Yes, there was reason to doubt Andrew Wiggins when he played for the Minnesota Timberwolves. But he has proven all of the doubters wrong. And it's ok to admit it.
Kind of OT. My deepest fear as we look to the long term future of the team is that maybe we can't really get there again once Steph is not Steph. We are doing everything wisely, it seems: drafting in ways that seem wise to me, developing players well, hiring a coach who has established a great culture, signing vets on minimums, letting younger players get minutes, establishing and elaborating a style of play, paying for value. But what sends a chilly icicle down my spine is the thought that all of it may not be enough. Because sometimes when I look at the dynasty years I think maybe this was a great combination of great ownership/front office/coaching/players/ good fortune. Yet sometimes I look at it and think "Steph." What do you think, could we win a chip without Steph?
I mean... Probably not. It doesn't really send a chilly icicle down my spine though, because it's just reality. Everyone talks about how great Spurs development, drafting, coaching, etc is... But once Duncan was done, so were they (in terms of championship competing). Not to say they won't be back, but same as the Warriors post-Curry, they will need to find another superstar, which isn't easy. With some high draft picks recently it's possible that the Warriors already found their superstar of the future, but the much more likely case is they haven't yet. But we should still have some decent chances the next 5-ish years while Curry is still hopefully playing, so just relish in that before worrying too much about post-Curry era :)
Jason Timpf said something insightful on his cast: 8 of the last 11 championships were won by either Steph or LeBron. You need a superstar to win the 'chip. The other 3? Giannis & Kawhi.
If the trend continues, then one of the youngsters will have to develop into at minimum a Kawhi/Giannis talent level. That's asking a lot, and it's why they keep swinging for the fences, I bet. Ceiling uber alles if you want 'chips.
Arguably, the trend could reverse. 12 years ago, Dirk won it with the Mavs, and before that Paul Pierce with the Celtics, so the trend isn't absolute, but it definitely seems like the surest way to win another championship is to make sure you have a superstar talent.
Depends on if any of the young core can become a top 10 player (doubt it, but it is possible), because you definitely aren't winning a chip without a top 10 calibre guy.
Once the current core retires there also is the possibility of a trade or FA signing for a star. Steph's salary coming off the books would be a big chunk o' change.
It's a valid fear but being realistic, even the most successful teams go through down periods. The mighty Celtics have had their share of downs, as have the Lakers. Remember when the NY Yankees absolutely sucked in the late '60s when Mantle was done but was still playing to keep butts in the seats? Steph is a generational superstar, and it gets a lot harder when he retires. But as you say, we are doing things wisely, so we can still have a competitive team. Maybe the chemistry will click such that we do get another title in there somewhere. And who knows, maybe one of the kids breaks out into something special. We're still dreaming of glory on Wiseman Island!
Any chance the Warriors offer Wiggins an extension this offseason? And what would it be?
Wiggins will have 9 years experience after next year, which puts his (projected) max starting at $39.5m in 2023/2024, with a 4 year contract with 8% raises looking like 4/$176.9m
I don't see Wiggins taking a massive discount of like a 4/$120m contract.
He's making $33.6m in 2022/2023, so minimum for an extension probably starts at $35m, so with 8% annual raises, that means a 4/$156m contract.
For the 23/24 season, the Warriors currently have Curry ($51.2m), Klay ($43m), Draymond ($27m Player Option) and their rookie scale guys under contract.
Add in Poole probably looking at like $25m/year.
So like $180m into 5 players.....wow lol
These next couple years are really going to test how much Lacob is willing to spend on this roster. Or maybe the plan is as long as they're winning, you pay everybody, and you feel confident that if they can't win anymore, you can still trade them.
For Poole, I think it depends completely. If I were him, I'd take 4/100 million from the Warriors to guarantee generational wealth right now, but I can definitely see the argument for waiting another year and establishing him as an all star calibre player (which is what he was for the final 2 months of the season).
