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For those worried about losing Klay:

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/klay-thompson-rumors-magic-cited-as-possible-free-agent-destination-for-warriors-legend-per-report/

Pertinent passage:

"Thompson won't generate anything close to a max offer, but something like that two-year, $48 million offer he turned down in the offseason makes plenty of sense for Orlando if Golden State won't step up to the plate."

So, if the Warriors aren't even willing to match the low offer they already put on the table, the Magic are prepared to swoop in at a number that Thompson already declined? That's the story? There's absolutely no "there" there...

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Unless Klay's season improves, the offers he'll get this summer won't be as good as the offers he saw last summer.

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I am 100% confident that the Warriors have that offer on the table today

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Feb 21·edited Feb 21

I am not. The results of this season seem to be convincing Lacob to pivot toward getting under the tax line.

They expected to be contenders this year, almost certainly (with Paul, without the Poole and Wiseman distractions, growth from Moody and Kuminga). As it turns out, we are (at best) a fringe contender, unless we close on some monster run.

I can certainly see Lacob wanting to get under the tax line next year, to try to get out of the repeater tax before Kuminga's (and potentially Moody's) extensions kick in. Apparently you need to be out of the tax 2 of the last 4 years to avoid the repeater penalties.

My guess is that if Klay will settle for less than $20 mil, he's got an offer here. Over that, it's pretty iffy. Dray only got $25 mil, and he is roundly outplaying Klay this year.

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Lux tax is expected to kick in at ~$171M next year. If the Warriors let CP3 go, they'll have $144M committed to 10 players. Sign 3 vet min guys at $1.8M each, and you've got $149M committed, leaving $22M left to hit the cap.

They could free up another $~3M by releasing Loon (and replacing him with a vet min), or trading Moody/GP2 for less salary coming back... or even convincing GP2 to let go of his PO and resign at a lower number, like 3y/$18M deal or something.

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Feb 21·edited Feb 21

I'm not sure if you've figured in the salary increases for next year ... if not, they are significant enough to be considered (I think Steph's is $4 mil or so by himself).

But, yeah, there are any number of moves they could make with Loon or GPII to get under the tax.

But, that's pretty crazy to do ... overpay Klay for declining production (do you think he'll deserve $22 mil?), or keep Loon and GPII who are both younger, and play pretty vital roles for the Dubs. Klay has several close substitutes on the roster ... Moody, Wiggs, Quinones, Podz.

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I am 99% confident that 100% confident is too confident

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Shhh, you're not supposed to tell anyone. That's confidential information.

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But we’re confidants.

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Folks - just for fun - and given that leflake is playing headgames - see # 23, 28, 37,40, 47

https://hoopshype.com/lists/nba-players-best-winning-percentage-ever/

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Looking at individual winning percentage makes it so clear that it’s a team stat.

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At minimum, we now track the actual data of how teams perform with players on the floor as opposed to on the bench, so “team W-L” is a needlessly ham-handed and deceiving metric.

Even when Steph was a skinny whippersnapper on a bad team the Warriors were pretty good with him on the floor. On the awful 2011-12 “tank for AD, MKG or Harry B” team, for example, the Warriors were a +4.8 per 100 in Steph’s 748 minutes (and -6.1 per 100 with him on the bench).

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Also, old friend DDV ranking pretty high. I guess Steph gets pulled down by those first few years.

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OK, so post-ASG, Steph has all the crowns. Dray and Klay got things to prove to the league.

We got JK the Hella Copter (sorry,) still rising. Someone found Good Wiggins tied up in the broom closet. We got 48-feet-of-Healthy GPII. Podz is clearly a basketball lunatic, and mostly in the best ways. Not to mention valuable minutes coming from Ye Olde Point God, Saric, LQ, and TJD. I predict winning.

Still, Free Moses! Lift the blockade on Moody Island!

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Love the post, love the username.

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I thought about the Moody issue a lot. Nothing but a “james bond” like issue make sense. He is Steph Kerrs secret weapon - that’s it!

