65 Comments

Happy New Year EVERYONE!

(Now, back to my regularly scheduled mimosa.)

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I truly believe Curry, Thompson, and Green can win three more rings IF 1) Curry stops playing golf to dedicate winning every basketball game, 2) Thompson finds better weed or no weed and goes vegan like Chris Paul’s documentary “The Game Changers” to boost his mental energy and attitude and 3) Green should do the same, refocus and dedicate his energy to the team and less his ego. Bonus: Also If I were the governor I’d rehire Mark Jackson as head coach and give Kerr a year off on sabbatical. Kerr looks burnt out and Jackson did awesome grooming the young Splash brothers.

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Jan 1·edited Jan 1

"and Jackson did awesome grooming the young Splash brothers."

I sure hope not though.

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Why not look as far back to the 2020 draft. Imagine if we had the foresight to pick Haliburton instead of Wiseman, then in 2021 picked Alperen Sengun and Franz Wagner instead of Kuminga and Moody. Would any have fit well? Or would they not have had the play time to develop?

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Would we have been bad enough to have the same picks in 2021?

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Good point, but would Haliburton have improved dubs enough that they lose the 7th/14th picks? I dont know. Also didn’t we get the 7th pick because of Minnesota.

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PT prediction: Hali and Franz for sure would have. Alpi probably not.

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I love what Sengun has become, but it would clash harder with this team than JK imo. He also very much grew into this form; Franz and Hali were clearly special in their rookie years in ways the team could integrate I think

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Sengun debut in summer league sold me. He may not run or switch, but for a old timer the old dream is still alive to see a dominant presence down low. I still in disbelief we lost Chris Webber. Haha

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Happy new year everyone. May 2024 be kind to this aging OG core and sublime for its youth.

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The only thing I would like to see this year from the Warriors is that same thing I ask of them every year: please run a meritocracy where the goal is to win each game.

Don’t play a rookie center with no idea how to play basketball. But also don’t give minutes to a guy who looks a whole lot like a paycheck player who got his next bag and has another year before needing to convince people to give him his next one.

Do play the rookie center who is clearly the best option at the 5 this year, and for heaven sakes play your most effective wing more than any other 2/3 not less than all the rest with a dnp immediately after he was by far your most effective player.

Cater to winning not whining and victories will soon follow.

Happy 2024!

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Unfortunately we live in a Kerritocracy

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Ok. The beautiful thing about this site is the amazing diversity in how we can all .... coach better then the coach 😬love it and keep it up you all - on the new year and beyond 🙏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👍🏾

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> Ok. The beautiful thing about this site is the amazing diversity in how we can all .... coach better then the coach

Because the Dubs have so much potential that there are 1000 routes to the title, and only one to failure. And, amazingly, Steve Kerr found the ONE! ;-) Just kidding

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author

Here, I’ll count down with you

6

5

4

They do have a timeout

Decide not to use it

Curry way downtown

BANG

BANG

Oh what a shot from Curry

Happy New Year!

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Jan 1Liked by Daniel Hardee

I admit I am peeking in the door to the DNHQ before stepping in lately. Too many trade machines/fire sales makes my head hurt. That said, in a weird unlikely way I consider y’all family and want to thank every one of you for being such an enjoyable part of my Warriors basketball journey. I am holding on to my early assessment of this team, that we can compete with anyone, even though it looks bleak lately.

Happy safe New Years. Sending out positive thoughts/energy/vibes to all. Go Dubs.

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So how about trying this on for size:

Draymond to Atlanta. Clint Capella to Golden State THEN

Moody/Kuminga/Paul/lightly protected first to Toronto for Siakam and Otto Porter

Curry, Klay, Wiggins, Siakam, Capela

CoJo, Podz, GP2, Porter, Looney/TJD rotation

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(…slowly backs out the door….)

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Ugh. Don't want either of those guys. Don't want to give up Moody and Kuminga. But other than that...

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Jan 1·edited Jan 1

The state of the team is an interpretive one this new year. Very little agreement of where the Warriors are actually at. Work in Progress is always a safe bet, but from the snippets we get from Kerr, they give me a different feeling. Too much is up in the air. With a possible return of Draymond close by, many seem to think will be the deciding difference. I would have thought Curry would be the deciding difference, alone, or paired with Klay. Whichever you think will be the answer, the Warriors will have the fight of their lives for this core to either survive and fight for another day just to get into the Play In. This can't be the outcome of the WIN NOW campaign. Bad planning? Something has not worked. Can the Warriors really have a soul searching moment to face this reality? We really have no idea for the first time in many years, where this road is leading to.

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Jan 1·edited Jan 1

The funny thing is lots of people were all "MJD nailed it! Its a MUCH BETTER BENCH than ANYTHING Myers ever gave the Dubs!" And it is all falling apart because Klay and Wigs forgot how to play, Loon's streak is making him a shell of himself, and Dray can't stay on the floor and even when he's there, he's not as dominant as he was.

It's time to flip the script The OGs gotta start playing better so they don't waste A YEAR of the young guns' career. And all trade ideas need to be focused on maximizing the young guns' chance to win a title.

EDIT: After I wrote this I saw Attila's note, with which I completely agree.

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Amen.

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And yet it wasn't so long ago we were talking about what a great job MDJ did in assembling this roster. He signed Saric, not easy to do. He swapped Poole, PBJ, and Rollins and got CP3 to lead the bench and a pick that got us TJD, plus drafted Podz, and both rookies are contributing. He re-signed Draymond, which obviously is controversial but at the time was considered a key requirement for success (and still may prove to be that).

