Brandin Podziemski really struggled to score in Las Vegas, and that should be a bit of a concern, as he struggled to separate from his man in any discernible way. But I also want to give him real credit: I’m not sure I saw a smarter, more translatable passer during my time in Las Vegas. He made quick decisions with high-level vision, understanding how to read the second and third levels of the defense. He’s good at playing off two feet and on-balance, allowing him to maintain a live dribble and throw crisp passes within the flow of the offense. Podziemski will struggle to stick if he can’t separate and doesn’t hit 40 percent of his 3s. But his passing and ability to move the ball will fit perfectly within Golden State’s offense.
- Podz did not blow by guys nor get all the way to the rim (bad) but he did get into the paint quite regularly to create a rotation and allow him to pass to an open man (good). It’s not clear how much the defensive rotation was because of bad summer league D. (I think it’s some bad D, but also some clever use of PNR)
- Podz’s successful passes were outstanding. However, there were also quite a lot of picked-off passes. Hoping the picked-off ones can be removed from the diet with caution and experience, but easier said than done.
- If he can create in the PNR, then he can shoot a little worse than 40% from 3 and still succeed. If he can’t create in the PNR, then his trajectory tops out around shorter Moody with better rebounding.
The question about his forays into the paint is going to be: Can he show he can actually score, or are teams going to stop rotating and trust that his primary defender will keep him contained effectively enough.
Also if memory serves, some of those picked-off passes happened when he drove into the paint, found himself stuck in traffic, and forced the pass. Hopefully experience, patience, and playing with vets who know the offense will help there.
Regarding your first point, it reminded me of Damion Lee where he'd do things like start running before catching the ball to get a step on his defender, or clever PnR stuff like you said.
Beli and Chaos - I'm not that pessimistic. There are dudes out there who are not top athletes, but cause problems because they know where to go with their drives and can make the right pass. Not saying he'll be all-NBA ever, but I think he could be a very solid bench player even if he doesn't shoot quite as well as a splash bro, but in any case he will likely spend the upcoming year in Santa Cruz regardless, so we'll see how he does against that level of competition.
Yeah the 40% three point shooting with Podziemski seems pretty non-negotiable for his success. He's gotta be well respected as a shooter in the NBA to compensate for his lack of burst or else it's hard to see it working. Maybe 38% to 39% depending on the volume of pull up threes.
If he can't score or get separation it doesn't matter how good of a passer he is because he will not create any advantages on offense to open passing lanes
Al Horford hit almost 45% on a steady diet of open catch-and-shoot 3's. While 40% is still a high bar, I think the calculation is that Podz will be asked to limit himself to open/lightly contested catch-and-shoots or keep the ball moving. No one-legged step backs please
It's nuts that Steph and Klay can exceed 40% on high volume given how many of their shots come on high degree of difficulty.
Fully agreed, NBA shooting percentages are only meaningful within the context of volume and shot difficulty. Making 40% on uncontested open jumpers is fine. Making 40% when the defense is doing its damnedest to stop you from getting shots off at all is bonkers. (The Splash Bros are bonkers.)
There's a complex feedback loop that tends to push percentages towards the league average: players who do better are given more opportunities/leeway from their own team, but also draw more attention from the opposing team. Certainly a player's own decision-making is a big factor, as is team/lineup composition, but for example I think part of why Poole's shooting percentage dropped in 2023 is because he moved up the tier list of shooting threats.
Although, the Tony Allen treatment is an example of a case where the feedback loop gets even more complex: if it gets into your head that you're being left undefended, that can further decrease your shooting percentage. (See also: H. Barnes, K. Oubre, D. Green, D. Sabonis, etc.)
I think every lineup needs at least one guy who can make shots around or above league-average rate despite high levels of defensive attention (a "shot creator" or "tough shot maker") and as many guys as possible who make shots at higher than average efficiency when given low levels of defensive attention (like Horford in your example). Of course, the more you bring to the table in other areas, the less shooting you can get away with.
Given what we've seen from Podz in rebounding, defensive effort, and passing, I think he'll be a rotation player if he can make 3's at like ~38% on 2-3 attempts/game and 2's at like 45-50% on 3-5 attempts/game. Anything better in either volume or efficiency and he'll move up in the rotation.
Maybe I remember it wrong but it seems to me he was getting better about avoiding tunnel vision. But he didn't like being in his box so I wasn't thinking we really would sign him. He does have talent, he's not quite 28 yrs old, and as you say he's a defensive pest and energy guy. He averaged 20 pts for Charlotte last season but his 3 pt % sucked (31.9%).
[Rubin] Kerr likened the additions of Saric and Joseph to Otto Porter Jr. and Nemanja Bjelica. “We needed guys like Saric and Cory Joseph who have been through the NBA rigors and understand what it means to be a leader from the middle of the roster and how important that is.”
[Rubin] Kerr played it close to the vest when asked if CP3 will come off the bench: “All of that will happen in training camp. Until we get everyone on the floor, we won’t be able to assess whats best for our team & how everything is going to look. But Im very confident that it’s going to work out.”
[Rubin] Kerr: “I feel like I failed last year in connecting the group. I have taken a lot of time this summer to think about last year, things I could have & should have done differently. I really believe that sometimes losing sort of forces you to reassess & Im excited about coming back next year.”
Kerr likened the addition of Saric and Joseph to Brad Wannamaker, and Jamychal Green…
Telling you, Kerr is like Bruce Bochy. Cant argue with the end result but they say some
Pretty worthless sh!+. Im pretty sure they were pretty high on every FA addition but for Gods sakes let them play out the season. Jamychal been through these so called ‘rigors’
and even he was complaining about his role in season.
To be fair, a sign of a good coach is the ability to say worthless shit. But yeah, they didn't really add an OPJ, Saric is the Bjelica and Joseph is the Chiozza replacement I guess?
It's pretty obvious they are leaving the team strategies to training camp. There isn't anything to be said until that happens. Reporters fishing for concrete answers will continue to leave disappointed.
Said Steve Kerr, probably: “I don’t just break clipboards… that dialogue of course happens over time and I usually ain’t just triggered by a clipboard, like, that fast. Ain’t no clipboard triggering me in an instant”…. Basically, Clipboard was smack-talking weasel.
Curry and the Warriors have been playing against CP3 and the teams he's been for over a decade. And the fact that he's now with Golden State was a totally unexpected surprise for them.
YouTube algorithm offered me a Usain Bolt retrospective, and I'm glad I bit. That guy was SO GOOD. I know we all know that, I'm just amazed at how for granted we take it, or at least I do.
