Last night, Dub Nation was wracked with the pangs of nostalgia as three NBA developments reminded them of their past, present, and future. Here’s the three different events involving Golden State wings that kept the Warriors and their fans buzzing.
Curry and KD remind us that there’s no hard feelings
The Warriors got beatdown 129-88 in their lone trip to Brooklyn last night. It was a perfunctory waxing fueled by Brooklyn’s sharp play and a Warriors lineup comprised of D’Angelo Russell, Draymond Green, Kevon Looney, and hella youngsters still wet behind the ears.
Yet there was a tender moment after the loss that penetrated through the deep scar tissue covering Warriors’ fans hearts. Former Warrior Kevin Durant affectionately approached his former Golden State teammates and coaching staff after the game, sharing an extended embrace with his former Splash Cousin, Stephen Curry.
Watching that opened up the floodgates of memories:
Durant shocking the world and announcing he was coming to the Warriors July 4th, 2016
The Warriors players being booed by American fans during Team USA practices for KD’s decision
The Dubs destroying Oklahoma City for the cupcakes mascot while KD was hurt
The 16-1 playoff record in 2017 as the “Hamptons 5” lineup was unleashed
KD helping the Warriors break Houston’s spine and ending Cavaliers basketball
Durant winning Finals MVP’s twice while Curry giddily cheered him on
Talk shows and NBA Twitter discussing KD’s allegedly distantly demeanor EVERY DAY
Draymond screaming at KD about his commitment to the team’s future and revealing a fracture in the team
KD’s brilliant final GSW postseason run being derailed by horrific calf/Achilles injuries
The completely stupid “are the Warriors better with/without KD?” narrative
His departure forcing the Warriors to make tough financial decisions about their future
I could go on and on about the massive impact Durant had on the franchise and the league during his three seasons with the team. He made the squad unbeatable when healthy.
When KD left, a huge contingent of Dub Nation responded with, “Wow being a part of the greatest team ever wasn’t enough for you? Aiite, it’s all good bro, hope you find happiness in Brooklyn, we’re good over here”. (Check the comments from GSoM here)
Underlying all of that is the pain that the Bay Area (particularly Oakland) fans have felt as as great players (like Chris Webber and Randy Moss) and franchises (Raiders and Warriors) have left the 510 despite the fanatical support.
These fans have learned to love hard while resigning themselves to how quickly it all can end.
So, with all that history in mind, watching Curry embrace Durant like a long lost brother activated all the feels. Seeing the two injured legends chat it up in suits made me wistfully remember when they shared the same jersey, and I look forward to the day when both of their jerseys hang in the rafters in Chase Center.
KD, we ain’t mad atcha! Heal up soon!
The Warriors lost two great friends at the trade deadline
I wrote this following the Warriors’ win Monday:
Last night’s scoring binge was a team effort with six Dubs scoring in double-figures. They were led by reserve Alec Burks (30 points on 9-of-17 shooting, 5-of-10 from downtown) and starter Glenn Robinson III (22 points on 8-of-13 shooting, 2-of-4 from deep).
With the trade deadline looming in two days, there’s a strong chance that both of those guys could be moved to a contender thirsty for a helpful piece. It’s bittersweet watching those guys ball out knowing full well that each bucket they score is only making them look more appealing to other GM’s.
Right before last night’s game started, word circulated that Burks and GRIII were being held out of the game to protect them for a pending trade. After the blowout, the reports came in that they were indeed going to Philadelphia. Coach Steve Kerr described them as beloved elder statesmen whose absences severely affected the team last night.
These two guys grew on Dub Nation throughout the season with their heart and legit 3-and-D skillsets. There were several games where I thought to myself, “Damn if we had one of these guys last year in the Finals when KD and Klay went down, we’d have a threepeat”.
I’m glad that they’re getting a chance to play for a contender, and they will be missed.
Iguodala: Welcome to Miami
Okay so the KD reunion and the trade of two beloved hoopers already had me feeling a bit wistful and contemplative.
And then the bombshell drops that Warriors legend Andre Iguodala had been liberated from his exile to Memphis, and is now joining a suddenly terrifying Miami Heat squad. WOW!
The long running subplot for GSW fans this year season was that Iguodala would probably sit out the season after being shipped out in the financial fallout of the KD trade. Then, the former Finals MVP would return back to the Dubs next year and kickstart the next phase of the dynasty. There was too much “evidence” to discount the thought as a pipe dream.
Then you add Curry coming to Iguodala’s defense when those young jabronis from Memphis started talking reckless about hall-of-famers.