So... is that really bad planning? There was every reason to think Klay and Wiggs would play well this season, and Loon was coming off a season and playoff where he was a formidable rebounder, screen-setter, and defender (though not a rim protector). It was pretty hard to see this coming.

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I think Dunleavy has done a good job given what he had to work with. What has not worked comes from Kerr's side. Not being able to integrate and develop Moody and Kuminga since last season. He's offered no consistency to either of them. Can't find a rotation he likes. That is the planning side. The unknowns, ala the meltdown of Dray, Klay, Wiggs, Curry, throw in Looney, all playing below last season's performance rate, and you have a big problem. Can they sort it? They haven't yet. All the while, being hamstringed by their payroll. Changes need to be made and it's going to be painful.

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When all the OGs and Loon (undersizement takes its toll) decline in performance at the same time, this is a sign that "The Irreverisble Downturn Has Begun". The team is sliding down a mountain and they will pick up speed every year from now on. You don't start climbing again by trading the players who aren't causing the slide for others and continuing to rely on the players who are declining. You start climbing again by relying on the declining players less and, if the only way to do that is to get rid of them or let them walk, then you get rid of them or let them walk.

I am reminded of a scene in Moneyball. Brad Pitt wants the manager to play Player X at first base because of their superior analytics, but Player Y has non-analytic better stats so that's who the manager plays. So Brad Pitt traded Player Y, forcing the manager to play Player X. That may be the only way MDJ can get Moody and JK consistently on the floor--trade Wigs and Klay. The team has tried it Kerr's "I put my trust in the OG's" way 2 years out of the last 2, and both years have failed, with low morale and increasingly poor performances. Time to go in another direction.

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I have also not heard a word from Lacob or his mouthpiece. What is he thinking?

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Jan 1Liked by Daniel Hardee

Best wishes to the DNHQ community for a happy and healthy 2024. And, a winning streak would be a nice start too!

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Jan 1Liked by Daniel Hardee

Lakers lost again tonight. Such a nice way to end the year.

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Been on the Trade Machine all evening youse guys and I just don’t really see a path to get an impact player unless we are willing to mortgage part of our future. Lauri and Pascal: itd take the Raptors or Jazz valuing one or both of Moody/Kuminga and I dont think they carry as much trade value to be the young centerpieces for someone else. So are you willing to surrender Podz and/or future picks? I wouldn’t because I don’t think any of those players are ideal fits on this club

So on to the secondary tier. This is where we could potentially fenagle a couple of decent role players on expiring contracts in exchange for CP3 but now I believe we are selling one of Kuminga or Moody for pennies on the dollar and guaranteeing Chris Paul to a rival on a buyout.

So unless we are sellers come trade deadline (and that holds alot more intrigue because we have quite a few pieces that we can trade for future flexibility) id rather just stand pat and plag out the season with who we have

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One trading tangent that few people mention is that most teams see the Warriors as a potential seller and will come calling. Serious suitors will have someone(s) worth considering. It's impossible to know what and who that would be. It's not going to be advertised on The Ringer or Blue Man Hoops, both ridiculous sources for rumours. I don't see the Warriors shopping their players around. The timing is just not right for whatever reason. This is a club in flux and the direction has yet to be agreed upon in-house. Whether they will be grasping at straws or have a real plan in the works is above our pay grades. Way above it. Speculation is for the bored and desparate.

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Jan 1·edited Jan 1

I agree.

I can't see any one player (who would be available), or even two players, who fix our issues this year.

Like it or not, Steph and Klay have been inconsistent, Draymond has been gone most of the time and not up to his usual standards, and Wiggins is better described as mostly bad, with flashes of good play.

You can't have below-expectations play from your top four players (as projected at the beginning of the year) and expect to contend.

I think we need to just play it out. By the end of the year, we'll know whether Klay actually warrants more than a bargain basement offer, whether Dray will return to somewhere near what he's capable of, and whether Wiggs needs to be moved, either because he can't return to form, or simply to give Kuminga more playing time (and yes, I realize that right now, Kuminga is not a 3).

Plus we can evaluate the four younger players.

And, there's always some chance that the players right the ship in time to make a playoff push.

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A rebuild/retool is never about the immediate situation alone. It is always a work in progress. I agree that it feels like the Dubs will play it out because they seem to feel they have a better team than their record. This will be a defining season and they will either fall on their face and throw their hands up to the heavens, or miraculously rise like a phoenix. I can imagine where the smart money is going.

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Jan 1Liked by Daniel Hardee

Happy New Year all.

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Playing Uno out here in Columbia, MO. What are you guys up to in St Louis?

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Having Covid, unfortunately. Nothing bad, though.

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Where is Columbia?

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Mid Missouri. Two hours away from Abaddon

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I remember the more southern part of Missouri being very picturesque, beautiful. The Ozarks, lakes, etc. This was many moons ago on my migration from east to west coast, 1966. Janice Joplin awaited me.

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Jan 1·edited Jan 1

To honor recent pessimism, may your favorite basketball team trade all your favorite players for conditional second round draft picks attached to injured players with expiring contracts in 2024!

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JTA checks in for the Kings!

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<seehandle> :)

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Jan 1Liked by Daniel Hardee

Welcome 2024! May you bring peace and goodness throughout the world. Cheers everyone!

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