I think Lee is a 2, not a 1. Until Klay returns, I wouldn’t be shocked to see Wigs slide up to the 2 and Batum start at the 3. pre-Klay playing time could be part of the salesperson pitch to him.
Looks pretty good to me (assuming rumours = reality). I’m not sure JJ gets a 2 way, I think he may return to the NBL for his final year on that contract.
I’ll go ahead and say I don’t think it is. Baze at this point will bring a lot of energy and may be a more direct contributor, whereas I would imagine igoudala playing more a pinch hitter role and being a vet presence. Given our roster crunch with two rookies, EP, and Wiseman, we have four non-guards who project as only sort of playable. Grabbing a guy who can soak up some minutes and be a bit bouncier than iggy isn’t unjustifiable. My concern is what price Baze would come at vs. iggy.
Jackie MacMullan implied on the Bill Simmons podcast that she thinks the Warriors are getting Batum and Andre. Since she's saying something I like, I choose to believe it. Honestly, you get Batum, the offseason is a success. Of course, I'm greedy and would want Baze back at min, and then in a perfect world a C and a PG.
Maybe Kevin Love and Cory Joseph? Maybe Chriss? JaVale? Sigh....Austin Rivers? At vet min, you can't be choosy. Pashall for someone?
One note: as other have stated, I’m a hard pass on a back up PG FA. Don’t need one if Iggy is added and it detracts from Poole’s minutes. I still remain hopeful that we’re hoping to see Mannion develop as well.
Whew, just finished talking through a full watch of Kuminga’s game against the SLC Stars. I don’t know how it got to 3 hours… have to edit this down to human size.
I come away acknowledging his occasional tunnel vision, but it wasn’t as bad as I was led to believe. It didn’t show up until halfway through Q3. And he made numerous plays for other people. When people rotated to stop his drives, he often looked for the open man.
And yes he clanked jumpers.
He set screens… they didn’t knock people to the ground, but they were real screens, not the Kevin Durant / David Lee style pose-and-slip type.
When he was off-ball he consistently cut to the basket when his man turned his head. He was engaged throughout.
He rebounded, but most of them were uncontested… he used athleticism to get to a couple. I think boxing out is out of fashion now (the thinking is that you should just go get it), so for better or worse, he wasn’t doing a lot of boxing out.
The biggest takeaway: I was led to believe he was a lazy defender and I completely disagree with that. I saw a good defender, who was even a leader on the court directing trafffic. They had Kuminga guarding little point guards for half the game, and he did really well. They had him guarding small ball 5s for part of the game, so he had to play different roles on D in a way that Jalen Green did not or really no one else had to.
He guarded ball on pick and roll, he guarded screeners. He guarded rollers on stagger screens. He carried a heavier defensive load than any other Igniter did. It was clear that the coaches thought he was a key defender. His own coaches had him guard everyone, and the Stars arranged plays to get Kuminga off the ball. He contested well and recovered pretty smoothly. He hustled throughout the game.
The big defensive issue I saw was communication on switches. Kuminga consistently had mix ups with #20 and #4 (Jalen Green) on who would cover whom. But I saw that from the whole Ignite squad. I don’t know how much prep time they had, but they definitely played like a team that hadn’t gelled on defense.
I didn’t mention the highlight alleyoop, that he often beat everyone downcourt in transition (while playing honest defense, not cherry picking) and that he drew a bunch of fouls, so he scored even with his jumper not falling.
So, I can see Kuminga getting some time. I’m more intrigued than when I began watching.
Probably an oversell (and I’m aging myself), but when I see Kuminga I’m reminded of James Worthy. Tweener (he played small forward at 6’ 8/9-ish) unreal first step to the hoop who became a huge problem once he learned to drain a mid-range jumper (3-pointer in todays’ game). Ok defensively, pretty good on the boards, fantastic in transition. I think Kuminga has more bounce and maybe a better rim protector.
The game has changed such that Kuminga won’t be able to take advantage of slow-footed small forwards (ahem, Larry Bird) as much as Worthy did. But if he can develop something of an outside shot, he could wreck havoc at the 4.