Hi, I'm faster than everyone, I win gold in every Olympic event I enter, 3 golds per Olympics across three Olympics, I manage to *slow down and showboat in a 100 meter race because I'm so far ahead,* I hold the records in all the events I tried.
Total domination and utterly clutch. He should have gone out for long jump, my amateur understanding is that fast people with long legs do well in long jump if they learn technique. As it is he had to beg his coach to let him run the 100, which he had only been doing for a year before winning his first Olympic gold and world record. What a baller. Name someone as dominant in such pure contests of athleticism. Or in sports in general.
This is about sports, about athletes. To my mind, golf isn’t that. It’s a sklll not a sport. You can tell because they can wear long pants or short, it doesn’t really matter because they’re not exerting themselves. It’s really really hard to hit a golf ball well, but it’s also really really hard to sew a dress well from scratch. Neither one is a sport because sports includes being in good shape
Thanks for sharing. Whenever i get the chance to mention my alltime fav sportstars, Bolt is right on top. In fact i have a lot of love for sportstars from the west indies islands
Awesome list - so many In my all time Mt Rushmore - but immediately the few are Viv Richards, Kapil dev (KD), Malcom Marshall, Lillee (the only aussie I will allow in)..
Is it though? I hope I am wrong, but it is my understanding that with a 2-way contract, after this season some team can offer him more than a 25% raise, which would be more than the Dubs can offer. If I am correct, it's one thing to lose Ty like this, but paying LQ this way is el cheapo AND risks further turning the Dubs into the league's farm team.
You could always convert LQ midseason and have the same rights you would have having him on a two-way now. And it's way too soon to worry about LQ being too expensive to keep. The more likely scenario is he doesn't translate and, this way, he's not wasted space on the roster like RR was last year.
next summer Les will have been on the Dubs (via two-ways) for two seasons, so the team will have Early Bird rights (sauce that it works that way: https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2018/08/how-non-bird-rights-impact-promotions-for-two-way-players.html), meaning they could offer up to 105% of the league average salary; if somebody is offering Les more than that, safe to say he balled the fuck out beyond even our rosiest expectations
Would PG's point could be relevant for Gui Santos? If both sides can maintain a good relationship, maybe it's better for the team if he developed another year (assuming draft rights are maintained) and try to work out a multi-year pact next year?
Gui's contract situation seems tricky with his Brazilian team, but yeah I bet the Dubs wouldn't want his first deal with the team to be just a single year for that reason
If they offered him a min contract wouldn't that scenario still be the case? I guess it depends on their cap situation and LQ performing exceptionally. And I'll take LQ performing exceptionally any day
Lost in all the golf and other post-summer league churn is that I haven't heard a peep out of Andre about retirement, nor has there been a hint that he'll be offered a roster spot by the Dubs.
I regard this as a very good sign. It seems either Andre really has decided to retire, or the team/Steph have come to the conclusion he can't help next year.
Andre likes to play head games with people but he was ready to retire last year and Steph and the fellas talked him into giving it one more try. But it's over now. He's not under contract and doesn't have an option so even if he doesn't retire, the Dubs are extremely unlikely to sign him.
I'm a little late to the table here so not much to add, but one thing keeps bugging me. Listening to local radio and reading various reactions/opinions I see/hear media and posters trying to create the narrative that this what Dray does, pick's a target and picks on them until he drives them away.
Now I am firmly of the opinion that regarding the recent Poole situation related comments with Pat Bev Dray should have just kept quiet (regardless of you might think of him or his basketball abilities, Poole's continued avoidance of the topic is admirable) BUT people trying to draw any parallels with the KD situation need to get right with what actually happened (yeah, I'm re-litigating things log past).
Going into that season the vibe was weird there were so many little ramblings about KD leaving and the more we found out the more it seemed like he already knew he didn't like it here. Dray blew up at KD BECAUSE he was leaving! Dray didn't make him leave. You can even hear it in what he says to KD (paraphrasing): fine leave! we won without you ...
Point is that was on KD and his not wanting to be on the Warriors (for whatever reasons) not on Dray.
I dunno, why do some warriors fans look for any reason to trash one of our hometown legends? I don't think Bulls fans were like this with Rodman, another certified asshole.
I don't think everyone does. Why do people want to blame him for things he's not guilty of? He's pretty polarizing which makes nuance get lost.
I think he shouldn't have punched Poole and and should have just shut up about it afterwards (including on his pod and the other day with PatBev) except for a better apology than he gave.
I admit I am litigating something old but being guilty of one thing doesn't make him guilty of the other. KD (whom I like a lot) left because he wanted to and had decided to leave before the clippers' game outburst. People out there trying to conflate the two.
I am pretty sad that Draymond Green the person is on the team. I am pretty happy that Draymond Green the basketball player is on the team. I think a significant chunk of fans have a fairly similar opinion to that.
Now, other people can value winning and liking their teams differently. As someone who has been fortunate enough to see this core win 4 titles, I would much rather have just traded him (or let him go outright) this summer knowing we'd never win again. Obviously that was never a reasonable option for the FO because Steph would protest it. Still, fans are allowed to have their preferences. And I think that Draymond has guaranteed that he'll never be remembered as fondly as Klay or coach Kerr by most Warriors fans in the future (obviously Steph is in his own echelon).
He adds an entertainment element. Let’s not take ourselves (or him) too seriously. He is way more interesting to listen to then the canned comments you get from most basketball players.
I don't consider punching a teammate (especially the way he did it) entertaining. Nor do I find his low-key blaming of Poole entertaining. I hear the typical abuser bs ("I know I shouldn't have hit her, but she just makes me so mad. And it wasn't a one time thing... I restrained myself all of those other times.")
I don't actually need or want to hear from players. Even Dray never says anything particularly profound, its just filling airtime. And those start of quarter sideline interviews should go away, too. And the mic'd up players during the game, a waste of time. What I'd prefer is a couple of ex-coaches or ex-point guards describing the strategies as they unfold in real time. THAT would be worth hearing.
I want to thank Night Night for the link to the DFW essay a thousand times. It is so brilliant. It cuts through so much of the cognitive dissonance in my own mind as a fan, on this board, and elsewhere where the magnificent feats of athletes are contrasted with their cluelessness outside of sports. It also will save me the time and expense of ever buying another sports bio book.
Yeah if people are being honest, podcast comments are nothing. Nothing that happened in the past few days matters at all tbh, equating this with an actual punch being thrown in training camp is very silly and overly dramatic (not saying Nadav is doing that part).
I haven't heard people equating the Punch with the recent talking about it. As you say, that would be silly.