Draymond has a player option after next year and I think he'll opt out and sign another contract for less money but more years (3/60?). Same with Klay the year after that (no idea how much he's willing to accept in his reduced form).
Don't know if Lacob will be wiling to go upto 500+ million on the payroll though lol, so my plan is to just enjoy next year when we know we'll have all of these guys for certain.
I get the feeling that none of them would want to play without the others so riding off into the sunset together would be befitting of the legacy they have built - The Last Stance...
I was cautiously optimistic about Wiggins, and he’s been better than I had expected, capped with a great finals run. I will apologize to him for nearly writing him off after his proloooonged post allstar slump. That said, he’s getting paid bookoo bucks (more than the 1st and 2nd MVP vote getters for instance) so he still has a little ways to go to live up to the contract. Now if he goes full superstar in 2023 I will get on my knees and kiss the ground he walks on! (Can you imagine how much the league would hate us if that happened??)
It's way past time to stop judging Wiggins by that old contract. We didn't sign him to that deal, and he took what was on the table. We took him on with eyes wide open in return for unloading Russell and filler, and we got Kuminga (from the 7th pick) to boot. That was way worthwhile; we would not have won the title without Wiggs, and Kuminga looks like a key part of our future. So judge Wiggins on what he contributes, which is a lot, not what he's paid. He doesn't need to be any more than he was this past year to be worthwhile for us. And he is on an expiring contract; 2022-23 is the last season. If the Warriors re-sign/extend him for some outlandish amount that he can't play up to, that will be a different discussion. But that's not the case now.
Whilst we are talking KD - I know this would be annoying for us, but I would really like to see KD team up with Dame in Portland. A small franchise with a good leader.
Off topic but I don't understand why 2 really really good teams (Suns and the Nets) are hell-bent on cratering their chances for next season. Both are facing unpalatable decisions but surely the alternative is even worse, isn't it?
For the Nets, a long-term max to Kyrie Irving is likely to be a bad decision. But considering the consequences (of KD likely leaving) combined with the fact that they basically don't have their own FRPs until 2027, you've got to keep them along with Ben Simmons and hope that group can win a championship right? Am I crazy or are they grossly mishandling this lol? What are they going to do, tank and hope Houston out-tanks them?
As for the Suns, that's a much less cut and dry situation, but what exactly do they think they're going to do with Ayton's salary slot? I struggle to think of available players who would be an improvement on Ayton (particularly considering that teams know that Suns have little leverage). Yes he's not a max player, but surely he's a 20-25 million player? And he's 23, so improvement to a max quality player is not out of the picture.
1. They can't be assured that Kyrie doesn't have some other fruitloopy idea and won't play. Or demands a trade in a year. Or something else. Kyrie's track record here is not good. And, he just had a very up and down playoffs.
2. They went the 'pay everybody' route with Boston's aging core (Garnett, Pierce, Allen), and it screwed them up for most of a decade. I'm sure this is front and center in their thinking.
3. Even if they don't sign Kyrie, and KD leaves, which is the worst possible case, they are going to get assets back in any KD trade. And, they'll get some (not many) assets back in a Kyrie S&T. Simmons and Harris will be there next year.
So, while the situation is far from perfect, even the worst case isn't a disaster. They can chase a second star with whatever assets come back. Or just rehab Simmons, trade him next year and go into rebuild mode.
I think it's a reasonable position to call Kyrie's bluff (and KD's). The trades they made before (Harden from the Rockets, in particular) look bad, but those are sunk costs.
2 is false, the issue was't that they were paying those guys, the issue was that they traded all their picks for those guys. That meant that they couldn't even tank as their picks went to Boston (turned into Tatum, Brown etc).
3. Assets back yes, but they are not going to get their picks back so they cannot properly rebuild. They would either be looking to remain competitve after losing KD/Kyrie (good luck with that lol) or to rebuild without their picks and with a few nice young pieces. That's a team that's headed to play-in purgatory for 5-6 years which is the worst possible place for any franchise to be.