My impression watching the draft videos is that he can get to the rim as a cutter at least and he wouldn't be a defensive liability. He should be able to score some buckets in a small ball lineup with Curry, Thompson, Wiggins, and Green or JTA as the floor would be pretty well spread.His lack of outside shooting wouldn't be a problem.
Thanks for putting in the time and sharing your thoughts. Looking forward to watching the breakdown. From what I have heard, his D is what will make him playable earlier than we are predicting. In fact, bold prediction (don’t hold me to it!!), we may see Kuminga get minutes earlier than Moody
Of all the guys projected in the top 20, Kuminga was the one I paid the least attention to since he was a “project” and unlikely to fall to 7.
After looking into some of the deeper dive scouting reports, I think his defense didn’t really get mentioned as a strength in the quick reviews, which were always great story, physique and tools, but very raw. His defense sounds like it’s somewhere on “NBA-ready” spectrum and Eric is confirming it.
Yes, to be completely honest, I had watched some Kuminga highlight reels earlier and they hurt my soul, so I figured I would not watch more film unless he got drafted. And we’re here.
I know this is weird and I don't really see it happening, but I was kind of hoping to keep GP2 as our 15th guy. I know he wouldn't play much, but I really liked what he did in the few minutes he got here and I think it can be really valuable to send in a lock down D guy to cool off an opposing guard who is hot once in a while.
To be fair, he wasn't given many minutes for us to see what he could do offensively. But, defensively, he hustled and disrupted like few other players do. He was a tiger and had an innate sense of where he should be.
Well, while I like GP2, Ntilikina might also be available for a minimum and he's probably better suited for that role. Of course if GP2 developed a jumper in the past few months, that would change things.
After the press conference, I think it's safe to say GP2 isn't coming back.
Lee is a good bench piece (so I doubt they let him go) and Mulder probably depends on how we do with Free Agents (are we getting Ellington/Bullock/OPJ?). Might also let go of Mulder to get someone like Ryan Taylor from Santa Cruz.
They asked kuminga why he chose 00 as his number and he said cause 0 was taken (gp2) and Myers was like no it's not and then kuminga said maybe he'll change it then
Alen Smailagić once called himself “bucket man” but the Warriors just called him and told him “bye man” as they just waived former 39th pick https://t.co/vjrmeGWMLM
They nearly went all the way with Chris Paul. Of course they should retain him. You don't fix what ain't broke, and he ain't broke, neither poor nor injured!
> Source: The Warriors will waive Alen Smailagic before his contract guarantees on August 6th. He had two more non-guaranteed seasons remaining on his deal. Took him 39th in 2019 draft. Didn't pan out. This frees up an extra 15-man spot as they add to the roster in coming days.
Steph, Klay, Wiggins, Dray, Wise will be playoff starters… Batum, Looney, and Poole as the top 8, with JTA/Lee/(Chriss?) filling in as needed. Wise playing time determined by his growth and matchups.
They need at least one more microwave combo guard. If Poole went down, they'd be screwed whereas they have some decent wing/big depth comparatively. Or to handle a 5/10 game absence by Curry during the regular season.
If you think about how much more experienced and NBA-ready Poole came in as a rookie compared to the more raw Wiseman, it wouldn’t seem that far-fetched for him to take a bigger jump relative to his starting point. I just hope he’s been able to work on stuff while unable to actually play.
While I think playoff starter Wiseman isn’t likely to emerge this year, I do think rotation piece Wiseman is a decent probability. Stay healthy, learn and earn a place!
This says Beal is the only guy they’d move mountains to get. Makes you wonder if the Warriors got their thoughts on potential draft picks in case of a post-draft trade request.
Hmm. I’m not sure the are referring to Beal….The other night in my mid-wine session wisdom I cooked up a ludicrous trade in which GS cashed I the entire future for Beal. Upon reflection I realised how bad a move it would be to go all in on a player with no elite defense, it made me reconsider. I honestly think the FO would only mortgage the next decade for Giannis. Obviously he’s not available yet, so technically they haven’t lied!