I have heard people (myself included) lamenting Draymond talking about it. It feels like he's at least partially undone his apology and his previous acceptance of responsibility -- after all, Poole had been wearing on him for some time: “I don’t just hit people. Dialogue of course happens over time and you usually ain’t just triggered by something, like, that fast. This is a team. Ain’t nobody on my team triggering me in an instant. We know stuff that you don’t say amongst men. We know things you have to stand on.” IOW, he /had/ to hit him; he couldn't let Poole get off with saying "stuff you don't say amongst men."
I voted 'meh.' It wasn't accurate, as I'm actually glad his future with the Ws is secure for now, but I've just got such mixed feelings about this guy, and it seems like every time he opens his mouth, he makes it worse.
Even the story you reported here. From his telling of it -- which I'm not even sure I believe but let's pass it for now -- he seems to be saying that he was pretty open to leaving, especially for more money, and it was his agent that convinced him that loyalty matters. I think that's a pretty savvy take for an agent, but what's disturbing is that /Dray/ needed to be talked into it or at least reminded. WTF?
Between that and his apparent inability or unwillingness to SHUT UP about Jordan Poole, I'm already worn out on him. And it's mid-July.
I do not question Green's ability or his on-court importance to this team. I've cheered for him wholeheartedly and even defended him to critics. But I'm less and less emotionally attached to him. I'll be happy as long as he's helping the team to win. When he slips, I won't be sad if they find a way to part ways early. And that's pretty incredible. For years, I've wanted him, Klay, and Steph to stay and compete together until the end of their careers, even if they didn't win championships. It just seemed right. But I think I'm getting to the place where they need to win to keep it together, because he's too much trouble otherwise.
I agree with a lot of this but Draymond had repeatedly said he wanted to retire as a Warrior and go out with the guys he came in with (Steph and Klay). At the same time, until JP was traded he had to wonder what another season with the Dubs would feel like after the mess Draymond made of last season. So while his agent had a clearer view of what was most important, and Draymond was going to be well paid either way, it's not like Draymond was eager to leave.
Well, I'm not trying to make it out like Green was /eager/ to leave -- only that he was /open/ to leaving for more money and that it was his agent who had to talk loyalty to him. That's out of Dray's mouth.
No doubt that is true on one level. But do you want a center who needs to be fed, and doesn't screen or move independently in the middle of the Warriors offense? Most big men cannot function in the Warrior system.
I can admire "Chinatown" as a great movie without thinking well of Roman Polanski as a person. If I can do that, I can admire Draymond's work on the court without approving of the punch or petty feuds.
Fewer and fewer people can admire Chinatown without thinking of Polanski. A slippery slope…admiring a product without considering the maker, components, workers, etc.
Then you might as well abandon a whole lot of great art, literature, film, and music because there have been a lot of truly reprehensible creatives. And much of the time we probably didn't even know how foul some of them were.
I also recall that many of the things that we consider heinous today were the norm in other time periods. You could rape and pillage, you could traffic in humans, you could sleep with 13-year-olds and beat your children. Theft was common if you were down and out in Paris and London. So each apparently egregious behavior needs to be evaluated in context. The artists I know who inhabit NY today, while they may be very lecherous, and many are, they are not running around grabbing the nymphettes and nymphoids prancing around Soho and raping them. They are not torturing or raping their best buddy’s 13-year-old sister or brother. Those behaviors are considered reprehensible today.
Not that it makes it any less disgusting, but just as fact check: she was 13.
And not that it remotely excuses Polanski’s heinous act, but: watching one’s parents and family taken to death camps by Nazis (as he did as a child), and later having your wife and unborn child murdered by the Manson Family, will tend to mess someone up psychologically.
Fwiw: it’s way too big of a topic for a sports blog, but I personally have no issue appreciating the greatness of “Chinatown” or “Rosemary’s Baby” while also acknowledging the heinousness of Polanski’s crime, and empathizing with the victim. There are a LOT of great artists whose work we’d have to ignore if we cancelled everyone who was a criminal and/or scumbag in their personal life. I have absolutely no issue with anyone who prioritizes personal morality in their appreciation of artists, but: if anyone has seen Cate Blanchett’s memorable rant to her student about Bach in TÁR, I’m basically Team Tár. (Anyone else’s mileage may vary, of course).
On topic: as Beli notes, rape is not remotely comparable to the worst things Dray has done. At the same time, I think there’s an important distinction between objectively acknowledging the greatness of Dray’s game (like I do with the work of Polanski, Bach, et al.) and choosing to actively root for him as a fan. Since sports fandom is entirely subjective and irrational, I can totally understand not wanting to actively root for a player if we believe he’s a truly disgusting human being.
Did you know that the underage girl, 13 I believe, said it was consensual and didn't want him to be charged? No European country would extradite him. Stop reading and believing everything you read on twitter and in the tabloids. You seem addicted.
You should delete this incorrect information attempting to minimize the crimes of a convicted child rapist. If I were you, and had defended a pedophilic predator based on a falsehood, I would feel sick to my stomach, and want to erase that mistake. This is a gentle reminder that there is nothing wrong with admitting an error and correcting it.
Delete this. This site, and you, will be better for it.
This is false. Setting aside the fact that sex with a minor is never legally consensual, Samantha Geimer, the girl (now woman) he raped, has forcefully denied that it was consensual. You should read the Wikipedia entry about it, cos it will (or should) make you want to puke.
“In a 2003 interview, she recalled that she began to feel uncomfortable after he asked her to lie down on a bed, and described how she attempted to resist. "I said, 'No, no. I don't want to go in there. No, I don't want to do this. No!', and then I didn't know what else to do", she stated, adding: "We were alone and I didn't know what else would happen if I made a scene. So I was just scared, and after giving some resistance, I figured well, I guess I'll get to come home after this".
“Geimer testified that Polanski provided champagne that they shared as well as part of a Quaalude, and despite her protests, he performed oral sex upon her, had vaginal intercourse, and sodomized her, each time after being told "no" and being asked to stop.”
“Geimer has insisted that the sex was non-consensual“
tempprofile didn't compare what Green did to what Polaski did. S/he made the point that we can separate a person's work from their other behavior, admiring the former while disapproving of the latter.
Compartmentalizing truly evil behavior just so one can do something fun apparently never goes out of style. It would be a much more difficult question if it was "Do I use this medical knowledge to heal people, even though the people who conducted the research violated the rights of their research subjects and subjected them to unnecessarily painful and degrading treatment?" That's a tough question because the life in front of you may need the treatment to continue. That's where moral issues are tough. Deciding not to see a movie by a convicted rapist is a pretty easy call. It is sad that a substantial number of people refuse to make it.