Sunk costs is one thing, they need to start making future decision knowing that they don't have their assets in the future. That's not a sunk cost, that cost is a very pertinent fact which should impact their thinking and actions. Not having their future FRPs changes the optimal decisions they need to make.
If they trade KD they are going to get a king's ransom for him, including picks. He has several years left on his contract, so he can demand a trade, but he can't walk. He plays hard, has not burned bridges, and is in demand, so there will be a bidding war for his services.
Not their own picks, which would be the most valuable asset in a rebuild.
Other teams who don't have their pick would not tank, which considerably lowers the odds of a top 5 pick (alongside the fact that that team would likely have KD).
They'll get a platter of middling picks and promising young players, which is not the place any franchise wants to be in when they don't have picks.
Ayton is a restricted FA, why max him if no one else is going to? If no one else offers him the max and he’s so butthurt about it that he lets it affect his play, that’s even more reason not to max him right?
The nets dug themselves a nice little hole over there and I look forward to seeing them lay in it
I used to subscribe to this sort of thinking, but I think we've seen that the human element makes a huge difference. It's easy to say that they shouldn't max him if his performance goes down but that's just not really reasonable (anyone's morale and eventually performance would go down if they don't think they're being rewarded for their work).
And what is even the point of it? They're not going to be a cap space team in the near future so that's a moot point. Assuming that Ayton currently deserves 25 million a year (which I think is a conservative number most would agree with), is signing him to a 30-35 million contract the worst thing in the world really? He's not going to become a Beal/Wall/Westbrook level guy, even if he plateaus that's 1 step below an all-star level player and one of the 5-10 best Cs in the game. I just don't get the upside of messing up the entire team chemistry for this (which they almost assuredly have considering how Williams and Ayton's relationship seems to be).
If nobody offers Ayton a max, that would leave no doubt he's not worth what he was asking. It's not the case that his work isn't being rewarded. Is he going to let the fact that nobody will pay him the max affect his performance regardless of what team he signs with? That would be stupid. And the difference between 25M and 30-35M is considerable, especially over multiple years.
Not really, the difference is not considerable considering they wouldn't have cap space regardless. They're just being cheap, which is not usually how you win titles in the NBA these days.
The Nets obviously don't consider Kyrie to be reliable, and he's not. For them to commit long-term to a max contract without incentive-based pay is a helluva risk. His best bet is to opt in, take the money, then either play out the contract and start fresh or accept a trade. It's just one season. But he's Kyrie so nobody knows what he'll do. As for KD, he has not publicly said he would leave, that's all media speculation. He has several years left on his contract. If traded, he almost surely wouldn't go to the same team as Kyrie anyway because what team could swing that deal? So if the Nets can convince him that they can build a competitive team without Kyrie, maybe he stays.
I felt like putting him in a position to be the 4th best player on the team would do wonders for him - and he had all the tools to be an elite 3 and D type guy who was low maintenance and could be easily integrated into the culture.
I could have never imagined we would get this type of output, particularly the rebounding and when the lights were brightest.
I knew he could be really good....I just didn't know that we would win a Title with him being the 2nd best/most consistent player throughout the playoffs.
Credit goes to the players, the coaching staff and our front office. Super proud of how this franchise consistently realizes careers and puts players in the best position to succeed.
When we first got Wiggins I was so sad and thinking “is Meyers just throwing darts?” I thought Wiggins was like an old Pontiac: cool-looking sometimes but barely runs.
Turns out he’s like Draymond: start him up every now to make sure everything is ok during the looooooong season, then let the miles rack up and leave the opposition in the dust when the games really matter.
Jun 26, 2022Liked by Eric Apricot, Daniel Hardee, Nate P
Forgot to mention - for those of you know are not familiar with Nate P. - he ran the former site during the years I used to read it. I have a very soft spot in my heart for him.
