Oof - Wiggins is getting owned by cooper flagg in crunch time - on the offensive end as well as the defensive end - poor guy - glad we got the lightning in the bottle in 2022!!
Blazers beat the Cavs. And Spurs (still without Wemby) beat the Magic. Bucks beat Pistons with no Giannis (except for the first three minutes before he got hurt).
Kings highest scorers were Monk and their 2025 2nd round pick Maxime Raynaud. Both had 25 points each. As for the Rockets, Durant had 24, Sengun had 28, and Amen had 20.
Kawhi’s minutes restriction was finally lifted this game too, he was previously being capped at ~29 minutes. He played ~36 tonight, helped the Clippers keep their momentum
Sounds silly, but I almost wish we were able to pay JK more (I'm glad we didn't, because we got Melton and Horford). The number of useful players that make $25-30 mil/year seem to be a lot more than those that make $22.5 mil. Zubac, though . . . (only $18.1 mil!)
Last nights box score is interesting to look at in retrospect:
The three dubs with the best +- = Post, Moody, and JK - in that order. Yet, all three are either yanked out and/or yelled at.
The three Dubs with the worst +- - Dray, JB and Hield - in that order - we all know what Hield did (or rather did not), but Dray and JB were both worse than the 12 point defeat margin!
If you believe in EPM (the most respected overall impact metric out there) any trade for Giannis not involving Steph or Jimmy would give us the current #3, #5, and #14 players in the NBA. Get er done and figure out all the other stuff on day two.
Sadly, unless this is the only place Giannis will play (doubtful), it's not gonna happen. A bunch of other teams can give way more intriguing players than JK/Podz/Moody. Spurs have Castle/Harper/Vassell, Rockets have a million young dudes, the Heat have Herro/Ware, Knicks KAT/Bridges/Anunoby/whoever, Pistons have Ivey/Ausar....
I want no trade except one that sends out JK and gives us a playable (non-guard) veteran and maybe a conditional first round pick. I think we have no assets to throw for a superstar or even all star type player without obviously including Dray or Jimmy’s salary OR a crap ton of (post Steph) first round picks and thats just a sacrifice im not willing to make. Not anymore.
They've got one of the best young centers, in Jalen Duren... and they've got the best record in the East, so really not sure what they'd be willing to give up for Dray.
"While mixed signals exist regarding a possible Ivica Zubac trade, league sources told @ClutchPoints the starting point would be two first-round picks.
Multiple Eastern and Western Conference teams in playoff position have called the Clippers about Zubac's availability."
-Brett Siegel on X
Could one unprotected GSW pick be worth 2 FRPs? He's 28 and has 3 yrs 58.7M left on his deal. Would be an incredible target if the Clips would consider in division.
At this point, yeah... it's been trending that way for a while, which is more a testament to his greatness and how many steps back it's taken for him to fall to this point, but his complete inability to score is now too big of a big problem.
It would help if JK were reliable on both ends. We could plug him in for some of the Dray minutes. But Kuminga is up and down, and Kerr seems unwilling to commit the 30+ minutes apparently needed to get Kuminga's best. Not saying that's wrong or right--what do I know?--but it does seem the way it is.
I know it's probably not a rational basketball decision, but I don't ever want to see Harden in a Warrior uniform. Not now. Not ever. He's plenty talented, but just no.
Likewise, I would hate to see Dillon Brooks on this roster, even though I'm sure he could help.
"The line must be drawn here. This far, no further!"
I don't really see it that way. His game at Houston was gross, but he's an excellent passer, too. He hasn't averaged less than 8 assists per 36 since 2019! (leading the league one of those years).
He's one of those guys that has so many tools, he can play any way you need. And, he seems more than willing to adapt to what the team requires.
I really disliked his ball dominant play, but there's no question he's what ... top 5? top 10? player of the last 10 years. And still quite capable.
Okay, super crazy and completely unrealistic trade that I've been gaming out for Giannis. It's a 4 team trade between GSW, MIL and NOP (they kinda need to be roped into Giannis trades as they have the Bucks' picks) and SAC (only team that really thirsted after Kuminga).
GSW: Giannis, Looney, Bey, Monk
NOP: Butler, Moody, Podz, Carter, 2026 1st rounder from SAC (some protections probably, 1-8?), unprotected 2027 & 2029 swap rights with GSW
SAC: Kuminga
MIL: Trey Murphy, Dejounte Murray, TJD, 2026 & 2028 & 2030 & 2032 GSW unprotected 1sts, 2031 GSW unprotected swap rights, and gaining their own 2027 pick back (it's really complicated but I believe NOP have swap rights with them and Atlanta is also somehow involved?)
Why GSW does it: Giannis
Why SAC does it: I wouldn't if I were them but it's functionally the same deal they were offering in the summer so I'm guessing it's still on? They are into Kuminga. Also, wouldn't mind getting rid of the Monk and Carter contracts lol.