Draymond needs to get a grip emotionally. Still. He is too intelligent to believe that the world is a fair place, or that there is any benefit in speaking truth to idiots. His passion and his constant belief in setting things right, are the reason he reacts emotionally even when walking away would be the primo move. There is a great story about Don Bankhead the first Black major league pitcher, and a Jackie Robinson teammate in Brooklyn; telling Robinson as he was trashing the clubhouse after being thrown out in a disputed close play to end a game, that he was wrong. Bankhead is reported to have said, "Robinson. Not only are you wrong, but you are loud wrong." My observation is that Klay and Steph are quiet leaders. And at times the team needs Draymond's restless fury. It seems from anecdotal data that Bob Meyers and some asst coaches like Mike Brown could calm Dray down, or chose to, more than his vet peers. Locker room balance is a tricky thing. I understand why Poole got punched. Even without endorsing player on player violence. After coaching on both the HS and college level, I can say without any doubt that when you have a parent like Poole’s father, demanding an apology from his son's teammate, it illustrates a dynamic where the son is a braying ass. Ironically the tweet serves to explain the punch. Apparently Draymond mentored Poole. In a serious way. I think the punch reflects Dramonds hurt and disappointment at being chirped at, in such a disrespectful way, after investing so much time and emotional effort in helping Poole learn how to be a pro. Anytime a parent is handholding past 9th or 10th grade it is a problem. I was short with parents coaching their kids in HS. At the collegiate level the kid ran. A lot. If their parents bothered me or my assistants. Yeah. I am a grumpy old school guy. Sue me. I wish Draymond would let more of this stuff go. He is a great HOF player. He is an excellent teammate. He is a good husband and father-despite his kids running loose at press conferences. He is loud and vocal and just crazy at times. But he is truly a good human being. He has a good heart. He cares. Which most people don't. This team can't win without him. He needs to chill and just live and play.
I don't pretend to understand what Draymond thinks or feels. His behaviour is so far away from what I find acceptable, I can't even imagine how to get there.
He's a great player, deserves to be in the HOF, and I will not miss him even one day when he hangs it up.
Draymond is highly bimodal, meaning that he is somehow in the running for both the best thing that happened to the warriors in the last decade, and worst.
Best in the sense of a second rounder who anchors your defense and facilitates offense.
(Sure Steph is the best thing but Draymond is in the convo.)
Worst in the sense of continually acting like a child on the court, sabotaging success, and off the court getting into conflicts with Poole, Durant, and I guess Kuminga, (I am just hearing that today. )
Draymond os the opposite of Looney. Looney highs have never been as high, but he doesn’t bring weird lows. He just hoops
Absolutely. That said, there have got to be 30 big men I’d trade him for in the league, contracts aside. Or 20 or 20 or whatever. Looney does what he does great and fits in the system but if you offered me him or someone who has a real offensive game?
Saric will be a real test of this premise. I think that, at least in the playoffs, he'll be used alongside Steph some as a stretch 5.
Saric right now is pretty much what I hoped PBJ would eventually be ... a relatively slow center with some defensive limitations, but one who can space out to the 3 and shoot.
They have been able to keep Looney precisely because his incredible-for-the-Dubs skillset is severely undervalued. There is no one like him that can also shoot, and if there were they would have never been able to hold onto that person and the core.
From Vecenie at the Athletic:
Brandin Podziemski really struggled to score in Las Vegas, and that should be a bit of a concern, as he struggled to separate from his man in any discernible way. But I also want to give him real credit: I’m not sure I saw a smarter, more translatable passer during my time in Las Vegas. He made quick decisions with high-level vision, understanding how to read the second and third levels of the defense. He’s good at playing off two feet and on-balance, allowing him to maintain a live dribble and throw crisp passes within the flow of the offense. Podziemski will struggle to stick if he can’t separate and doesn’t hit 40 percent of his 3s. But his passing and ability to move the ball will fit perfectly within Golden State’s offense.
https://theathletic.com/4695223/2023/07/21/nba-summer-league-takeaways-vecenie?source=user-shared-article
My quick comments:
- Podz did not blow by guys nor get all the way to the rim (bad) but he did get into the paint quite regularly to create a rotation and allow him to pass to an open man (good). It’s not clear how much the defensive rotation was because of bad summer league D. (I think it’s some bad D, but also some clever use of PNR)
- Podz’s successful passes were outstanding. However, there were also quite a lot of picked-off passes. Hoping the picked-off ones can be removed from the diet with caution and experience, but easier said than done.
- If he can create in the PNR, then he can shoot a little worse than 40% from 3 and still succeed. If he can’t create in the PNR, then his trajectory tops out around shorter Moody with better rebounding.
The question about his forays into the paint is going to be: Can he show he can actually score, or are teams going to stop rotating and trust that his primary defender will keep him contained effectively enough.
Also if memory serves, some of those picked-off passes happened when he drove into the paint, found himself stuck in traffic, and forced the pass. Hopefully experience, patience, and playing with vets who know the offense will help there.
That’s going to be the thing… defenses will bait him even more once they figure out his tendencies
If I were scheming defense, I would definitely never rotate and make him prove he can consistently score over someone at the rim.
Regarding your first point, it reminded me of Damion Lee where he'd do things like start running before catching the ball to get a step on his defender, or clever PnR stuff like you said.
Beli and Chaos - I'm not that pessimistic. There are dudes out there who are not top athletes, but cause problems because they know where to go with their drives and can make the right pass. Not saying he'll be all-NBA ever, but I think he could be a very solid bench player even if he doesn't shoot quite as well as a splash bro, but in any case he will likely spend the upcoming year in Santa Cruz regardless, so we'll see how he does against that level of competition.
Yeah the 40% three point shooting with Podziemski seems pretty non-negotiable for his success. He's gotta be well respected as a shooter in the NBA to compensate for his lack of burst or else it's hard to see it working. Maybe 38% to 39% depending on the volume of pull up threes.
If he can't score or get separation it doesn't matter how good of a passer he is because he will not create any advantages on offense to open passing lanes
Al Horford hit almost 45% on a steady diet of open catch-and-shoot 3's. While 40% is still a high bar, I think the calculation is that Podz will be asked to limit himself to open/lightly contested catch-and-shoots or keep the ball moving. No one-legged step backs please
It's nuts that Steph and Klay can exceed 40% on high volume given how many of their shots come on high degree of difficulty.
Fully agreed, NBA shooting percentages are only meaningful within the context of volume and shot difficulty. Making 40% on uncontested open jumpers is fine. Making 40% when the defense is doing its damnedest to stop you from getting shots off at all is bonkers. (The Splash Bros are bonkers.)