Terrific writer, super insightful guy. If you haven't read his stuff in the past, you're going to love it.
We DNHQ readers are phenomenally blessed to be able to get content developed by Daniel, Eric, Duby, and Nate. Now we just need Joe V. here to make it just about perfect :-)
Nate P is an OG of the Warriors blogging world. He hired me, Duby and Daniel at GSOM; along with hiring Dr. Tom, Patrick M, Joe Viray, Andy Liu, Rich LGW, Brady K (I think) and many others I’m forgetting.
Family issues have put him on a sabbatical from writing… until now MOO HAHAHA
Winning an NBA championship is nice and all, and it is great that the Wiggins trade worked out, but I'm gonna be bummed if the Warriors don't win the California Classic. Assuming Wiseman plays, they have 3 lottery picks that each have a year of professional ball (Kumiga with 2 years) against 1 team that mortgaged their future for a win now star (cough), a team that has been drafting late for a couple of years, and the Kings. It really seems like the young Warriors ought to dominate.
Fun fact ... if Luke shows up to the California Classic (which I expect he will), we'll have enough Warriors head coaches to coach all four teams in the tourney (Kerr, Brown, Gentry, Walton).
Twill be fun to see Kerr, Gentry and Brown shmoozing courtside.
But only if you add the leading apostrophe: 'twill. (Think of Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio says of his stab wound: "No, 'tis not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church door, but 'tis enough, 'twill serve."
Without the apostrophe it's a type of fabric weave.
They’re not sure Wise is playing the Cal Classic. He’s supposedly 90% to play summer league… whether that is Cal Classic or the last Vegas game remains to be seen. Anybody know when Cal Classic roster will be announced?
I still think that two hander versus Memphis was his best of the postseason. He jumped from basically the same place as the Luka poster and absolutely destroyed the rim. Just a mean ass dunk.
But the Luka one was f-ing incredible as well. Honestly, hard to pick a favorite.
Late to the party here, but damn Nate!!!! Really enjoyed this one
Kind of OT. My deepest fear as we look to the long term future of the team is that maybe we can't really get there again once Steph is not Steph. We are doing everything wisely, it seems: drafting in ways that seem wise to me, developing players well, hiring a coach who has established a great culture, signing vets on minimums, letting younger players get minutes, establishing and elaborating a style of play, paying for value. But what sends a chilly icicle down my spine is the thought that all of it may not be enough. Because sometimes when I look at the dynasty years I think maybe this was a great combination of great ownership/front office/coaching/players/ good fortune. Yet sometimes I look at it and think "Steph." What do you think, could we win a chip without Steph?
I mean... Probably not. It doesn't really send a chilly icicle down my spine though, because it's just reality. Everyone talks about how great Spurs development, drafting, coaching, etc is... But once Duncan was done, so were they (in terms of championship competing). Not to say they won't be back, but same as the Warriors post-Curry, they will need to find another superstar, which isn't easy. With some high draft picks recently it's possible that the Warriors already found their superstar of the future, but the much more likely case is they haven't yet. But we should still have some decent chances the next 5-ish years while Curry is still hopefully playing, so just relish in that before worrying too much about post-Curry era :)
Jason Timpf said something insightful on his cast: 8 of the last 11 championships were won by either Steph or LeBron. You need a superstar to win the 'chip. The other 3? Giannis & Kawhi.
If the trend continues, then one of the youngsters will have to develop into at minimum a Kawhi/Giannis talent level. That's asking a lot, and it's why they keep swinging for the fences, I bet. Ceiling uber alles if you want 'chips.
Arguably, the trend could reverse. 12 years ago, Dirk won it with the Mavs, and before that Paul Pierce with the Celtics, so the trend isn't absolute, but it definitely seems like the surest way to win another championship is to make sure you have a superstar talent.