It just made too much sense for Iguodala’s return to the franchise that defined his career.
And that’s then the mystical hoops sorcerer Pat Riley swooped in with a godfather offer to get Iguodala to South Beach. Pretty ideal scenario for ‘Dre though, amirite? Good weather, a young contender, and the chance to create a hellacious defense along with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.
Even though it didn’t work out in the Warriors favor, it’s pretty cool to see Iguodala to keep polishing that awesome basketball resume in an ideal situation.
All I know is that Kerr has to play him in coming weeks. Excluding Ky, we now have 10 players out of which Steph and Klay are not playing. So till the we get some more players - (in two weeks?), we are gonna get Smiley show.
Lowest value contract in NBA in Wiggins may not be worst contract for Warriors. Overall, it may end up saving them money.
If the only way for Dubs to off-load Evans+Spellman (and thus avoid repeater tax season) was to do this deal with Minn, the saved money in repeater tax more than makes up for the money that is being overpaid to Wiggins.
So "Lowest value" contract in isolation is no longer so if you offset it with saved repeater tax.
Of course this assumes that only Minn was ready to take Evans+Spellman w/o Dubs including a decent pick/Loon to it. Dubs don't want to loose picks anymore and want to keep Loon.
My point is that we can't call Lacob cheap because he made a move to go under LT (to save repeater next two years) while saying he paid too much for Wiggins. May be they are related.
My co-worker, a rabid hoops/Knicks fan but more an old-school fan than a hoops-blogger type, just sent me this note: "I think that trade is GREAT for Golden State!.....you guys badly needed a slasher!"
He's missing about eight zillion nuances, obviously, but sometimes it's best not to overthink things?
Watching Athletic Alchemy's video. He thinks that the reason why the Warriors got Andrew Wiggins in the trade is because Wiggins has the potential to be a good player but needs the right environment to do it. The FO also believes that if they could turn Chriss from a bad player to a decent player, they could do the same thing for Wiggins.
What can the Warriors get for Wiggins, a top 5 2020 pick, a probable 2021 lottery pick (we need to be rooting for Russell to suck badly with the Wolves so that GMs begin to see the 2021 pick as higher lottery), and I guess a few seconds? Presumably it would have to be a bad team who would be willing to absorb the Wiggins contracts for the picks?
Also, is there any way to keep the comments in some sort of chronological order according to when the original comment was made and not when the latest reply was made?
Well, this move should at least help us continue losing a lot of games this year. Of next year's prospects, who looks to be a future defensive stud? Is it Wiseman or bust?
Second Reaction: Wiggins fits us better with his position, and he gets some stability for once, and he's not going to be a primary option. We also get their First round pick from 2021 which is a DOUBLE DRAFT (i.e. the first year that high schoolers are eligible in the NBA draft again), so there's potential there. Also slides under the repeater tax line, which helps us in the future again.
I am not as dismayed over all that has occurred over the past 24+ hrs on the GSW trade front.
I really did like DLo, and also would have liked to see him play with Steph and Klay and Dray, but I don't hate Wiggins, at least not offensively, but his volume and shot selection will have to be regulated in the Dubs offense. Defensively, he might improve (and even learn a few things) under the tutelage of Ron Adams. My call: DLO for Wiggins a wash, and the possibility of another high #1 pick for Spellman and Evans doesn't trouble me either. I didn't think Evans was going to cut it as a rotational piece, and while I did like him (and Spellman), I like much better the idea of pro-rated full contracts for Ky and Queese, with additional hope that Smiley will likely see some more of an extended look with the big club, and I think the Dubs should definitely try and see if there is some way Juan Toscano-Anderson can be brought up to the big club.
So, I did a little more digging, and it seems like Wiggins makes more money than Russell this year, next year, and every year thereafter on his contract. So this trade doesn't make any sense in terms of getting under the cap, either.
Giving Spellman and Evans away for picks doesn't really do much, either, because they were on cheap rookie-scale deals anyway, and you have to replace them to have a full roster.
So I guess this really comes down to... the Warriors front office believes Wiggins can live up to his potential in SF, and if not, at least they have picks in the double draft? Feels like a bad gamble to me.
Wiggins, a Lottery first, and probably a favorable second
For D'Lo, Iguodala, Evans, and two seconds
I could probably break this down further into failed draft picks etc etc. It took a long journey to get to this point. and I'm not gonna try to mental gymnastics this whole deal (which I think we ended with negative value)
I will say that the one thing I have full faith in this FO/Coaching staff is in reclamation projects. The trade itself for a reclamation project obviously sucks for us. I will NOT refrain from the awfulness as presently constructed but I give myself this one out that IF he is bound to live up to the hype, it would be here in Golden State
@Sleepy - if you're out there, well, Wiggins fixes our defensive "size" issues we had with Russell, but our previous argument is now completely moot as now it's 100% about lack of ability/effort and whatever else it is that makes Wiggins so, so, so very bad on D.