I'm curious about the Clippers. Just saw that Kawhi declined his option and is a UFA. Presumably he will re-sign with the Clippers.
...but if not, I gotta think Paul George would be available, right? Maybe they have info about Kawhi's intentions and that's the guy they are monitoring? I think he'd be worth it, personally.
Under what scenario could get get Kawhi? We are way over the cap so we can't sign him as a free agent, and we can't receive a sign and trade because we'd be hard capped.
I assume you mean “assuming they have the cap room”, because I would hope the Warriors wouldn’t gut the team to the extent they’d need to to create cap room for Kawhi.
Prob told wiz that they aren’t desperate and won’t give everything away… and told wiz to come back to the table when they’re ready to compromise, and “hey, if you can’t meet us before the draft, we’re making our picks”
Yeah, I could see them having offered Wiggins, 7 and 14, but taking Wiseman off the table. If Beal requests a trade, Wizards’ hand gets weaker. Meanwhile GSW’s hand looks better having done so well in the draft.
Seems like Batum would be a good mentor for Kuminga, Klay for Moody and Jessup, Looney for Wiseman, Dray for Paschall, Curry for Mannion and Iggy for Poole.
Roster:
Assuming confirmation of the latest news, the roster should look like this:
Curry, Poole, Lee
Thompson, Moody, Iguodala
Wiggins, Kuminga, Paschall
Green, Batum, JTA
Looney, Wiseman, Chriss
Two-way:
Nico, Jessup
I assumed the waive of Smiley, Mulder, Payton, Bell and FA for Baze, Oubre.
Is that correct?
Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think Jessup can come over on a two-way. I think he needs to be on the roster to be bought out.
That's correct.
It looks balanced to me, between youngsters and vets, and between core preservation and talent addition. Not a superteam, but ceiling quite high.
I think Lee is a 2, not a 1. Until Klay returns, I wouldn’t be shocked to see Wigs slide up to the 2 and Batum start at the 3. pre-Klay playing time could be part of the salesperson pitch to him.
Considering the flexibility of players like Iggy or JTA that shouldn’t be a problem
Looks pretty good to me (assuming rumours = reality). I’m not sure JJ gets a 2 way, I think he may return to the NBL for his final year on that contract.
In that case, the 2nd two-way to Mulder?
Not be redundant but yes at the minimum. No at any other price.
Is it sacrilegious to want Bazemore back more than Iggy?
No, because Andre turns 38 next season.
Batum > Porter Jr. > Bazemore > Iguodala
I know baze numbers are better but I'd rather have Iggy for the intangibles and to help dray mentor the youngins and be a leader
…
But I’d happily take Batum at the TPMLE and either one of Baze or Andre at the min, if that’s how it shakes out.
Add Klay, Wiggs, Poole, JTA, Lee, and baby Kuminga & Moody, and that’s a pretty solid set of wings.
I’ll go ahead and say I don’t think it is. Baze at this point will bring a lot of energy and may be a more direct contributor, whereas I would imagine igoudala playing more a pinch hitter role and being a vet presence. Given our roster crunch with two rookies, EP, and Wiseman, we have four non-guards who project as only sort of playable. Grabbing a guy who can soak up some minutes and be a bit bouncier than iggy isn’t unjustifiable. My concern is what price Baze would come at vs. iggy.
Jackie MacMullan implied on the Bill Simmons podcast that she thinks the Warriors are getting Batum and Andre. Since she's saying something I like, I choose to believe it. Honestly, you get Batum, the offseason is a success. Of course, I'm greedy and would want Baze back at min, and then in a perfect world a C and a PG.
Maybe Kevin Love and Cory Joseph? Maybe Chriss? JaVale? Sigh....Austin Rivers? At vet min, you can't be choosy. Pashall for someone?
Love can't seem to stay healthy.
Thrilled with that result.
One note: as other have stated, I’m a hard pass on a back up PG FA. Don’t need one if Iggy is added and it detracts from Poole’s minutes. I still remain hopeful that we’re hoping to see Mannion develop as well.