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You mean to say we've been spelling M00dy's name wrong this whole time?

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https://youtu.be/bVb9yZud5zc?si=zWBJVNYSuxjvbzp-

Pascall going down the Omari Spellman path…

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Wahoooooo for TJD!

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Regarding the fantastic Athletic piece on Podziemski, the biggest revelation for me was a quote by Lacob detailing how Podz could ". . . reference personnel on the other team . . . Names, tendencies, opponent actions. His memory recall was super impressive.”

I'm adoring that basketball IQ, one of the biggest things that seperate the wheat from the chaff in basketball. On a side note, what would be Podz's NBA comparison?

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Josh Hart?

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For me, Podz's NBA comparison would be Fat Lever whose combo for rebounding/passing/steals reminds me of Podz.

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That’s a good one! Bonus points for a cross race comp

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I love this guy's take on something we all see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUxfgHZbKng

Under Armor? Never thought of that as a possible reason.

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Steph obviously gets the biggest shaft from the refs but I feel like most top tier superstars especially later into their career gets less love from the zebras. ATP it's not a conspiracy theory anymore. If Steph was officiated correctly he could easily average his 2016 MVP season numbers every season and there'd be absolutely no way to guard the Warriors. What I'm confused about is why guys like Luka, Trae & Dame gets a different whistle compared to the rest of the league.

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Alright Les 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

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So, LQ moves up, which opens up one of the two-way contracts. Anyone heard any options for the Dubs to fill the spot? They could leave it open, but they seem to try to make use of the two-ways. I don't really see any of the current Sea-Dubs getting promoted, but maybe there is someone out there MDJ will scout out.

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Kerr on Podz: “He gambles way too much,” Kerr said. “That’s great except we really only need one guy (Draymond) doing that. If you have two guys doing that, the defense will be screwed up. But I’ll take that any day over the guy who isn’t aware. The guy who isn’t aware is standing on the weak side while the guy is laying it in. He’s the opposite. He sees every cutter. He’s trying to help on everything. We just have to help him streamline and help him understand his job isn’t to do everyone else’s job.”

I think a big part of this comes down to his lack of size. If he's not over exerting himself as a 2, he can't really guard anyone based on size/athleticism.

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Maybe Moody is the guy who isn't aware according to Kerr

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https://x.com/wojespn/status/1760101466482626729?s=46&t=uin-bDCpAMkWQkABBJ4tFA

Officially official. Welcome to the active roster Lester.

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author

For people who don’t want to visit the hell bird:

<<

The Golden State Warriors plan to convert two-way guard Lester Quiñones to a standard NBA contract, Mike Miller and Derek Malloy of @LiftSportsMngMt tell ESPN. Quinones — who has averaged 4.8 points for Warriors this season — was the 2023 Most Improved Player in the G League.

>>

https://www.threads.net/@wojespn/post/C3lvqpMtOI7

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You could have said @Asher

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Me too

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+1

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Feb 21·edited Feb 21

As official president of the LQ fan club, I am very happy about this.

Now I hope his shooting comes around enough to justify it (shooting 36% on 2s, but a better 40% on 3s)

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Good for him, he worked hard to get a standard contract.

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Feb 21·edited Feb 21

Proved that he was not just a former college teammate and SF roommate/babysitter for James Wiseman.

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Feb 21Liked by Eric Apricot

TIL a new word that is so old and unused it is no longer found in most dictionaries: Apricity

An Old English word that means the warmth of the sun on a winter's day. The word comes from the Latin word apricus, which means having lots of sunshine.

I feel like it is apt on here 🌼

Thanks Eric for all your Apricity.

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What a delightful word! How'd you stumble across it?

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This post made my day. I'm here for all yore ancient vocab.

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YAWP!

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Feb 21Liked by Eric Apricot

Wait! So extrapolating a little, apricot is a fruit that results from lots of sunshine and Eric Apricot writes articles that sheds light (sunshine) on the warriors plays (and sometimes french literature, which arguably could use some sunshine, but I digress). It is all a connected universe...