TBH Wiggins has been with a trash franchise his whole career and has been misused as a 1st/2nd option and a ball dominant wing. He has gotten better at creating for others in recent seasons. I can't see why he wouldn't fit in well with a full-strength Warriors roster.
His contract though, is an albatross. Maybe we can package this year's draft pick plus Wiggins for Beal?
This might be the first move the Warriors have made since Meyers took over that I don't understand - like, I can not put myself inside his head and understand why it's possible to think this is a good move.
I have tickets for the game against the Kings on the 10th and I'm now scared I'm going to catch the worst phase of the Draymond Getting Mad At Wiggins show live.
Only way I see this working out well for the dubs is if they can package Wiggins garbage contract with some of the picks we just got for a few solid role players from a team looking to rebuild... even then I'm not sure a starting 5 of Steph, klay, paschall/new guy, dray , loon/chriss/newguy is gonna cut it
I was holding out for Simmons in the summer, and now I have to settle for Wiggins in the winter?
The Dubs are heavily, heavily betting on 2021 being the double draft I guess with the MIN pick, the MIN 2nd rounder, and one of the other 2nd rounders also in that draft. And unfortunately, they won't have many assets this summer. They have a large TPE, which seldom get used. They have lost the chance of getting Andre. They now have a bottom 5 contract in the NBA, a 1st round pick in a weak draft, a Min future pick, and Paschall. I don't see how you can use that to improve.
Which means you're going all-in on Steph, Klay, Wiggins, Dray, Looney, and young 'uns. That's....not enough, unless you really, really believe in Wiggins. And I really, really don't. This is the first move Bob has made in years that I can't at least semi-defend.
So now what does next year look like: steph, klay, dray, wiggins, Chriss, Lee + ????? Not sure this can be turned into a contender with current assets but we'll see in the summer I suppose!
Man, the 49ers loss didn't bum me out nearly as much as their 2012 loss did, but now that loss combined with these Warriors moves really has me depressed....
DLo has way more value than a horrible contract on a decent player in Wiggins and a couple picks... I feel like the FO could have gotten a much better haul this summer. Now are we gonna try and trade Wiggins? Does anyone want him? I'm pretty confused at how you justify this move tbh...
Man, this sucks. Thought we could get at least 2 firsts with how bad Wiggins’ contract really is. Don’t want to be too reactionary, but man, Bob’s made a number of questionable moves now.
Durant, Iguodala, and the Warriors big trade all have Dub Nation feeling some type of way
Smiley!! Smiley!! Smiley!!
All I know is that Kerr has to play him in coming weeks. Excluding Ky, we now have 10 players out of which Steph and Klay are not playing. So till the we get some more players - (in two weeks?), we are gonna get Smiley show.
That and Looney Looney Lonney!!
Lowest value contract in NBA in Wiggins may not be worst contract for Warriors. Overall, it may end up saving them money.
If the only way for Dubs to off-load Evans+Spellman (and thus avoid repeater tax season) was to do this deal with Minn, the saved money in repeater tax more than makes up for the money that is being overpaid to Wiggins.
So "Lowest value" contract in isolation is no longer so if you offset it with saved repeater tax.
Of course this assumes that only Minn was ready to take Evans+Spellman w/o Dubs including a decent pick/Loon to it. Dubs don't want to loose picks anymore and want to keep Loon.
My point is that we can't call Lacob cheap because he made a move to go under LT (to save repeater next two years) while saying he paid too much for Wiggins. May be they are related.
My co-worker, a rabid hoops/Knicks fan but more an old-school fan than a hoops-blogger type, just sent me this note: "I think that trade is GREAT for Golden State!.....you guys badly needed a slasher!"
He's missing about eight zillion nuances, obviously, but sometimes it's best not to overthink things?
Watching Athletic Alchemy's video. He thinks that the reason why the Warriors got Andrew Wiggins in the trade is because Wiggins has the potential to be a good player but needs the right environment to do it. The FO also believes that if they could turn Chriss from a bad player to a decent player, they could do the same thing for Wiggins.
Having you all here with me to groan, reel in shock, imagine great things... it’s been a comfort in this trying time. Thanks everyone.