There's a complex feedback loop that tends to push percentages towards the league average: players who do better are given more opportunities/leeway from their own team, but also draw more attention from the opposing team. Certainly a player's own decision-making is a big factor, as is team/lineup composition, but for example I think part of why Poole's shooting percentage dropped in 2023 is because he moved up the tier list of shooting threats.
Although, the Tony Allen treatment is an example of a case where the feedback loop gets even more complex: if it gets into your head that you're being left undefended, that can further decrease your shooting percentage. (See also: H. Barnes, K. Oubre, D. Green, D. Sabonis, etc.)
I think every lineup needs at least one guy who can make shots around or above league-average rate despite high levels of defensive attention (a "shot creator" or "tough shot maker") and as many guys as possible who make shots at higher than average efficiency when given low levels of defensive attention (like Horford in your example). Of course, the more you bring to the table in other areas, the less shooting you can get away with.
Given what we've seen from Podz in rebounding, defensive effort, and passing, I think he'll be a rotation player if he can make 3's at like ~38% on 2-3 attempts/game and 2's at like 45-50% on 3-5 attempts/game. Anything better in either volume or efficiency and he'll move up in the rotation.
Speaking of K. Oubre (yes, incidental mention), he's an unsigned UFA. Do you think he'd like to get into a nice, warm, comfy box for vet min? 🤭
lol no, no I don't think he would
He'd be great as a defensive pest, energy guy off the bench. But did he ever learn to play in Kerr's offense?
Maybe I remember it wrong but it seems to me he was getting better about avoiding tunnel vision. But he didn't like being in his box so I wasn't thinking we really would sign him. He does have talent, he's not quite 28 yrs old, and as you say he's a defensive pest and energy guy. He averaged 20 pts for Charlotte last season but his 3 pt % sucked (31.9%).
Aim high for a high bar, I guess. I'll be happy with anything over 35%
[Rubin] Kerr likened the additions of Saric and Joseph to Otto Porter Jr. and Nemanja Bjelica. “We needed guys like Saric and Cory Joseph who have been through the NBA rigors and understand what it means to be a leader from the middle of the roster and how important that is.”
https://i.redd.it/82gewpgsvcdb1.jpg
[Rubin] Kerr played it close to the vest when asked if CP3 will come off the bench: “All of that will happen in training camp. Until we get everyone on the floor, we won’t be able to assess whats best for our team & how everything is going to look. But Im very confident that it’s going to work out.”
https://i.redd.it/tqpu4ixqvcdb1.jpg
[Rubin] Kerr: “I feel like I failed last year in connecting the group. I have taken a lot of time this summer to think about last year, things I could have & should have done differently. I really believe that sometimes losing sort of forces you to reassess & Im excited about coming back next year.”
https://i.redd.it/ia1t62itvcdb1.jpg
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/07/20/steve-kerr-shares-thoughts-on-mike-dunleavy-jr-s-offseason-chris-paul-and-personal-goals/
Or an alternate byline
Kerr likened the addition of Saric and Joseph to Brad Wannamaker, and Jamychal Green…
Telling you, Kerr is like Bruce Bochy. Cant argue with the end result but they say some
Pretty worthless sh!+. Im pretty sure they were pretty high on every FA addition but for Gods sakes let them play out the season. Jamychal been through these so called ‘rigors’
and even he was complaining about his role in season.
To be fair, a sign of a good coach is the ability to say worthless shit. But yeah, they didn't really add an OPJ, Saric is the Bjelica and Joseph is the Chiozza replacement I guess?
"Cant argue with the end result"
Sure can't! not enough fingers to count the rings between those two.
It's pretty obvious they are leaving the team strategies to training camp. There isn't anything to be said until that happens. Reporters fishing for concrete answers will continue to leave disappointed.
I don’t think it’s accurate to say Kerr is quick-tempered.
hot tempered but not necessarily *quick* tempered?
Ask his clipboard about that. 😉
Said Steve Kerr, probably: “I don’t just break clipboards… that dialogue of course happens over time and I usually ain’t just triggered by a clipboard, like, that fast. Ain’t no clipboard triggering me in an instant”…. Basically, Clipboard was smack-talking weasel.
Traded that clipboard for a stone tablet. Really excited about how solid and heavy it’s gonna be.
Lol
AMONGST CLIPBOARDS OF MEN
Curry and the Warriors have been playing against CP3 and the teams he's been for over a decade. And the fact that he's now with Golden State was a totally unexpected surprise for them.
Unexpected surprises are the best kind! 😊
We did hear that Steph and CP3 have been working out together, which is promising.
that could have been a one time thing when they were both in Las Vegas
Sure. But it means they are working things out.
YouTube algorithm offered me a Usain Bolt retrospective, and I'm glad I bit. That guy was SO GOOD. I know we all know that, I'm just amazed at how for granted we take it, or at least I do.
Hi, I'm faster than everyone, I win gold in every Olympic event I enter, 3 golds per Olympics across three Olympics, I manage to *slow down and showboat in a 100 meter race because I'm so far ahead,* I hold the records in all the events I tried.
Total domination and utterly clutch. He should have gone out for long jump, my amateur understanding is that fast people with long legs do well in long jump if they learn technique. As it is he had to beg his coach to let him run the 100, which he had only been doing for a year before winning his first Olympic gold and world record. What a baller. Name someone as dominant in such pure contests of athleticism. Or in sports in general.
He's like the Usain Bolt of track and field.
As far as athletes with unrivaled dominance, Tiger Woods had a period where he was completely unbeatable
This is about sports, about athletes. To my mind, golf isn’t that. It’s a sklll not a sport. You can tell because they can wear long pants or short, it doesn’t really matter because they’re not exerting themselves. It’s really really hard to hit a golf ball well, but it’s also really really hard to sew a dress well from scratch. Neither one is a sport because sports includes being in good shape
So is archery a sport? Bowling? Do you have to run in sports?
Neither archery nor bowling is a sport. You don't have to run but you do have to exert yourself, push your body. Weightlifting counts.
Thanks for sharing. Whenever i get the chance to mention my alltime fav sportstars, Bolt is right on top. In fact i have a lot of love for sportstars from the west indies islands
I love it. One doesn’t see Bahamas or Trinidad and Tobago in the headlines much, Jamaica, SKN. But in sprints? Look out.
aah - you need to get into some cricket my friend
The bowlers Holding the batsmans Willie.
But seriously; My Mt RushWindies: Sobers, Viv, Marshall, Lara. You?
Awesome list - so many In my all time Mt Rushmore - but immediately the few are Viv Richards, Kapil dev (KD), Malcom Marshall, Lillee (the only aussie I will allow in)..
Didn't Eddie Murphy do a skit on him? "I race cheetah's damn-it!"