Depends on if any of the young core can become a top 10 player (doubt it, but it is possible), because you definitely aren't winning a chip without a top 10 calibre guy.
Once the current core retires there also is the possibility of a trade or FA signing for a star. Steph's salary coming off the books would be a big chunk o' change.
Trading/getting a top 10 player in a FA is also very very difficult.
It's a valid fear but being realistic, even the most successful teams go through down periods. The mighty Celtics have had their share of downs, as have the Lakers. Remember when the NY Yankees absolutely sucked in the late '60s when Mantle was done but was still playing to keep butts in the seats? Steph is a generational superstar, and it gets a lot harder when he retires. But as you say, we are doing things wisely, so we can still have a competitive team. Maybe the chemistry will click such that we do get another title in there somewhere. And who knows, maybe one of the kids breaks out into something special. We're still dreaming of glory on Wiseman Island!
Any chance the Warriors offer Wiggins an extension this offseason? And what would it be?
Wiggins will have 9 years experience after next year, which puts his (projected) max starting at $39.5m in 2023/2024, with a 4 year contract with 8% raises looking like 4/$176.9m
I don't see Wiggins taking a massive discount of like a 4/$120m contract.
He's making $33.6m in 2022/2023, so minimum for an extension probably starts at $35m, so with 8% annual raises, that means a 4/$156m contract.
For the 23/24 season, the Warriors currently have Curry ($51.2m), Klay ($43m), Draymond ($27m Player Option) and their rookie scale guys under contract.
Add in Poole probably looking at like $25m/year.
So like $180m into 5 players.....wow lol
These next couple years are really going to test how much Lacob is willing to spend on this roster. Or maybe the plan is as long as they're winning, you pay everybody, and you feel confident that if they can't win anymore, you can still trade them.
3/80 or 3/90 seems fair for Wiggins.
For Poole, I think it depends completely. If I were him, I'd take 4/100 million from the Warriors to guarantee generational wealth right now, but I can definitely see the argument for waiting another year and establishing him as an all star calibre player (which is what he was for the final 2 months of the season).
Draymond has a player option after next year and I think he'll opt out and sign another contract for less money but more years (3/60?). Same with Klay the year after that (no idea how much he's willing to accept in his reduced form).
Don't know if Lacob will be wiling to go upto 500+ million on the payroll though lol, so my plan is to just enjoy next year when we know we'll have all of these guys for certain.
Hmmm, actually a 3 year deal makes sense to coincide with Curry's contract.
Actually, taking that idea even further, I wonder if they look to have Klay's and Dray's next contracts also lineup with Curry.
I get the feeling that none of them would want to play without the others so riding off into the sunset together would be befitting of the legacy they have built - The Last Stance...
"The Last Splash"
Beautiful 👌😍🙏
Dray and Klay shouldn’t be able to get such large contracts in their next go around
As a Warriors fan I really enjoyed this article: https://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2022/6/25/23181581/lakers-warriors-jeanie-buss-joe-lacob-steph-curry-lebron-james-draft-trade-nba
Great article, and the comments are even more fun!
Lakers fans in despair and/or denial is glorious.
This is half a year old, just found & enjoyed it, so I thought I share it with you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuOkS2tm89k
"Stephen Curry Replies to Fans on the Internet"
Don't miss the question at 5:43 :)
"Will Steph Curry win another title?"
"Absolutely."
I was cautiously optimistic about Wiggins, and he’s been better than I had expected, capped with a great finals run. I will apologize to him for nearly writing him off after his proloooonged post allstar slump. That said, he’s getting paid bookoo bucks (more than the 1st and 2nd MVP vote getters for instance) so he still has a little ways to go to live up to the contract. Now if he goes full superstar in 2023 I will get on my knees and kiss the ground he walks on! (Can you imagine how much the league would hate us if that happened??)