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Apricocity?

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Feb 21·edited Feb 21Liked by Eric Apricot

> Such is the case with the apricot. At the most basic level, the name comes from the same root as the word "precocious," and essentially means the same thing [flowering or fruiting earlier than usual.]

Warmth of the sun on a winter's day probably contributes to the early fruiting of an apricot... I guess?

Anyway, I like "Eric the Precocious".

And speaking of French...

> From that early beginning, though, "apricot" took a strange path to our tongues. Typically, Latin words follow a pretty direct path from Latin, to French, to English, but "apricot" took a little jaunt south. First, the Greeks picked it up as berikokkia, which Arabic, then, turned to al-burquq (whence the "a" in the "apricot"). Then, it worked its way through the Arabic presence in Spain to the Spanish albaricoque, then over the Pyrenees into the French abricot (since, as any French speakers know, the French love just dropping letters wholesale). The form that first came to English, "abrecock," was closer to the Spanish version, but eventually we got the message from our friends across the Channel and changed that hard final K (not least, one imagines, because "abrecock" sounded a little dirty) to the final T we have today.

At least it's not Eric Abrecock lol

https://web.archive.org/web/20181022154729/https://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/ingredients/article/on-the-etymology-of-the-word-apricot

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Feb 21·edited Feb 21

As far as the unusual “southern turn” in the etymology, I think it’s actually pretty common for the words for warm weather fruits/foods to derive from their warm country roots. The English and Romance language words for orange, lemon, artichoke, and coffee all come from Arabic, for example.

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Feb 21·edited Feb 21

I always think of the Italian “ALBICOCCA” cos in the summer I spent in Florence in my youth, I used to scarf down bottles of that apricot nectar that you find in every Italian deli and grocery store.

It was also a good lesson in the classic Florentine “dropped C” pronunciation, where they drop the C when it’s a single letter, but pronounce it when it’s doubled. So ALBICOCCA in Florence is pronounced “ALBIHOKKA.” And COCA COLA is pronounced “HOHA HOLA”…

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Far out, dude... but it's "puff puff pass", not "puff puff, and keep on puffing"...

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Depends on if you're alone or not ...

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And it's supposed to be one, two, three, not one, two, back to one...

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I just watched the replay of the last minute of the famous OKC “bang bang” game… and, man, Dray gets flagrant foul shoved after Klay’s game tying FTM… reminds me that Dray gets treated different.

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Sam Gordon reminds me the Dubs have until Thurs to fill the open 14th slot. Lester, or someone else?

https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/warriors/article/5-things-watch-warriors-prepare-make-29-game-18677512.php

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Via Woj:

The Golden State Warriors plan to convert two-way guard Lester Quiñones to a standard NBA contract, Mike Miller and Derek Malloy of @LIFTSPORTSMNGMT tell ESPN. Quinones — who has averaged 4.8 points for Warriors this season — was the 2023 Most Improved Player in the G League.

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It's almost assuredly going to be Lester on a similar contract to Gui's: 3 year, non-guaranteed, with only $1M counting toward this year.

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and no one else for the last spot. Can't see us bringing anyone on board at this point unless it's JTA for the locker room purposes

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Yeah. Only way they sign somebody is if two players at the same position get serious injured and miss the rest of the season.

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Seeing reports of the Orlando Magic pursuing Klay in the offseason. That would wrap up nicely for Lacob if Klay leaves on his own. He won't get the backlash of letting one of the triumvirate go and will get out the tax altogether.

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There's been rumors of other teams pursuing him too... tbh, he's not going anywhere. Just like Dray, he'll find his market value and then come back on a 4-5M lower number... probably higher than Joe would like. Another relevant factor, he'll sign his next contract at 34 years old, having had 2 serious injuries, and with an already visible decline in his defensive abilities. Is Orlando (or anyone else) really offering him a 4 year contract worth full current market value? I doubt it... Say the Magic offer $100M/3 years. The Warriors can offer $120M/4 years, letting Klay make more in the end. But I've been wrong before, maybe the Magic want to overpay Klay, just so they can make the playoffs for a second year in a row, and then be capped out.

