upcoming season, this must be the game plan the following season and onward.
Maybe. Dubs were much better off (my nerves notwithstanding) winning 53 with the injury-forced rest their payers rather than winning 63 this past year. You've got to stay out of the play-in, which was 49 wins this year, but beyond that rest is often more valuable than wins with an older team. 60's Celtics strategy.
Yeah, the Warriors definitely peaked at the right time.
I said somewhere else but it would be great if they could pull a 2014 (?) Spurs and get through the regular season with nobody playing over 30 minutes.
Santos looks to be 3" shorter than PBJ so maybe 6'-6"/6'-7".
I recall loon joking one time that his defense improved so much because he guarded kd in practice all the time.
I think the warriors brought in some pure shooters to have Poole guard them in 2 a day practice sessions.
The two areas of immediate improvement, imo, Poole defense and greens jump shot.
I'd expect looney to start hitting jumpers before green ever gets his back lol
If Poole piggybacks Draymond, problem solved.
Luck. Before embarking on our new journey, just want to say a word about last year and Luck. Because of how the season played out Curry did not get the load management he should have. But he got injured and was forced to rest to end the season and was ready to play again first game of the playoffs. That's fortuitous. Draymond had the most long term tire tread use of the core. He lost a significant chunk of time but was able to get back up to speed (he needs a longer runway than Steph) in time for the playoffs. Klay's return was delayed, but ultimately his game came together nicely to close the season. Kris Middleton was injured. Bad luck. Chris Paul is Chris Paul, why do you think he is the face of Sate Farm? He's an injury or accident waiting to happen. We know the injury luck of past Finals, both good and bad.
This year was amazing. And those who have good fortune have typically worked their asses off to be in a position to receive good fortune. Were the Warriors really the worst team in the league 3 years ago? No. Were they the best team last year? Maybe not. But they were good enough, and worked hard enough, to be there when the ball bounced their way. And moving forward, this is all we can ask. Just remain in the Finals neighborhood year after year and be ready for that pocket pass from the basketball Gods. Hard work, humility, respect for the game (cashing receipts aside), unselfishness, joy and always a little bit of Luck. The ball won't always bounce the Warriors way, but when it does, they have shown time and time again that they know how to use it.
In victory, don't forget to pour one out for Lady Luck. No Chip is ever won without her.
“Chris Paul is Chris Paul, why do you think he is the face of Sate Farm? He's an injury or accident waiting to happen.”
LOL!!!
Now I can comfortably post this story with a great happy ending.
https://medium.com/@hjelm/a-blessing-in-disguise-82fd32a8b199#:~:text=This%20is%20the%20story%20of%20an%20poor%20old%20but%20wise,together%20with%20his%20only%20son.&text=His%20neighbors%20and%20friends%20visits,he%20had%20lost%20his%20horse.
Hopefully it hasn’t been posted yet, but here’s a bit on Santos from the SF Chronicle:
“
Will Santos get stashed? Gui Santos, whom Golden State drafted out of Brazil with the 55thpick, said he would prefer to play for the Warriors this season because he’ll have the right resources at his disposal to improve quickly. And although the final decision isn’t up to him, he believes he has the skill set to contribute now.
“My experience, my energy, I’m a versatile guy,” Santos said. “I can play both sides of the court. I can drive, I can shoot. I can do what the team wants me to do. If they tell me to do one thing, I’ll do it.”
”
I suppose I could see him on a two-way.
What's the date to have to stash him? In assuming before training camp?
If they were going to go the two-way route, then I imagine they would want to get him on the Summer League team (I assume he can't be on it without signing one of the contract types available to second-rounders, presumably they'd lose his draft rights otherwise). But given the international aspect and the cap considerations (a 2nd-round contract longer than 2 years requires using cap space or part of an exception), I suppose it could take a little more time to get the contract sorted out, if he is indeed going to play in the U.S. this summer.
This is exactly what a PR guy would write for a rookie to sound like ‘what the Warriors want in a young player.’
He’s been playing professional basketball since 16, including with Barbosa I think, so you’d imagine he would be relatively polished with media types.
Myers can still make mistakes. This is reality as we saw with Chiozza and Avery Bradley being kept around for nothing. No one doubted the game that GP2 brought with him, plus his DNA. Of course they have to sign him now.