It's way past time to stop judging Wiggins by that old contract. We didn't sign him to that deal, and he took what was on the table. We took him on with eyes wide open in return for unloading Russell and filler, and we got Kuminga (from the 7th pick) to boot. That was way worthwhile; we would not have won the title without Wiggs, and Kuminga looks like a key part of our future. So judge Wiggins on what he contributes, which is a lot, not what he's paid. He doesn't need to be any more than he was this past year to be worthwhile for us. And he is on an expiring contract; 2022-23 is the last season. If the Warriors re-sign/extend him for some outlandish amount that he can't play up to, that will be a different discussion. But that's not the case now.
Whilst we are talking KD - I know this would be annoying for us, but I would really like to see KD team up with Dame in Portland. A small franchise with a good leader.
Passed up on draft night by POR... but ends up there anyway 15 years later.
At this point I’m just hoping Dame can get healthy and back to his old self…
I'd rather see KD stay in the East and not make our path harder, thank you.
I'd like something great to happen for Lillard at some point. Not sure what but he's a guy who's given more to the game than he's gotten back.
If he’s gonna beat us in the playoffs I’d rather he do it without KD
Off topic but I don't understand why 2 really really good teams (Suns and the Nets) are hell-bent on cratering their chances for next season. Both are facing unpalatable decisions but surely the alternative is even worse, isn't it?
For the Nets, a long-term max to Kyrie Irving is likely to be a bad decision. But considering the consequences (of KD likely leaving) combined with the fact that they basically don't have their own FRPs until 2027, you've got to keep them along with Ben Simmons and hope that group can win a championship right? Am I crazy or are they grossly mishandling this lol? What are they going to do, tank and hope Houston out-tanks them?
As for the Suns, that's a much less cut and dry situation, but what exactly do they think they're going to do with Ayton's salary slot? I struggle to think of available players who would be an improvement on Ayton (particularly considering that teams know that Suns have little leverage). Yes he's not a max player, but surely he's a 20-25 million player? And he's 23, so improvement to a max quality player is not out of the picture.
In the Nets case:
1. They can't be assured that Kyrie doesn't have some other fruitloopy idea and won't play. Or demands a trade in a year. Or something else. Kyrie's track record here is not good. And, he just had a very up and down playoffs.
2. They went the 'pay everybody' route with Boston's aging core (Garnett, Pierce, Allen), and it screwed them up for most of a decade. I'm sure this is front and center in their thinking.
3. Even if they don't sign Kyrie, and KD leaves, which is the worst possible case, they are going to get assets back in any KD trade. And, they'll get some (not many) assets back in a Kyrie S&T. Simmons and Harris will be there next year.
So, while the situation is far from perfect, even the worst case isn't a disaster. They can chase a second star with whatever assets come back. Or just rehab Simmons, trade him next year and go into rebuild mode.
I think it's a reasonable position to call Kyrie's bluff (and KD's). The trades they made before (Harden from the Rockets, in particular) look bad, but those are sunk costs.
1 is true.
2 is false, the issue was't that they were paying those guys, the issue was that they traded all their picks for those guys. That meant that they couldn't even tank as their picks went to Boston (turned into Tatum, Brown etc).
3. Assets back yes, but they are not going to get their picks back so they cannot properly rebuild. They would either be looking to remain competitve after losing KD/Kyrie (good luck with that lol) or to rebuild without their picks and with a few nice young pieces. That's a team that's headed to play-in purgatory for 5-6 years which is the worst possible place for any franchise to be.
Sunk costs is one thing, they need to start making future decision knowing that they don't have their assets in the future. That's not a sunk cost, that cost is a very pertinent fact which should impact their thinking and actions. Not having their future FRPs changes the optimal decisions they need to make.
If they trade KD they are going to get a king's ransom for him, including picks. He has several years left on his contract, so he can demand a trade, but he can't walk. He plays hard, has not burned bridges, and is in demand, so there will be a bidding war for his services.
Not their own picks, which would be the most valuable asset in a rebuild.