I guess Warriors are hoping that whatever they did to make Chriss look like an NBA player they can do to Wiggins.
Still, Chriss is on a min/2-way contract, Wiggins is on a $30m/year contract.
Announce the Isaiah Thomas signing to the Warriors already, you Cowards!
Hoping this one might get a few of us off the ledge: https://www.theringer.com/nba/2020/2/4/21123496/andrew-wiggins-trade-golden-state-warriors-dangelo-russell
This one, too: https://www.si.com/nba/2020/02/06/nba-trade-deadline-dangelo-russell-andrew-wiggins-warriors-timberwolves-grades
What can the Warriors get for Wiggins, a top 5 2020 pick, a probable 2021 lottery pick (we need to be rooting for Russell to suck badly with the Wolves so that GMs begin to see the 2021 pick as higher lottery), and I guess a few seconds? Presumably it would have to be a bad team who would be willing to absorb the Wiggins contracts for the picks?
Also, is there any way to keep the comments in some sort of chronological order according to when the original comment was made and not when the latest reply was made?
Well, this move should at least help us continue losing a lot of games this year. Of next year's prospects, who looks to be a future defensive stud? Is it Wiseman or bust?
Holy crap. What just happened. I'm speechless
First Reaction: *Vomits*
Second Reaction: Wiggins fits us better with his position, and he gets some stability for once, and he's not going to be a primary option. We also get their First round pick from 2021 which is a DOUBLE DRAFT (i.e. the first year that high schoolers are eligible in the NBA draft again), so there's potential there. Also slides under the repeater tax line, which helps us in the future again.
I am not as dismayed over all that has occurred over the past 24+ hrs on the GSW trade front.
I really did like DLo, and also would have liked to see him play with Steph and Klay and Dray, but I don't hate Wiggins, at least not offensively, but his volume and shot selection will have to be regulated in the Dubs offense. Defensively, he might improve (and even learn a few things) under the tutelage of Ron Adams. My call: DLO for Wiggins a wash, and the possibility of another high #1 pick for Spellman and Evans doesn't trouble me either. I didn't think Evans was going to cut it as a rotational piece, and while I did like him (and Spellman), I like much better the idea of pro-rated full contracts for Ky and Queese, with additional hope that Smiley will likely see some more of an extended look with the big club, and I think the Dubs should definitely try and see if there is some way Juan Toscano-Anderson can be brought up to the big club.
We're not the only team who got worse after the trade.
-Heat got Iguodala, Crowder, and Hill for Winslow, Johnson, and Waiters.
-Pistons lost Drummond to the Cavaliers and got a couple of players and a 2nd round draft pick.
-Rockets lost Capela, Nene, and Gerald Green and got Jordan Bell and Robert Covington.
So, I did a little more digging, and it seems like Wiggins makes more money than Russell this year, next year, and every year thereafter on his contract. So this trade doesn't make any sense in terms of getting under the cap, either.
Giving Spellman and Evans away for picks doesn't really do much, either, because they were on cheap rookie-scale deals anyway, and you have to replace them to have a full roster.
So I guess this really comes down to... the Warriors front office believes Wiggins can live up to his potential in SF, and if not, at least they have picks in the double draft? Feels like a bad gamble to me.
Wiggins, a Lottery first, and probably a favorable second
For D'Lo, Iguodala, Evans, and two seconds
I could probably break this down further into failed draft picks etc etc. It took a long journey to get to this point. and I'm not gonna try to mental gymnastics this whole deal (which I think we ended with negative value)
I will say that the one thing I have full faith in this FO/Coaching staff is in reclamation projects. The trade itself for a reclamation project obviously sucks for us. I will NOT refrain from the awfulness as presently constructed but I give myself this one out that IF he is bound to live up to the hype, it would be here in Golden State
Clippers trade Mo Harkless and a 1st round draft pick to the Knicks for Marcus Morris.
Sixers trade James Ennis to the Magic for a 2nd round draft pick.
538's third-closest comparison for Wiggins is... Glenn Robinson III. https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2020-nba-player-projections/andrew-wiggins/
Except, one of these guys is making the minimum and the other is making the max.
I sure hope the Warriors coaching staff can still work miracles...
@Sleepy - if you're out there, well, Wiggins fixes our defensive "size" issues we had with Russell, but our previous argument is now completely moot as now it's 100% about lack of ability/effort and whatever else it is that makes Wiggins so, so, so very bad on D.
Wolves trade Gorgui Dieng to the Grizzlies for James Johnson.
Wizards trade Jordan McRae to the Nuggets for Shabazz Napier.