Any comparisons of Looney and Baldwin are greatly exaggerated. Looney is a scrapper, a fighter with an unathletic body. You have to be brave and smart to play like Looney. Very different games they have. Grit and perseverance were well displayed with Kevon and he has deserved my praise after years of injury. Perhaps the Warriors are hoping that a vet center will step up and sign for the vet minimum. We need one very badly as Wiseman provides no guarantee and possibly an expiry date written invisibly on his back. Nothing would make me happier than his smooth insertion into the rotation to be an instant rim protector and pnr guy. Now that's adding a dimension to our team worth getting excited about.
Bradley didn’t make the team and Chiozza was a 2-way contract.
Late firsts, 2nd round picks, 2-ways. These are not high percentage plays. Myers and the Warriors punch well above their weight
Myers has way more successes than mistakes, why don't you talk about those? And yes, plenty doubted GP2, which is why he filtered through so many teams and so many non-guaranteed contracts before finding a home with the Warriors this past season. And Avery Bradley literally wasn't "kept around for nothing" as he didn't spend a minute with the team after preseason. No need for revisionist history.
I have. Signing OPJ and Bjelica was very key to our success. Poole, too. But then again, there was Paschall and the other pick whose name I already forgot. Then the McCaw and Damian Jones flops. I was one of the loudest voices for GP2. They kept Bradley in the conversation until they let him go before the season began. No revisionist theory here, please. You can stop picking at me now.
Paschall was a resounding success relative to his draft position in the mid-second round at 41. He is still in the league and played meaningful minutes for the Jazz in the playoffs. That's a successful pick. Damian Jones has been a productive center for the Kings and played over 1000 minutes last year. He was a successful pick, especially given his late first-round selection. McCaw was a very productive player given his mid-second round pick draft slot, playing playoff minutes for 2 different championship teams. Another draft success. But to you, these are all "busts" because you want to undeservedly hate on Bob.
Yes, there is plenty of revisionist history in what you are saying because you are totally ignoring draft position as if it isn't supremely important in evaluating a pick. Neither are you stacking up Bob's success rate against other GMs who have picked in comparably low slots over the last 6-8 years or so. If you did, you would see that Bob does much better than most of them. Who cares if you were for keeping GP2? It was Bob who made the decision to keep him, and he made it over the stated wishes of the team's stars, demonstrating a belief in his judgement and competence. The fact that they played Bradley in the preseason means diddly squat since they didn't keep him on the roster, they kept GP2 which was a Bob decision. I'm not even going to bring up his FA record, which has FAR more successes on it than blemishes. Bob is an amazing GM and he has proven himself in both the draft and FA numerous times.
If you want people to stop "picking at you" then try saying something that isn't so laughably false and easily disprovable. You often make false claims about Bob or the FO or the CS and then get defensive when people poke holes in your arguments.
For me, the definition of a successful pick is making and sticking with the team that drafted you over the years or being traded for a higher quality player or player of need. Being in the league has no real meaning for me as a fan but I'm happy that they are becoming millionaires.
I want you to stop picking at me because I feel you are harboring a grudge and not able to let it go. I'm just another poster, no one special, and I'm also entitled to my opinions even if others don't agree. No big deal. No need to defend something relatively unimportant because you want to be right. Big difference from having a grudge to differing in opinion. The flavor of your posts to me reflect what I'm saying. Are you able to relate to me without your grudge and attitude? If so, great. If not, I won't respond at all to you from here on out.
I don't know how you measure things like flavor, but in my responses to your posts I take care to be as factual as possible. I do the same to any poster whom I disagree with. I reread my post and do not see it as a personal attack on you, rather a call for you to defend your claims that you are making in a public forum. If you don't want to open your arguments to disagreement, why post them in the first place? So that only people who agree with you reply to your posts?
it's not the disagreement. It's the history of your replies to various comments of mine that you take as if you have personally been offended and reply with barbed disdain. Of course I am wrong at times. Everyone is.
You get “picked on” because your opinions are tenuously grounded in reality and you try to shift goalposts of any debate via strawman arguments, or try to end a discussion with nonsense like the above, where you act offended that someone called you out on your nonsense and claim that because you feel offended, you’re ending the debate.
Those are classic methods of warping any possibility of reasonable discussion to avoid being wrong.