Other teams who don't have their pick would not tank, which considerably lowers the odds of a top 5 pick (alongside the fact that that team would likely have KD).
They'll get a platter of middling picks and promising young players, which is not the place any franchise wants to be in when they don't have picks.
Ayton is a restricted FA, why max him if no one else is going to? If no one else offers him the max and he’s so butthurt about it that he lets it affect his play, that’s even more reason not to max him right?
The nets dug themselves a nice little hole over there and I look forward to seeing them lay in it
I used to subscribe to this sort of thinking, but I think we've seen that the human element makes a huge difference. It's easy to say that they shouldn't max him if his performance goes down but that's just not really reasonable (anyone's morale and eventually performance would go down if they don't think they're being rewarded for their work).
And what is even the point of it? They're not going to be a cap space team in the near future so that's a moot point. Assuming that Ayton currently deserves 25 million a year (which I think is a conservative number most would agree with), is signing him to a 30-35 million contract the worst thing in the world really? He's not going to become a Beal/Wall/Westbrook level guy, even if he plateaus that's 1 step below an all-star level player and one of the 5-10 best Cs in the game. I just don't get the upside of messing up the entire team chemistry for this (which they almost assuredly have considering how Williams and Ayton's relationship seems to be).
If nobody offers Ayton a max, that would leave no doubt he's not worth what he was asking. It's not the case that his work isn't being rewarded. Is he going to let the fact that nobody will pay him the max affect his performance regardless of what team he signs with? That would be stupid. And the difference between 25M and 30-35M is considerable, especially over multiple years.
Not really, the difference is not considerable considering they wouldn't have cap space regardless. They're just being cheap, which is not usually how you win titles in the NBA these days.
The Nets obviously don't consider Kyrie to be reliable, and he's not. For them to commit long-term to a max contract without incentive-based pay is a helluva risk. His best bet is to opt in, take the money, then either play out the contract and start fresh or accept a trade. It's just one season. But he's Kyrie so nobody knows what he'll do. As for KD, he has not publicly said he would leave, that's all media speculation. He has several years left on his contract. If traded, he almost surely wouldn't go to the same team as Kyrie anyway because what team could swing that deal? So if the Nets can convince him that they can build a competitive team without Kyrie, maybe he stays.
Woj, Logan Murdock, Shams etc are all saying KD would likely leave if Kyrie goes. Media speculation, but that's about as reliable as it gets.
If I were Durant by this time I'd leave if Kyrie *stayed*. He's not kind of teammate to trust.
Yeah but they're pals. And presumably Durant really likes the on-court chemistry.
This season and offseason are really putting light years into perspective
I was all in on Wiggins from the jump.
I felt like putting him in a position to be the 4th best player on the team would do wonders for him - and he had all the tools to be an elite 3 and D type guy who was low maintenance and could be easily integrated into the culture.
I could have never imagined we would get this type of output, particularly the rebounding and when the lights were brightest.
I knew he could be really good....I just didn't know that we would win a Title with him being the 2nd best/most consistent player throughout the playoffs.
Credit goes to the players, the coaching staff and our front office. Super proud of how this franchise consistently realizes careers and puts players in the best position to succeed.
When we first got Wiggins I was so sad and thinking “is Meyers just throwing darts?” I thought Wiggins was like an old Pontiac: cool-looking sometimes but barely runs.
Turns out he’s like Draymond: start him up every now to make sure everything is ok during the looooooong season, then let the miles rack up and leave the opposition in the dust when the games really matter.
Good to see you back Nate!
It’s clear Wiggins Island is now at full capacity!
No way...the Island expands as it needs to just as its namesake rises, quite literally, to the occasion!
Forgot to mention - for those of you know are not familiar with Nate P. - he ran the former site during the years I used to read it. I have a very soft spot in my heart for him.
Terrific writer, super insightful guy. If you haven't read his stuff in the past, you're going to love it.