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Dray has 3 years left on this contract. How about 3/$60mm since Klay is no longer as valuable to the team? Would give the team flexibility. And would align their contracts. But I kinda doubt the team would go for more 2 years … like 2/$35mm.

In other words, as I’ve been saying, Klay is gone. He is going to try to get a lot more.

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I will not be surprised if he walks, TBH. I expect the Dubs to lowball both $$ and years, if Lacob wants to get below the tax line. They can justify it, since they paid him for two years of rehab.

It's not like Klay is making that great a case for a really good contract this year. Can you imagine what he'll be like in four years?

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If he continues to be an aging 38% 3pt shooter, who can’t play defense and hasn’t learned better shot selection, has been benched, and seen his minutes diminish every month of the season on a non-contender, then yeah, he’s not commanding much on the open market.

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or put another way: the market value will be much higher than the actual value

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do we really want Klay for 120/4??

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Nope. Too much money.

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Klay on 4/20 is already too high

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👀

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This is either extremely clever or extremely obvious and I still can't decide which ... ;p

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Dude you’re missing the forest for the weeds.

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You seem to be overthinking this more than usual…

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Don't blow smoke up in this conversation. You know the answer.

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I'm guessing the numbers will be less than that. But I know there's a wide spectrum.

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Would start at $26.5M next year, let’s Lacob get under the tax next year IIRC. And $26.5M in 24/25 is equivalent to $24M in 23/24…

Of course, Klay will have to play well enough to get that offseason contract offer… if he stinks it up the rest of the season, he’ll get bupkis, and the Dubs can bring him back for way less.

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A thought I had today is that if when wants minutes, there is no place for him aside from GS to be.

Any other coach in the league would have benched long ago and would not try their absolute hardest to get him going.

If he values minutes, he needs to stay with GS.

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Talking about the AS weekend might be beyond boring at this point, but after listening to a few podcasts, thought I would summarize a few highlights!

The BAY AREA was more than well represented in a positive light!

a. Steph + Sabrina show - both bay area legends, one for building a dynasty and another for growing up here - maybe she can be a part of the warriors WNBA franchise soon!

b. Dray was very good on the broadcast crew

c. Podz made a lot of "good" noise as a rookie!

d. We could include Dame-time, but that will be stretching it a bit - Right!

What I did not enjoy much was..

- The ASS game , yeah that a typo, but seems appropriate for the 200+ point game!

- Barkley stirring it up with his "insensitive" comments about using a bulletproof vest:-(

- IMHO watching SGA shoot threes is very ugly basketball, even more so that Loon trying to finish under the basket:-)

Overall, for me it was Steph, whether in the Steph+Sabrina show or the few minutes he played in the AS game!

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I’m thinking that Sabrina is well-known not just for the fact that she happened to grow up here, but that she can shoot.

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Dray was OK. I'd give him a C+. He's still learning how to be comfortable in that situation so I will give him a pass. The rest was just bad.

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Lowkey, I wish we had a downvote system so we could also have a section with the most downvoted comments.

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author

We do have a Report Comment feature, and I see all those. But I see no reason to share those widely.

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The opposite of love isn't hate, it's apathy. Downvoting allows hate just by pressing a button while not having that option forces people to go the apathy route by just ignoring the bad stuff which is the best way to get it to go away (on the internet, at least. works with monsters under the bed, too, depending on your maturity level)

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Youtube already got rid of that feature.

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I would trade steph for LeBron in a heartbeat.

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Idk, Lebron's the goat and clearly better than Steph. I think we'd need to throw in JK and BP to get the Lakers to bite

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LOL. You and Klaymatic had me for a second. Good thing no one was taking my BP at the time. :)

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"I would trade steph for LeBron in a heartbeat." - Rob Pelinka

FIFY

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Have a rec!

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