I would be delighted if you didn’t respond to anybody, or anything, particularly articles, from here on out, in fact.
I think I'm going to disappoint you. You should mind your own business, in any case.
Did anyone say Myers could not make mistakes? And did anyone compare Baldwin to Looney?
Everyone makes mistakes, but it seems a bit odd to assume this is a mistake before we have even seen anything from the kid. Also, I think there are certainly Myers mistakes that can be referenced (Smiley, Jacob Evans being some easy ones come to mind), but I don't really get the two examples you provided. Chiozza was on a 2way contract, and played top 10 NBA minutes of players on that contract type. Yes, he was not that good. But he provided minutes when needed, and the expectation for a 2 way is "worse than all 450 players with a regular contract", so I'd say he squarely met that expectation.
Avery Bradley was invited to camp, given a shot to compete for a spot, and lost out to GP2. So his big mistake was inviting a guy to camp?? Lots of guys get invited to camp and dont make a team, how is that a mistake?
As if the sweet glow of winning a championship wasn’t enough, at one point I have to admit I *also* found myself thinking, “surely this puts the Chiozza discussion to bed for once and for all lol”
Lol the only argument I could make is that cheese was a continuation of the wanamaker mistake which might have costed us the playoffs last year and possibly another championship
Impressive! If that’s the hill you Wana die on 🤣
I mean, Jacob Evans and Jones were both late first round busts, but having a 50% hit rate on late first round picks is honestly amazing. That's like saying Steph fails because he misses over 5 out of every 10 3 pt shots.
Smiley was a late 2nd round pick, so that logic applies even more so to him. One could argue that their hit rate on 2nd rounders with Dray, McCaw and Bell is much better than league average, too.
The mistake with Smiley, IMO, was probably not cutting him a year early and freeing up the roster spot for another project. But even during those lost years, they still found Lee, JTA, and GP2, so their hit rate on UFA's and reclamation projects is pretty great, regardless.
If Sac wants to call Jones a bust, I'll take him. :) He was starting to look pretty decent this year.
Bigs take a long time to develop, and we couldn't wait for him (IIRC, we used him as filler for some trade, or to get under the cap).
Smiley, yeah ... straight out miss. It's called the Lake-ob effect.
Yeah, Jones is not a bust. Late round guy who became a serviceable back up. That's what you're looking for at the end of the 1st.
Bust for the drafting team, not for the player. Just like Wiggs was a bust for the Wolves, not the Dubs, and def not for his career.
Jones wasn't even as bad of a bust as he initially seemed. He's still in the league and can contribute to an NBA team. He's decent for a late 1st rounder. Smiley was Lacob the Younger's guy, and I think Bob could afford to take a flier on him to accommodate the boss. Evans was a bust but at least Bob made lemonade by turning him into filler in the Wiggs deal. Hey, it's something anyway.
As for PBJ, I don't know what to think yet so I'm going to wait and see and hope he turns out to be a steal. The Dubs are patient with injuries, thankfully, so I doubt we'll see him anytime soon. They do have experience with ankle issues!
I believe Evans wasn’t really a flier and more of a get under the cap trade.
Hmm. The way you write it seems that you have mostly written off JW and PBJ. Sure there's plenty of room for doubt, but you certainly can't be comparing anything to PBJ, really. You haven't seen him play. And he's a rookie (think rookie Poole vs now) so even if he's healthy I doubt the organization is hoping for anything from him next season. And sure it's a gamble. May not work. Feels like you have passed the boundary from skepticism into pessimism. Your right, of course, but pessimism seems unwarranted at the moment.
The end of your post at least leaves a window open for JW so I guess we'll see, but I think you're going to be disappointed in the veteran center department. That's just not they way they seem to see the path forward for the team.
Oh, and of course Meyers can make mistakes. In fact, he's almost sure to from time to time, especially in drafting because it's such an inexact science. That fact that he can is not an argument that he has in any specific case.
I spent some time watching highlight videos of our 4 new dubs. For 3 low picks we ended up with 4 players that look alright. I don’t know what they will look like in NBA non highlight videos, I
But I will be excited to see what these guys can do.
3&D, w some. All handling from Rollins...Rollins will def get more time tgos year. Lee and JTA better watch those minutes
there's no particular reason to think that Lee or JTA will be on the roster this coming year.