Batum and Andre would be a great start to FA. Let’s hope Jackie is right
Whew, just finished talking through a full watch of Kuminga’s game against the SLC Stars. I don’t know how it got to 3 hours… have to edit this down to human size.
I come away acknowledging his occasional tunnel vision, but it wasn’t as bad as I was led to believe. It didn’t show up until halfway through Q3. And he made numerous plays for other people. When people rotated to stop his drives, he often looked for the open man.
And yes he clanked jumpers.
He set screens… they didn’t knock people to the ground, but they were real screens, not the Kevin Durant / David Lee style pose-and-slip type.
When he was off-ball he consistently cut to the basket when his man turned his head. He was engaged throughout.
He rebounded, but most of them were uncontested… he used athleticism to get to a couple. I think boxing out is out of fashion now (the thinking is that you should just go get it), so for better or worse, he wasn’t doing a lot of boxing out.
The biggest takeaway: I was led to believe he was a lazy defender and I completely disagree with that. I saw a good defender, who was even a leader on the court directing trafffic. They had Kuminga guarding little point guards for half the game, and he did really well. They had him guarding small ball 5s for part of the game, so he had to play different roles on D in a way that Jalen Green did not or really no one else had to.
He guarded ball on pick and roll, he guarded screeners. He guarded rollers on stagger screens. He carried a heavier defensive load than any other Igniter did. It was clear that the coaches thought he was a key defender. His own coaches had him guard everyone, and the Stars arranged plays to get Kuminga off the ball. He contested well and recovered pretty smoothly. He hustled throughout the game.
The big defensive issue I saw was communication on switches. Kuminga consistently had mix ups with #20 and #4 (Jalen Green) on who would cover whom. But I saw that from the whole Ignite squad. I don’t know how much prep time they had, but they definitely played like a team that hadn’t gelled on defense.
I didn’t mention the highlight alleyoop, that he often beat everyone downcourt in transition (while playing honest defense, not cherry picking) and that he drew a bunch of fouls, so he scored even with his jumper not falling.
So, I can see Kuminga getting some time. I’m more intrigued than when I began watching.
Probably an oversell (and I’m aging myself), but when I see Kuminga I’m reminded of James Worthy. Tweener (he played small forward at 6’ 8/9-ish) unreal first step to the hoop who became a huge problem once he learned to drain a mid-range jumper (3-pointer in todays’ game). Ok defensively, pretty good on the boards, fantastic in transition. I think Kuminga has more bounce and maybe a better rim protector.
The game has changed such that Kuminga won’t be able to take advantage of slow-footed small forwards (ahem, Larry Bird) as much as Worthy did. But if he can develop something of an outside shot, he could wreck havoc at the 4.
My impression watching the draft videos is that he can get to the rim as a cutter at least and he wouldn't be a defensive liability. He should be able to score some buckets in a small ball lineup with Curry, Thompson, Wiggins, and Green or JTA as the floor would be pretty well spread.His lack of outside shooting wouldn't be a problem.
Thanks for putting in the time and sharing your thoughts. Looking forward to watching the breakdown. From what I have heard, his D is what will make him playable earlier than we are predicting. In fact, bold prediction (don’t hold me to it!!), we may see Kuminga get minutes earlier than Moody
Of all the guys projected in the top 20, Kuminga was the one I paid the least attention to since he was a “project” and unlikely to fall to 7.
After looking into some of the deeper dive scouting reports, I think his defense didn’t really get mentioned as a strength in the quick reviews, which were always great story, physique and tools, but very raw. His defense sounds like it’s somewhere on “NBA-ready” spectrum and Eric is confirming it.
Yes, to be completely honest, I had watched some Kuminga highlight reels earlier and they hurt my soul, so I figured I would not watch more film unless he got drafted. And we’re here.
Great report, thanks.
Thanks for watching and sharing! Def encouraged to hear
That's what I was telling people, watch the full games not the full highlights of him bricking, I'm actually bullish on his jumper as well
Who gets waived next for FA? GP2, Mulder, Lee?
I know this is weird and I don't really see it happening, but I was kind of hoping to keep GP2 as our 15th guy. I know he wouldn't play much, but I really liked what he did in the few minutes he got here and I think it can be really valuable to send in a lock down D guy to cool off an opposing guard who is hot once in a while.