Why MIL does it: Because Giannis asked? It's a Giannis trade, they're gonna get robbed regardless. At least in this trade they get some semblance of pick control back and additionally, get an opportunity to control someone's future thoroughly (and the long-term outlook for this Warriors team is not looking good after Steph retires lol, this move will kill their future flexibility so they'll soon be left with Giannis and nothing).
Why NOP does it: This (and the Bucks for obvious reasons) I'm quite iffy on - giving up Trey as well as their 2027 swap rights with MIL is a hefty price (which a reasonable front office wouldn't sign off on imo). But this is not a reasonable front office and it seems like they want to be good in the short run. Butler is currently better than Murphy and will likely be that way next year as well, they get some nice draft compensation and they get rid of a heinous contract (Murray's contract truly is one of the worst ones in the league). Additionally, they get starting calibre NBA players on cost-controlled contracts in Moody and Podz. A flier on Carter as well for whatever that's worth.
Know it's not going to happen but it was fun to just get in the headspace of all these different teams. Both MIL and to a lesser extent NOP are complete head-scratchers because they're not good and don't really have their own draft picks (just this year for NOP) so it's a pretty unique situation.
The difficulty with including Dray (aside from the salary matching) is that he is so uniquely valuable to the Warriors in a way that a guy like Butler isn't - I know Jimmy will be an all-star ish player in New Orleans, I'm not certain Dray would be even a starter level player there. But I definitely understand the impluse lol. This variant works on the trade machine but I think the Pelicans who were already very iffy would be even more against it.
GSW: Giannis, Matkovic, Eubanks, Monk
NOP: Draymond, Moody, Podz, Hield, Carter, 2026 1st rounder from SAC (some protections probably, 1-8?), unprotected 2027 & 2029 swap rights with GSW
SAC: Kuminga, Horford
MIL: Trey Murphy, Dejounte Murray, 2026 & 2028 & 2030 & 2032 GSW unprotected 1sts, 2031 GSW unprotected swap rights, and gaining their own 2027 pick back (it's really complicated but I believe NOP have swap rights with them and Atlanta is also somehow involved?)
GSW would probably also need to convert some sort of two-way into an NBA contract for the 14th roster spot (I think it'll be touch and go if they can get under the cap (2nd apron) with a normal vet min, they might even need to do another salary dumping move like send GP2 out and get a much cheaper/younger min on a Will Richard type contract).
watching the CP3 saga, or rather, reading on reddit, is there a chance that JB can also start questioning the FO given that we are a mediocre team??
https://www.reddit.com/r/LAClippers/comments/1pd7p1t/run_it_back_lou_williams_on_why_chris_paul_was/
I don't think we are a mediocre team when healthy. And the bench has gotten some upgrades recently.
what do you consider “healthy” - when steph plays?? our record is not really much better with him this season. Recent upgrades TBD!!!
7 West teams played tonight. Only 1 lost. And it wasn't the Clippers. Lol. Kangz.
I was wondering why Steph wasn’t in the game yesterday. Turns out that he was. Not in the Warriors bench but up in the stands somewhere.
https://x.com/babyfacedubs/status/1996098441479430651?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1996098441479430651%7Ctwgr%5Eff3fa60f76cf3ee0416fde9b698fb4baaf2bacee%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.si.com%2Fonsi%2Fathlete-lifestyle%2Frelationships%2Fayesha-curry-posts-heartfelt-note-to-stephen-brother-seth-for-warriors-game
Not bad Seth. Not bad at all.
Oof - Wiggins is getting owned by cooper flagg in crunch time - on the offensive end as well as the defensive end - poor guy - glad we got the lightning in the bottle in 2022!!
Blazers beat the Cavs. And Spurs (still without Wemby) beat the Magic. Bucks beat Pistons with no Giannis (except for the first three minutes before he got hurt).
Portland may be legit. Gave OKC their only loss. And they are doing this with so many rotation level players on their injured list.
strange that they are 9-13 - seem like a much better team then their current record and they have beaten real good teams - beat the cavs tonight too!
except for 11/17 and 11/19, when they won in Portland and Denver for some reason, they're 1-11, with their only win by 1 at home over Washington.
To me, though, it seems like they're more likely to try a crazy trade (Chicago native AD?) than trade for a young player like JK.
Nets beat the Bulls. Chicago has lost 6 out of their last 7 games.
Kings got destroyed in Houston, 121-95. Kings starters combined for a whopping 33 points.
Kings highest scorers were Monk and their 2025 2nd round pick Maxime Raynaud. Both had 25 points each. As for the Rockets, Durant had 24, Sengun had 28, and Amen had 20.
Bulls losing at home to the Nets. Clippers beating the Hawks by 20 in the 4th. Dallas by 10 at halftime over Miami.
I guess getting rid of CP3 somehow helped the Clippers.