Lee maybe
I think he’s less likely to be back. He won’t cost much, he’s a good locker room presence, and he can hit 3s and play competent enough team defense. Exactly the kind of player someone will want to give $5-6m for a year.
The Baldwin pick is still the most questionable for me. Take away the bad ankle, here's a guy who hasn't put together anything basketball-wise in college. He does have a beautiful shot but can't score with any consistency. Very little playmaking or defensive skills that stood out. Making a 3 point shot is important in the NBA but not the end-all for a player. If you don't aspire to a complete game, why would the Warriors want him? Hype? Potential? Sure, those come in to the equation, but when there are more fully serviceable picks left on the board that would also fill a team's needs, I would think those players should have won out over Baldwin. I can only sit back and see how the Warriors deal with the free agents, some look like they are not coming back, and who they can add after a championship run that should attract frustrated FA's who want a ring. That will be exciting to see. If it took 2 years for Poole to break out of his shooting woes having been terrific in college, how long will it take Baldwin to become an NBA player?
As far as the other two picks we got, I have no problem with them. If Santos is under the wing of Barbosa, this bodes well and I like Rollins game. He's a player.
The Warriors tried to go for the safe bet at 28 once before. They got Jacob Evans, who is in the G league now. They went for a riskier pick at 28 with Jordan Poole, who just played key minutes in the playoffs and averaged double digit scoring on high efficiency. They have been validated very recently and very visibly for taking a bigger risk. There are no guarantees that the "safer" picks that were available can play in the NBA, either. Good front offices don't build good teams by being cowards about taking risks.
But Poole showed a very nice game in college. His pick was justified, imo. What was perplexing was his inability to shoot when he got to the Warriors. I've never seen anything like that. But, from the getgo, you could see him moving with and without the ball using his tireless motor. Gleague was helpful in his case and the Warriors were patient.
Safer to me, means picking a player who has shown consistent elements in his game that will fill a role. That wasn't the case in Baldwin's college performance, but I will remain openly skeptical until we see him play with us. I haven't shut any doors. I thought there was a lot of talent left on the board this draft.
Hard to tell what Baldwin aspires to, just what he has done. Apparently, he played ~10 college games, and he's 19 years old. He's hardly had time to show what we wants to do (and even less what he'll be capable of).
Baldwin may have been a bad pick. We won't know for two years or so. But, the process of taking a flier, when we are already stacked, I like.
“If you don't aspire to a complete game, why would the Warriors want him?”
I mean … because he *does* aspire to a complete game? You’re begging the question. Myers and others have praised his passing, handles, feel for the game, and defense in addition to his three point shooting.
I mean, the chances of a #28 pick becoming an actual NBA rotation player are never better than 50-50. That’s just the nature of picks that low. But I don’t know why we wouldn’t extend Myers and co. the benefit of the doubt here.
I guess I was imagining some of the fans who have been slagging Poole, Wiggins, Kuminga, Moody, and others throughout their Warrior careers (and slagging the FO by association for acquiring them) might now be showing a modicum of humility, patience, and deference to the FO in light of what these guys just accomplished. But whatevs, people are gonna be themselves, which is cool.
Didnt he only play 10 college games
11 games, 10 starts
On a bum ankle. It’s a tiny sample that may tell us very little.
May?
Honestly, I think this was a way for Myers and Kerr to get some future depth, but still (tacitly) acknowledge that next season is really about getting the 2021 guys (and Wiseman) fully integrated into (hopefully) a modified future 8-man core playoff rotation. Kuminga, especially, needs to be ready to take on more in next year's playoffs. (Wiseman will probably be brought on a bit slowly (because his basically a rookie still game-wise, and for medical reasons)).
If Baldwin turns out like Looney (and his injury is nothing like Looney has gone through so far), great. If not, it's ok to take a swing since Poole truned into a 'free' rotation addition this year. If Baldwin takes 2+ yrs, fine, because in that time, Kuminga and Moody will be regulars playing heavy playoff minutes (we hope anyway). Even if Baldwin is basically benched for a year, that's fine, he can learn the system in SF, or shuttle back and forth to Santa Cruz to rehab/work on stuff.