We DNHQ readers are phenomenally blessed to be able to get content developed by Daniel, Eric, Duby, and Nate. Now we just need Joe V. here to make it just about perfect :-)
So he's like Iggy returning to the roster?
Thank you for the kind words! I’m genuinely humbled by your words.
Hoping to get back in action during the summer months! Appreciate your reading this first real writing effort in a while. 🙏🏾
Nate P is an OG of the Warriors blogging world. He hired me, Duby and Daniel at GSOM; along with hiring Dr. Tom, Patrick M, Joe Viray, Andy Liu, Rich LGW, Brady K (I think) and many others I’m forgetting.
Family issues have put him on a sabbatical from writing… until now MOO HAHAHA
*thunder*
*horses whinny*
*CP3 suddenly feels uneasy*
Hahahahah
It's an incredible feeling to go on the trade machine and not see a single Warrior that you'd want to trade.
Winning an NBA championship is nice and all, and it is great that the Wiggins trade worked out, but I'm gonna be bummed if the Warriors don't win the California Classic. Assuming Wiseman plays, they have 3 lottery picks that each have a year of professional ball (Kumiga with 2 years) against 1 team that mortgaged their future for a win now star (cough), a team that has been drafting late for a couple of years, and the Kings. It really seems like the young Warriors ought to dominate.
I'm not going to be bummed about anything basketball-related for a long, long time. (Flashes Wiggins-sized smile.)
Fun fact ... if Luke shows up to the California Classic (which I expect he will), we'll have enough Warriors head coaches to coach all four teams in the tourney (Kerr, Brown, Gentry, Walton).
Twill be fun to see Kerr, Gentry and Brown shmoozing courtside.
+1 for twill
? I'm drawing a blank on who Twill is.
Or maybe I'm just running out of fabric.
Old timey shorthand for “It will”
I am so dumb. I thought he was saying there was another ex-Warriors head coach squirrelled away on the rosters.
I should have just bent over and said 'kick me'.
But only if you add the leading apostrophe: 'twill. (Think of Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio says of his stab wound: "No, 'tis not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church door, but 'tis enough, 'twill serve."
Without the apostrophe it's a type of fabric weave.
Welcome back to the Sea Dub invitational
We're going for the treble this year.
They’re not sure Wise is playing the Cal Classic. He’s supposedly 90% to play summer league… whether that is Cal Classic or the last Vegas game remains to be seen. Anybody know when Cal Classic roster will be announced?
doesn’t get injured, doesn’t get tired, puts our toughest opponents on posters
Disagree on he doesn't get tired, did you see the picture of him after a night out with Klay lol?
Is loved in the locker room, is a super positive guy, saves his best moments for when they’re most needed, lights up the room with his smile
And speaking of posters, I think the two huge posters in the Memphis series were underrated as tone setters
> underrated as tone setters
Yea, probably because we lost the game (the one on Clarke in G2).
Hell yeah, that dunk on Clarke was raw af. Both of em
I still think that two hander versus Memphis was his best of the postseason. He jumped from basically the same place as the Luka poster and absolutely destroyed the rim. Just a mean ass dunk.
But the Luka one was f-ing incredible as well. Honestly, hard to pick a favorite.
First of all, it's so great to see the Nate P. byline here at DNHQ!
OK, my first reaction was, OH NO! WHY'D WE GET THAT GUY?
It didn't take me that long to come around to "Harrison Barnes equivalent."
Then, this year, it was "OK, maybe a little better than Barnes."
Then it was, "Dude, that smile of yours really lights up the world." 'Cause I can't stop smiling when I see that huge Wiggins smile.
Then I started looking for a condo as a vacation home on Wiggins Island. (My first place is here in the Hashemite Kingdom.)
So, yeah, I owe Wiggs an apology, too.
My favorite Wiggs moment this year was when he posterized Karl Barely Cares. Second favorite was the poster on Luka.
That smile IS priceless.