Guessing you mean this from 1984 and the athlete is Carl Lewis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3hmeFIHtRY
That's right thanks.
I don't remember it but I think Eddie's skit heyday was well gone by 2008, no?
https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1682435069435060227
Guard Lester Quinones has agreed to return to the Golden State Warriors on a two-way NBA deal, per sources.
2 Way Lester. Good use of the slot.
Who is Draymond going to slap first - JK or LQ?
Thumbs up
I like this!
Good stuff.
Actual news! Awesome
Good use of the slot indeed.
> Good use of the slot indeed.
Is it though? I hope I am wrong, but it is my understanding that with a 2-way contract, after this season some team can offer him more than a 25% raise, which would be more than the Dubs can offer. If I am correct, it's one thing to lose Ty like this, but paying LQ this way is el cheapo AND risks further turning the Dubs into the league's farm team.
You could always convert LQ midseason and have the same rights you would have having him on a two-way now. And it's way too soon to worry about LQ being too expensive to keep. The more likely scenario is he doesn't translate and, this way, he's not wasted space on the roster like RR was last year.
They can still convert him before the season and give him the 14th spot if he earns it.
next summer Les will have been on the Dubs (via two-ways) for two seasons, so the team will have Early Bird rights (sauce that it works that way: https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2018/08/how-non-bird-rights-impact-promotions-for-two-way-players.html), meaning they could offer up to 105% of the league average salary; if somebody is offering Les more than that, safe to say he balled the fuck out beyond even our rosiest expectations
Would PG's point could be relevant for Gui Santos? If both sides can maintain a good relationship, maybe it's better for the team if he developed another year (assuming draft rights are maintained) and try to work out a multi-year pact next year?
Gui's contract situation seems tricky with his Brazilian team, but yeah I bet the Dubs wouldn't want his first deal with the team to be just a single year for that reason
Oh right, forgot that he was technically signed last season. Another reason why he was less likely to get Jerome'd than Jerome was.
Long way to go before next offseason, for all we know the Warriors are under the second apron by then and have TPMLE money to work with.
If they offered him a min contract wouldn't that scenario still be the case? I guess it depends on their cap situation and LQ performing exceptionally. And I'll take LQ performing exceptionally any day
LESTER!!! I love this.
This deserves a beer (later). Great news.
Lost in all the golf and other post-summer league churn is that I haven't heard a peep out of Andre about retirement, nor has there been a hint that he'll be offered a roster spot by the Dubs.
I regard this as a very good sign. It seems either Andre really has decided to retire, or the team/Steph have come to the conclusion he can't help next year.
I hope to God that Andre retires as a player because we cannot afford him taking up a roster spot.
Andre likes to play head games with people but he was ready to retire last year and Steph and the fellas talked him into giving it one more try. But it's over now. He's not under contract and doesn't have an option so even if he doesn't retire, the Dubs are extremely unlikely to sign him.
I thought it was just understood that he was done?
The fact he hadn't announced it yet (and refused to comment about it when asked) gave me some pause. I think some others here were unsure, as well.
the only difference between him retiring and not retiring is whether he sit in the first row or the second row at the games all year.
I'm a little late to the table here so not much to add, but one thing keeps bugging me. Listening to local radio and reading various reactions/opinions I see/hear media and posters trying to create the narrative that this what Dray does, pick's a target and picks on them until he drives them away.
Now I am firmly of the opinion that regarding the recent Poole situation related comments with Pat Bev Dray should have just kept quiet (regardless of you might think of him or his basketball abilities, Poole's continued avoidance of the topic is admirable) BUT people trying to draw any parallels with the KD situation need to get right with what actually happened (yeah, I'm re-litigating things log past).
Going into that season the vibe was weird there were so many little ramblings about KD leaving and the more we found out the more it seemed like he already knew he didn't like it here. Dray blew up at KD BECAUSE he was leaving! Dray didn't make him leave. You can even hear it in what he says to KD (paraphrasing): fine leave! we won without you ...
Point is that was on KD and his not wanting to be on the Warriors (for whatever reasons) not on Dray.
Jesus. Why do warriors fan have such a hard time just putting the blame on dray lol
I dunno, why do some warriors fans look for any reason to trash one of our hometown legends? I don't think Bulls fans were like this with Rodman, another certified asshole.
True. Rodman was my gentle mother’s favorite player, not Jordan. She would say, “He is so misunderstood.”
I don't think everyone does. Why do people want to blame him for things he's not guilty of? He's pretty polarizing which makes nuance get lost.
I think he shouldn't have punched Poole and and should have just shut up about it afterwards (including on his pod and the other day with PatBev) except for a better apology than he gave.
I admit I am litigating something old but being guilty of one thing doesn't make him guilty of the other. KD (whom I like a lot) left because he wanted to and had decided to leave before the clippers' game outburst. People out there trying to conflate the two.
After the punch video was released a lot of us were pissed at Draymond.
First I look here. Then nba.com. No news. Just jawing.
https://media.tenor.com/yTxA7WgkBEUAAAAC/grandpa-abe-exit.gif
Sigh. Pretty much 3 more months until Warriors basketball. This sucks. Just like Austin Rivers.
Time to watch some full-game replays of big Warriors wins of the last decade!
Oh. I do that year round. Lol.
I am pretty sad that Draymond Green the person is on the team. I am pretty happy that Draymond Green the basketball player is on the team. I think a significant chunk of fans have a fairly similar opinion to that.
Now, other people can value winning and liking their teams differently. As someone who has been fortunate enough to see this core win 4 titles, I would much rather have just traded him (or let him go outright) this summer knowing we'd never win again. Obviously that was never a reasonable option for the FO because Steph would protest it. Still, fans are allowed to have their preferences. And I think that Draymond has guaranteed that he'll never be remembered as fondly as Klay or coach Kerr by most Warriors fans in the future (obviously Steph is in his own echelon).
> I am pretty sad that Draymond Green the person is on the team. I am pretty happy that Draymond Green the basketball player is on the team.
Well said. I’m in this line.
I am not in this line.
He adds an entertainment element. Let’s not take ourselves (or him) too seriously. He is way more interesting to listen to then the canned comments you get from most basketball players.
I don't consider punching a teammate (especially the way he did it) entertaining. Nor do I find his low-key blaming of Poole entertaining. I hear the typical abuser bs ("I know I shouldn't have hit her, but she just makes me so mad. And it wasn't a one time thing... I restrained myself all of those other times.")
Yeah, me neither. I'm quite fond of Draymond the person, warts and all.