If he becomes a star in 3 years, wonderful. If not, he's not taking any time from a ring-chaser trying to integrate into the team. Obviously, though, Myers must at least see a lot of what Duke scouts saw a few years ago, or it would be pointless to draft Baldwin. So while it's kinda weird to have Rollins play and Baldwin not, just pretend that Rollins is the real 1st-rounder and Baldwin is the 2nd-rounder.
Wouldn't you say Jessup was a better gamble than Baldwin? I would. He looked like he was approaching a complete player and great scorer. Brought him into the summer league and he began to fail spectacularly dashing any hopes he would even get a two way contract. Many here were gung ho on him. We'll just have to see what he looks like. I like the idea of him more than the reality of him. I'm even tilted this way about JFK. I'm not convinced he can play in Kerr's system and feel like himself.
Very, very few people would say Jessup was a “better gamble” than Baldwin. Baldwin was literally the **#1 prospect in the country** for two straight years before he messed up his ankle and had a nightmare 11-game Freshman season. And he’s still just 19, an age after which players often blossom big time (viz. Poole, Giannis, Loon, Booker, Brown, Tatum, et al.)
Jessup was a 22 year old shooting specialist from an obscure school who put up decent numbers as a grown man against middling competition, but came with major doubts about his ability to handle NBA level athleticism. Vecenie had him at #78 on his big board in 2020, while ESPN had him #82. As you note, the doubts about him seemed valid basically from the moment we saw him in summer league, and are no less valid now with him putting up meh numbers in Australia at age 24.
Many posters were fascinated by Jessup and wanted him on the roster as soon as possible. But when he finally got a shot, he didn't impress. We'll probably never see him in a Warriors uniform again. All Baldwin's hype comes from high school. He kinda bombed in the 11 games he played in college. To me, this is not nearly enough to warrant much hope about his NBA game. He's a project, at best, with a beautiful shooting form from the 3 but missing accuracy. If the Warriors deem him good enough to develop, I'm in. We'll find out soon enough so I don't want to spend the time analyzing him. It's just a first impression. I hope he can prove himself as we could use his size.
I mean, all 19 year olds are "projects," especially ones that are available at #28.
The only bar Baldwin has to clear in this specific discussion is whether he's "a better gamble" than Jessup — which he obviously is. By the overwhelming consensus among draft experts and observers, he's just a completely different caliber of prospect from Jessup, with a qualitatively higher upside.
We'll see. I hope you're right.
umm, no. Baldwin was a consensus top5 recruit out of HS. He has physical gifts and a shooting form that Jessup can only dream of.
Jessup's ceiling was always a 3rd string shooter to space the floor. Baldwin's ceiling is a future All-Star.
Actually, I think people like Jessup’s shooting form too…but yeah, no where near the specimen!
6'-7" vs 6'-10" too.
Yep, and probably 6-7 inches of wingspan and standing reach.
Not sure if someone else mentioned it, but
"Baldwin revealed Friday to reporters at his Warriors introductory press conference that he was whistled for his first technical foul ever for the no-look three."
"Rollins revealed Friday that the Warriors even tried to move up to No. 30 overall, the last pick in the first round, to snatch him."
Also: "Santos called it "amazing" to continue to learn from Barbosa and be around him even more. The recently turned 20-year-old forward played with Barbosa for the Brazilian club Minas in the 2019-20 season when Barbosa led the league in scoring at 37 years old. The two quickly formed a big brother, little brother bond with Barbosa taking Santos under his wings."
I missed the intros today, but there's a short summary article on NBC Bay Area:
https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/warriors/ryan-rollins-gui-santos-inspired-shaun-livingston-leandro-barbosa
Hmmm....for vet min deal dream scenario: Rubio, Lopez. I don't want drama from Drummond. Maybe McGee instead of Lopez. Good sparring practice for Wiseman. But need a backup PG.
Rubio gonna miss how much of the season?
not gonna be a playoff guy, but Raul Neto would be a nice "keep things on the rails if Steph and/or Poole are out" guy
Bonus that he’s less likely to injure Steph if they’re on the same team.
Didn't know he was out. Might be a other reason he could take the min for a year though.
Or Dragic if he's healthy, happy and wants to be here.
Warriors want a *big* guard? Isaac Bonga reclamation project!