To be fair, he wasn't given many minutes for us to see what he could do offensively. But, defensively, he hustled and disrupted like few other players do. He was a tiger and had an innate sense of where he should be.
Agreed
Well, while I like GP2, Ntilikina might also be available for a minimum and he's probably better suited for that role. Of course if GP2 developed a jumper in the past few months, that would change things.
Or just get the SDSU shooter on a 2-way and hope he develops into a playable regular season defender. Surely that's a better use of resources, right?
Mulder and GP2 are for sure gone.
The question now is if the Warriors need to free up Paschall's roster spot.
I'll be very surprised if the Warriors get rid of Lee.
After the press conference, I think it's safe to say GP2 isn't coming back.
Lee is a good bench piece (so I doubt they let him go) and Mulder probably depends on how we do with Free Agents (are we getting Ellington/Bullock/OPJ?). Might also let go of Mulder to get someone like Ryan Taylor from Santa Cruz.
Such a savage move by Myers in that press conference lol
I don’t remember what Myers said…?
They asked kuminga why he chose 00 as his number and he said cause 0 was taken (gp2) and Myers was like no it's not and then kuminga said maybe he'll change it then
Oh shit. I saw that and it didn’t register.
https://youtu.be/s0ZrUPgv2dA
Kuminga was saying Gary and Bob just ignored that lol
I hope they’ve talked to GPII about it before the presser…
Mulder or GP2. Don’t see Lee going anywhere.
Putting on my sabrinasez hat for a moment...
Awesomo NBA DFS
@AwesomoNBA
Alen Smailagić once called himself “bucket man” but the Warriors just called him and told him “bye man” as they just waived former 39th pick https://t.co/vjrmeGWMLM
Seemed inevitable but a scared little voice in my head feared they’d give him another year. Fare thee well.
Dammit belilaugh beat me too it 😭
How can Chris Paul possibly decline a 44 million option? I know he was really good this season but… 44 million good?
He'll get more years (something like 3/90 or 3/100) which probably matters more for a 36 year old.
I saw a rumor that the Suns were gonna offer like a 3/$90+m deal.
That seems like a bad deal for that Suns, but what do I know
They nearly went all the way with Chris Paul. Of course they should retain him. You don't fix what ain't broke, and he ain't broke, neither poor nor injured!
I guess it does give them more cap room this year…
It would be really interesting to see if they kicked the tires on Oubre.
Grizzlies just declined Justise Winslow's TO.
Think his market will be suppressed enough because of injury concerns that the Warriors can get him for vet min?
Pass.
Do we want him? We can't afford more non-shooters.
I think there are much better options on the market.
I guess I imagine an Iguodala-like role for him, but maybe better to just get the actual Iguodala haha
For some light comedy: https://hardwoodhoudini.com/2021/08/01/boston-celtics-point-stephen-curry/amp/
If we get Iguodala back I want to get Barnes just for the reason of running it back and making up for 2016 but that obviously wouldn't happen
> Source: The Warriors will waive Alen Smailagic before his contract guarantees on August 6th. He had two more non-guaranteed seasons remaining on his deal. Took him 39th in 2019 draft. Didn't pan out. This frees up an extra 15-man spot as they add to the roster in coming days.
https://twitter.com/anthonyVslater/status/1421957281965502471
The didn't mention that Kirk Lacob has been grounded for a week and told never to do that again. 😉
Kent, not Kirk. I think Kirk is pretty solid.
End of an era/error
Alright my faith in the FO has been fully restored 😉
About time
Best move of the offseason
Yeeee!!
Glad they aren't gonna drag this along more than it needs to.
Finally. Hope he finds success elsewhere. Go Smiley!
Batum would a guy who can start in the playoffs. If we can get him, that's absolutely huge.
Loved Batum since his Blazer days. Would be great to see us get him
Steph, Klay, Wiggins, Dray, Wise will be playoff starters… Batum, Looney, and Poole as the top 8, with JTA/Lee/(Chriss?) filling in as needed. Wise playing time determined by his growth and matchups.