I really like DLo. Damn.
Also:
Clippers trying to get Marcus Morris from the Knicks.
Celtics trying to get David Bertans from the Wizards.
Wizards are trying to get Jerome Robinson from the Clippers.
Pistons trade Andre Drummond to the Cavaliers for Brandon Knight, John Henson, and a 2nd-round draft pick.
TBH Wiggins has been with a trash franchise his whole career and has been misused as a 1st/2nd option and a ball dominant wing. He has gotten better at creating for others in recent seasons. I can't see why he wouldn't fit in well with a full-strength Warriors roster.
His contract though, is an albatross. Maybe we can package this year's draft pick plus Wiggins for Beal?
I hate this. The FO is acting like we weren't going to be a contender when Steph and Klay return. That's stupid. And Wiggins??? Really??? Fuh...
I would have much preferred to keep Dlo. Wiggins is trash.
This might be the first move the Warriors have made since Meyers took over that I don't understand - like, I can not put myself inside his head and understand why it's possible to think this is a good move.
I heard over the radio yesterday “NBA radio”
Don’t quote me on this:
Wiggins are better playing off-ball, cutting, jukes etc... that’s why, they think Wiggins will be a perfect fit, how the Warriors play!
I have tickets for the game against the Kings on the 10th and I'm now scared I'm going to catch the worst phase of the Draymond Getting Mad At Wiggins show live.
Can we trade Wiggins for Greek Freak?
I Myers We Trust!
Today's wiggins vs. 2015 Harrison Barnes: thoughts?
At this point I will just assume that the Warriors are planning on selecting LaMelo Ball because that is the move that would enrage me the most.
I was even willing to tolerate this season for Covington, Teague, and Dieng. Wiggins is a step too far though.
Ignoring the salary aspect of NBA trades...would you trade Andrew Wiggins straight up for Austin Rivers? I would.
Only way I see this working out well for the dubs is if they can package Wiggins garbage contract with some of the picks we just got for a few solid role players from a team looking to rebuild... even then I'm not sure a starting 5 of Steph, klay, paschall/new guy, dray , loon/chriss/newguy is gonna cut it
I was holding out for Simmons in the summer, and now I have to settle for Wiggins in the winter?
The Dubs are heavily, heavily betting on 2021 being the double draft I guess with the MIN pick, the MIN 2nd rounder, and one of the other 2nd rounders also in that draft. And unfortunately, they won't have many assets this summer. They have a large TPE, which seldom get used. They have lost the chance of getting Andre. They now have a bottom 5 contract in the NBA, a 1st round pick in a weak draft, a Min future pick, and Paschall. I don't see how you can use that to improve.
Which means you're going all-in on Steph, Klay, Wiggins, Dray, Looney, and young 'uns. That's....not enough, unless you really, really believe in Wiggins. And I really, really don't. This is the first move Bob has made in years that I can't at least semi-defend.
So now what does next year look like: steph, klay, dray, wiggins, Chriss, Lee + ????? Not sure this can be turned into a contender with current assets but we'll see in the summer I suppose!
r/warriors in meltdown mode.
Man, the 49ers loss didn't bum me out nearly as much as their 2012 loss did, but now that loss combined with these Warriors moves really has me depressed....
DLo has way more value than a horrible contract on a decent player in Wiggins and a couple picks... I feel like the FO could have gotten a much better haul this summer. Now are we gonna try and trade Wiggins? Does anyone want him? I'm pretty confused at how you justify this move tbh...
Did the Warriors make the trade just to get under the repeater tax? Why couldn't we get good players in the deal?
The Warriors have 8 players under contract right now.
I think right away Ky Bowman and Chriss are getting converted. That still leaves 3 more spots they need to fill.
$27 mil per year for a guy who has never posted a positive RPM in 6 seasons!!
WOJ BOMB! Wiggins to the Warriors for D'Lo!
April Fools .... right? Please someone tell me that this is a joke 😦
And Curry is still a month from returning. Which means Wiggins is gonna have ALLLLLLLLLLLL the shots. UNSTOPPABLE BABY!
Wiggins is terrible, what the heck.
At least Evans is gone...undid a tiny mistake with a flurry of even bigger mistakes though
Man, this sucks. Thought we could get at least 2 firsts with how bad Wiggins’ contract really is. Don’t want to be too reactionary, but man, Bob’s made a number of questionable moves now.
Nooooooo! Why are we giving away Spellman?! Why are we getting Wiggins?!
https://derpicdn.net/img/view/2013/11/27/483162.gif
Why Spellman