I don't actually need or want to hear from players. Even Dray never says anything particularly profound, its just filling airtime. And those start of quarter sideline interviews should go away, too. And the mic'd up players during the game, a waste of time. What I'd prefer is a couple of ex-coaches or ex-point guards describing the strategies as they unfold in real time. THAT would be worth hearing.
I want to thank Night Night for the link to the DFW essay a thousand times. It is so brilliant. It cuts through so much of the cognitive dissonance in my own mind as a fan, on this board, and elsewhere where the magnificent feats of athletes are contrasted with their cluelessness outside of sports. It also will save me the time and expense of ever buying another sports bio book.
I, for one, am relieved that all the tension and drama of last season will be gone now that JP was traded. </s>
We should be fine once basketball starts back up officially
Yeah if people are being honest, podcast comments are nothing. Nothing that happened in the past few days matters at all tbh, equating this with an actual punch being thrown in training camp is very silly and overly dramatic (not saying Nadav is doing that part).
I haven't heard people equating the Punch with the recent talking about it. As you say, that would be silly.
I have heard people (myself included) lamenting Draymond talking about it. It feels like he's at least partially undone his apology and his previous acceptance of responsibility -- after all, Poole had been wearing on him for some time: “I don’t just hit people. Dialogue of course happens over time and you usually ain’t just triggered by something, like, that fast. This is a team. Ain’t nobody on my team triggering me in an instant. We know stuff that you don’t say amongst men. We know things you have to stand on.” IOW, he /had/ to hit him; he couldn't let Poole get off with saying "stuff you don't say amongst men."
I’m picturing a cartoon dog saying this with flames in the background
Your 2023-24 Warriors: Everything’s fine™️
Who TF would pay Draymond 35 million a year lol
I’m sure that offer was a Bruce Brown style 2y deal with a team option or something… no way Dray/Klutch turns down $140/4y for $100/4y…
To miss the playoffs, that would be tough
I voted 'meh.' It wasn't accurate, as I'm actually glad his future with the Ws is secure for now, but I've just got such mixed feelings about this guy, and it seems like every time he opens his mouth, he makes it worse.
Even the story you reported here. From his telling of it -- which I'm not even sure I believe but let's pass it for now -- he seems to be saying that he was pretty open to leaving, especially for more money, and it was his agent that convinced him that loyalty matters. I think that's a pretty savvy take for an agent, but what's disturbing is that /Dray/ needed to be talked into it or at least reminded. WTF?
Between that and his apparent inability or unwillingness to SHUT UP about Jordan Poole, I'm already worn out on him. And it's mid-July.
I do not question Green's ability or his on-court importance to this team. I've cheered for him wholeheartedly and even defended him to critics. But I'm less and less emotionally attached to him. I'll be happy as long as he's helping the team to win. When he slips, I won't be sad if they find a way to part ways early. And that's pretty incredible. For years, I've wanted him, Klay, and Steph to stay and compete together until the end of their careers, even if they didn't win championships. It just seemed right. But I think I'm getting to the place where they need to win to keep it together, because he's too much trouble otherwise.
I agree with a lot of this but Draymond had repeatedly said he wanted to retire as a Warrior and go out with the guys he came in with (Steph and Klay). At the same time, until JP was traded he had to wonder what another season with the Dubs would feel like after the mess Draymond made of last season. So while his agent had a clearer view of what was most important, and Draymond was going to be well paid either way, it's not like Draymond was eager to leave.
Well, I'm not trying to make it out like Green was /eager/ to leave -- only that he was /open/ to leaving for more money and that it was his agent who had to talk loyalty to him. That's out of Dray's mouth.
No doubt that is true on one level. But do you want a center who needs to be fed, and doesn't screen or move independently in the middle of the Warriors offense? Most big men cannot function in the Warrior system.
oopsie! don't forget to use the reply button!
Like this?
yes!
I can admire "Chinatown" as a great movie without thinking well of Roman Polanski as a person. If I can do that, I can admire Draymond's work on the court without approving of the punch or petty feuds.
Bryan Singer XMen Days of Future Past. Love that movie. Dislike the director
Fewer and fewer people can admire Chinatown without thinking of Polanski. A slippery slope…admiring a product without considering the maker, components, workers, etc.
Then you might as well abandon a whole lot of great art, literature, film, and music because there have been a lot of truly reprehensible creatives. And much of the time we probably didn't even know how foul some of them were.
I also recall that many of the things that we consider heinous today were the norm in other time periods. You could rape and pillage, you could traffic in humans, you could sleep with 13-year-olds and beat your children. Theft was common if you were down and out in Paris and London. So each apparently egregious behavior needs to be evaluated in context. The artists I know who inhabit NY today, while they may be very lecherous, and many are, they are not running around grabbing the nymphettes and nymphoids prancing around Soho and raping them. They are not torturing or raping their best buddy’s 13-year-old sister or brother. Those behaviors are considered reprehensible today.
But is it REALLY unreasonable to draw the line at rape? At murder? At torture?
Roman Polanski is a rapist
And that's the final word? How sad you are.
Not that it makes it any less disgusting, but just as fact check: she was 13.
And not that it remotely excuses Polanski’s heinous act, but: watching one’s parents and family taken to death camps by Nazis (as he did as a child), and later having your wife and unborn child murdered by the Manson Family, will tend to mess someone up psychologically.
Fwiw: it’s way too big of a topic for a sports blog, but I personally have no issue appreciating the greatness of “Chinatown” or “Rosemary’s Baby” while also acknowledging the heinousness of Polanski’s crime, and empathizing with the victim. There are a LOT of great artists whose work we’d have to ignore if we cancelled everyone who was a criminal and/or scumbag in their personal life. I have absolutely no issue with anyone who prioritizes personal morality in their appreciation of artists, but: if anyone has seen Cate Blanchett’s memorable rant to her student about Bach in TÁR, I’m basically Team Tár. (Anyone else’s mileage may vary, of course).
On topic: as Beli notes, rape is not remotely comparable to the worst things Dray has done. At the same time, I think there’s an important distinction between objectively acknowledging the greatness of Dray’s game (like I do with the work of Polanski, Bach, et al.) and choosing to actively root for him as a fan. Since sports fandom is entirely subjective and irrational, I can totally understand not wanting to actively root for a player if we believe he’s a truly disgusting human being.
Did you know that the underage girl, 13 I believe, said it was consensual and didn't want him to be charged? No European country would extradite him. Stop reading and believing everything you read on twitter and in the tabloids. You seem addicted.
You should delete this incorrect information attempting to minimize the crimes of a convicted child rapist. If I were you, and had defended a pedophilic predator based on a falsehood, I would feel sick to my stomach, and want to erase that mistake. This is a gentle reminder that there is nothing wrong with admitting an error and correcting it.