All right I am sick in bed so I just looked over a list of unrestricted free agents. I don't see any realistic "ring chasing" vets out there that I want more than our guys. (By realistic I mean, for example, Serge Ibaka is a free agent but seems unlikely he won't be back with the Bucks).
I think the best semi realistic option is Hartenstein, maybe? Who else you all got in mind if we got a spot? 'Cause I think we will make almost no splash in the free agent market not counting re-signing our own.
edit: never mind on Hartenstein. See responses. So who?
Bradley Beal? 🧌
Man you're gonna need surgery to get your tongue extracted from your cheek.
🪝
Goran Dragic?
Ooo good one. If he played like 2 years ago on the heat, he'd be awesome. Would he want to come here?
He's 36 so I'm not too high on him but he did seem to put up decent numbers for the Nets against the Celtics this past playoffs.
Ricky Rubio, but he's likely going to take more money and more minutes elsewhere.
Even if he didn't, will he be ready to play and back to his old self after his injury? That's a lot of if's. I don't consider him a realistic option. I would be happy to be wrong.
I warn you that on Twitter I see every team wanting Hartenstein to join them. If that’s reflective of team interest, he’s going to get PAID
Yes. I think that's' true. edited my OP
I think Hartenstein is probably looking for more money and playing time than we can give him.
Yeah, thinking about it, I agree. That's why I wrote semi realistic. We never know until it happens who will sign for what so it's hard to guess what is even realistic.
Robin Lopez?
Yeah, ok. He's realistic, probably. Better then Bjeliça for us? He'd basically just be insurance as long as we re-sign Looney, 'cause he wouldn't play as long as JW and Loon are available. (unless JW bombs, but they're gonna give him a lot of rope first).
And thinking about it, that argument kind of applies to Hartenstein, too but I think his skills would kind of be better then Bjeliça so maybe ...
Even with Wiseman out this entire past season, I don’t think Lopez would have seen that much floor time.
Not better than Belly, probably. I would definitely want Belly back over Robin.
Hartenstein is very young comparatively and always seems to play decently when I watch him. But I think he'd want to be more than a 3rd-stringer.
Also, it would be Belly back in a second year in the system. I'm a strong believer that GS' offense and defense both generally take more than a single season to really internalize, even for smart, experienced players (and Belly is one).
Kemba!
Really? How would you see him being used? We already have Poole. What do you see him settling for salary-wise? Would he be more use than Bjeliça to us? I know he wouldn't be better than OPJ.
It's more tongue-in-cheek, than anything, but backup PG is a need. JP is great, but there are two guard spots needed for backup (not counting GP as a guard - more of a wing/PF).
If Kemba's knee is healthy, and he'd be willing to take vet min, I'd say yes in a heartbeat.
If Loon and GP2 are signed, would I say yes to KW instead of OPJ for the TPMLE? Not sure. I think I feel like MM and JK are both ready to take heavier wing minutes, but Rollins is much less likely to be ready to be backup G. So, the need there is arguably greater.
Fair. Salary aside, I would not take Kemba over OPJ cause I think ball handling is covered enough with Curry-Green-Poole and Moody-Lee in a pinch (agree that Rollins unlikely to be ready) and OPJ was awesome for us, but if Kemba will settle for vet min and is healthy (two big Ifs) then, yeah, I'd consider that.
Speaking of JJ Redick, I wonder who the best player with a negative wingspan is. Currently, maybe Herro? I think Bane might be negative also. And Brandon Clarke is either neutral or slighly negative.
Edit: Apparently Yao?
Bane is better then Herro right now for sure. On both ends.
He made 44% of his 3’s last year!
What were Bane's defensive stats like? He's less likely to reach and if he does, it will be less effective. I would expect him to have far fewer deflections and steals than someone like Herro, or any Warrior.
Maybe, but he has short arms.
Definitely, wasn't sure about his wingspan.
Bane is 6'6" with a 6'4" wingspan! I always thought he had T-Rex arms, and then looked it up.
Lol, Steve Clifford back as head coach of the hornets....
You wanna bet he gets two guaranteed years, and a team option on the 3rd? In other words, the most minimal contract they can get away with?
I see this as a 'we need somebody, and we'll revisit next year' option.
This might be my best take of the year. He got 2 yrs at $4 mil/yr and a 3rd year team option at $8 mil (which will never happen).
< breaks arm patting self on back >