They need at least one more microwave combo guard. If Poole went down, they'd be screwed whereas they have some decent wing/big depth comparatively. Or to handle a 5/10 game absence by Curry during the regular season.
If Wiseman is a playoff starter, either the Center corps is horribly injured or Wiseman had a soph year rise that puts Poole's to shame.
If you think about how much more experienced and NBA-ready Poole came in as a rookie compared to the more raw Wiseman, it wouldn’t seem that far-fetched for him to take a bigger jump relative to his starting point. I just hope he’s been able to work on stuff while unable to actually play.
He’ll be fine… they’ll roll him as starter for beginning of 1st and 3rd quarters… and he will have a big soph rise… since the baseline is pretty low.
I would be absolutely shocked if Wiseman is playing rotation minutes in the playoffs, let alone starting.
While I think playoff starter Wiseman isn’t likely to emerge this year, I do think rotation piece Wiseman is a decent probability. Stay healthy, learn and earn a place!
Being a playoff C is really really hard. Most conventional Cs are unable to stay on the floor in the playoffs, let alone young Cs.
Think it's about as likely as Kuminga playing substantial minutes next year for us in the playoffs.
And as a center, rotation piece Wiseman is going to start, but not finish
https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/warriors/source-warriors-only-would-trade-assets-one-unavailable-player
This says Beal is the only guy they’d move mountains to get. Makes you wonder if the Warriors got their thoughts on potential draft picks in case of a post-draft trade request.
Hmm. I’m not sure the are referring to Beal….The other night in my mid-wine session wisdom I cooked up a ludicrous trade in which GS cashed I the entire future for Beal. Upon reflection I realised how bad a move it would be to go all in on a player with no elite defense, it made me reconsider. I honestly think the FO would only mortgage the next decade for Giannis. Obviously he’s not available yet, so technically they haven’t lied!
I'm curious about the Clippers. Just saw that Kawhi declined his option and is a UFA. Presumably he will re-sign with the Clippers.
...but if not, I gotta think Paul George would be available, right? Maybe they have info about Kawhi's intentions and that's the guy they are monitoring? I think he'd be worth it, personally.
Under what scenario could get get Kawhi? We are way over the cap so we can't sign him as a free agent, and we can't receive a sign and trade because we'd be hard capped.
Leonard never would have declined $36m while injured for another year if he wasnt getting a new long term deal
All 30 teams in the league would offer Kawhi a 4/5 year max if he said he was coming there despite the injury.
I realize that..its very unlikely he leaves LA tho
I assume you mean “assuming they have the cap room”, because I would hope the Warriors wouldn’t gut the team to the extent they’d need to to create cap room for Kawhi.
If Kawhi is coming, they'd trade Wiggins + whatever filler is required within a millisecond.
The only team that might not do anything is the Nets (might think Harden and KD are better while Kyrie is close friends with KD).
Hypothetically speaking, they wouldn't give up a lot in some S&T deal w LAC would they? Wiggins+filler+a draft pick to match his contract?
Sure, but maybe that long term deal is from the Miami Heat?
True...its coming from somewhere
Pretty risky...who knows how he will recover.
I hear there are some clinics down in Miami that can give you everlasting youth.
Apologies for the typos! I need a new phone
Prob told wiz that they aren’t desperate and won’t give everything away… and told wiz to come back to the table when they’re ready to compromise, and “hey, if you can’t meet us before the draft, we’re making our picks”
Yeah, I could see them having offered Wiggins, 7 and 14, but taking Wiseman off the table. If Beal requests a trade, Wizards’ hand gets weaker. Meanwhile GSW’s hand looks better having done so well in the draft.
Let d lee have all of bazes minutes
Im good w that
Iggy here to mentor moody kuminga and wiggins would be fucking amazing, if warriors sign iggy, batum and Chris's we will be a fucking problem
Seems like Batum would be a good mentor for Kuminga, Klay for Moody and Jessup, Looney for Wiseman, Dray for Paschall, Curry for Mannion and Iggy for Poole.