Delete this. This site, and you, will be better for it.
> the underage girl …said it was consensual
This is false. Setting aside the fact that sex with a minor is never legally consensual, Samantha Geimer, the girl (now woman) he raped, has forcefully denied that it was consensual. You should read the Wikipedia entry about it, cos it will (or should) make you want to puke.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski_sexual_abuse_case
“In a 2003 interview, she recalled that she began to feel uncomfortable after he asked her to lie down on a bed, and described how she attempted to resist. "I said, 'No, no. I don't want to go in there. No, I don't want to do this. No!', and then I didn't know what else to do", she stated, adding: "We were alone and I didn't know what else would happen if I made a scene. So I was just scared, and after giving some resistance, I figured well, I guess I'll get to come home after this".
“Geimer testified that Polanski provided champagne that they shared as well as part of a Quaalude, and despite her protests, he performed oral sex upon her, had vaginal intercourse, and sodomized her, each time after being told "no" and being asked to stop.”
“Geimer has insisted that the sex was non-consensual“
All the while in the Lakers biggest fans hotel room while he was in the other room.
Sorry, that's not the account that I read.
Just to be clear, are you doubling down that this was somehow "consensual" or "OK" by any definition?
(Also, maybe you should link whatever account you read so it can be compared. i.e show your work)
Yeah, that’s “special place in hell” territory. I like one of his movies, but I never knew the details. Ugh.
I'm aware of all that and more...............
> I'm aware of all that and more...............
But still not aware enough.
Yeah so comparing him to Draymond feels pretty egregious imo.
tempprofile didn't compare what Green did to what Polaski did. S/he made the point that we can separate a person's work from their other behavior, admiring the former while disapproving of the latter.
Compartmentalizing truly evil behavior just so one can do something fun apparently never goes out of style. It would be a much more difficult question if it was "Do I use this medical knowledge to heal people, even though the people who conducted the research violated the rights of their research subjects and subjected them to unnecessarily painful and degrading treatment?" That's a tough question because the life in front of you may need the treatment to continue. That's where moral issues are tough. Deciding not to see a movie by a convicted rapist is a pretty easy call. It is sad that a substantial number of people refuse to make it.
Draymond needs to get a grip emotionally. Still. He is too intelligent to believe that the world is a fair place, or that there is any benefit in speaking truth to idiots. His passion and his constant belief in setting things right, are the reason he reacts emotionally even when walking away would be the primo move. There is a great story about Don Bankhead the first Black major league pitcher, and a Jackie Robinson teammate in Brooklyn; telling Robinson as he was trashing the clubhouse after being thrown out in a disputed close play to end a game, that he was wrong. Bankhead is reported to have said, "Robinson. Not only are you wrong, but you are loud wrong." My observation is that Klay and Steph are quiet leaders. And at times the team needs Draymond's restless fury. It seems from anecdotal data that Bob Meyers and some asst coaches like Mike Brown could calm Dray down, or chose to, more than his vet peers. Locker room balance is a tricky thing. I understand why Poole got punched. Even without endorsing player on player violence. After coaching on both the HS and college level, I can say without any doubt that when you have a parent like Poole’s father, demanding an apology from his son's teammate, it illustrates a dynamic where the son is a braying ass. Ironically the tweet serves to explain the punch. Apparently Draymond mentored Poole. In a serious way. I think the punch reflects Dramonds hurt and disappointment at being chirped at, in such a disrespectful way, after investing so much time and emotional effort in helping Poole learn how to be a pro. Anytime a parent is handholding past 9th or 10th grade it is a problem. I was short with parents coaching their kids in HS. At the collegiate level the kid ran. A lot. If their parents bothered me or my assistants. Yeah. I am a grumpy old school guy. Sue me. I wish Draymond would let more of this stuff go. He is a great HOF player. He is an excellent teammate. He is a good husband and father-despite his kids running loose at press conferences. He is loud and vocal and just crazy at times. But he is truly a good human being. He has a good heart. He cares. Which most people don't. This team can't win without him. He needs to chill and just live and play.
A lot of what you say is true but I disagree that the parent tweeting says anything about the son.
One clarification: I don't think Poole's dad was demanding an apology from Dray. I think he was challenging that he ever /had/ apologized. Mark Medina reported that Green said he had apologized to Jordan's family and to his own family (https://twitter.com/MarkG_Medina/status/1578808115583062017?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1578808115583062017%7Ctwgr%5E110b562604f3077174a3dbe68e57138e02f9ae09%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fsports.yahoo.com%2Fdraymond-green-apologizes-punching-jordan-poole-leaving-warriors-for-few-days-to-focus-on-himself-182719890.html). I think Poole's dad was calling BS on that.
I don't pretend to understand what Draymond thinks or feels. His behaviour is so far away from what I find acceptable, I can't even imagine how to get there.
He's a great player, deserves to be in the HOF, and I will not miss him even one day when he hangs it up.
Draymond is highly bimodal, meaning that he is somehow in the running for both the best thing that happened to the warriors in the last decade, and worst.
Best in the sense of a second rounder who anchors your defense and facilitates offense.
(Sure Steph is the best thing but Draymond is in the convo.)
Worst in the sense of continually acting like a child on the court, sabotaging success, and off the court getting into conflicts with Poole, Durant, and I guess Kuminga, (I am just hearing that today. )
Draymond os the opposite of Looney. Looney highs have never been as high, but he doesn’t bring weird lows. He just hoops
I love Looney. He rebounded like a crazy person this last season. Over the top against the Kings.
Absolutely. That said, there have got to be 30 big men I’d trade him for in the league, contracts aside. Or 20 or 20 or whatever. Looney does what he does great and fits in the system but if you offered me him or someone who has a real offensive game?
Saric will be a real test of this premise. I think that, at least in the playoffs, he'll be used alongside Steph some as a stretch 5.
Saric right now is pretty much what I hoped PBJ would eventually be ... a relatively slow center with some defensive limitations, but one who can space out to the 3 and shoot.
What?! You have Klay and Steph and Wiggs for points. Looney led the league in offensive rebounds = an elite offensive game!
It is possible to rebound well and also score.
They have been able to keep Looney precisely because his incredible-for-the-Dubs skillset is severely undervalued. There is no one like him that can also shoot, and if there were they would have never been able to hold onto that person and the core.
Right. Hes a great player * for the price *
If price were not a consideration he’s not that special.
It may not be an anomaly but that’s a problem if true.
I like the way you named a
Duality: Ron Artest I don’t want on my team. Metta World Peace I do. Draymond is like that, a duality, like all of us I suppose