The Hawks missing all their good players didnt hurt either
Kawhi’s minutes restriction was finally lifted this game too, he was previously being capped at ~29 minutes. He played ~36 tonight, helped the Clippers keep their momentum
Sounds silly, but I almost wish we were able to pay JK more (I'm glad we didn't, because we got Melton and Horford). The number of useful players that make $25-30 mil/year seem to be a lot more than those that make $22.5 mil. Zubac, though . . . (only $18.1 mil!)
It's not silly, but you have to factor in that some teams might not want JK on a bigger contract. So many variables.
Giannis has gone down with a non contact "calf strain".
We still want him!
Last nights box score is interesting to look at in retrospect:
The three dubs with the best +- = Post, Moody, and JK - in that order. Yet, all three are either yanked out and/or yelled at.
The three Dubs with the worst +- - Dray, JB and Hield - in that order - we all know what Hield did (or rather did not), but Dray and JB were both worse than the 12 point defeat margin!
If you believe in EPM (the most respected overall impact metric out there) any trade for Giannis not involving Steph or Jimmy would give us the current #3, #5, and #14 players in the NBA. Get er done and figure out all the other stuff on day two.
Sadly, unless this is the only place Giannis will play (doubtful), it's not gonna happen. A bunch of other teams can give way more intriguing players than JK/Podz/Moody. Spurs have Castle/Harper/Vassell, Rockets have a million young dudes, the Heat have Herro/Ware, Knicks KAT/Bridges/Anunoby/whoever, Pistons have Ivey/Ausar....
I hope I'm wrong but I just don't see it.
But they want firsts more than players, I'd guess. Our firsts 3 years from now are more valuable than spurs, presumably.
The Spurs have a boatload of valuable picks and swaps from a bunch of teams
I want no trade except one that sends out JK and gives us a playable (non-guard) veteran and maybe a conditional first round pick. I think we have no assets to throw for a superstar or even all star type player without obviously including Dray or Jimmy’s salary OR a crap ton of (post Steph) first round picks and thats just a sacrifice im not willing to make. Not anymore.
Depends on how many years we have that superstar on contract for. You can always flip them to recoup assets later
Trading Draymond for a legit center just seems....logical. Especially if he's moved a team where he never has to play center.
Logical for the Dubs. But what team is going to trade a legit center for him?
Pistons maybe. I don't know their current C situation though.
They've got one of the best young centers, in Jalen Duren... and they've got the best record in the East, so really not sure what they'd be willing to give up for Dray.
"While mixed signals exist regarding a possible Ivica Zubac trade, league sources told @ClutchPoints the starting point would be two first-round picks.
Multiple Eastern and Western Conference teams in playoff position have called the Clippers about Zubac's availability."
-Brett Siegel on X
Could one unprotected GSW pick be worth 2 FRPs? He's 28 and has 3 yrs 58.7M left on his deal. Would be an incredible target if the Clips would consider in division.
I just don't see a Jimmy/Dray/Zubac combo working tbh
Dray is always the one who makes stuff not work. 😡
At this point, yeah... it's been trending that way for a while, which is more a testament to his greatness and how many steps back it's taken for him to fall to this point, but his complete inability to score is now too big of a big problem.
It would help if JK were reliable on both ends. We could plug him in for some of the Dray minutes. But Kuminga is up and down, and Kerr seems unwilling to commit the 30+ minutes apparently needed to get Kuminga's best. Not saying that's wrong or right--what do I know?--but it does seem the way it is.
Yeah, we just don't have enough guys who can "shoot, pass, and dribble".
I’ve arrived at this, too. Love Dray and will forever be grateful for the four rings he was integral to winning. But, yeah. Sad.
If Zubac or Harden is available at a reasonable price (say JK plus picks plus salary ballast), I think I'd do it.
Harden, in particular would be an enormous add. His per 36 numbers are still incredible, and he could be the offensive creator we really need.
I know it's probably not a rational basketball decision, but I don't ever want to see Harden in a Warrior uniform. Not now. Not ever. He's plenty talented, but just no.
Likewise, I would hate to see Dillon Brooks on this roster, even though I'm sure he could help.
"The line must be drawn here. This far, no further!"
Please. We already had Chris Paul. Harden would be in the same yuck category as CP3.
Yeah, but he's James Harden. Gross.
I don't really see it that way. His game at Houston was gross, but he's an excellent passer, too. He hasn't averaged less than 8 assists per 36 since 2019! (leading the league one of those years).
He's one of those guys that has so many tools, he can play any way you need. And, he seems more than willing to adapt to what the team requires.
I really disliked his ball dominant play, but there's no question he's what ... top 5? top 10? player of the last 10 years. And still quite capable.
Okay, super crazy and completely unrealistic trade that I've been gaming out for Giannis. It's a 4 team trade between GSW, MIL and NOP (they kinda need to be roped into Giannis trades as they have the Bucks' picks) and SAC (only team that really thirsted after Kuminga).
GSW: Giannis, Looney, Bey, Monk
NOP: Butler, Moody, Podz, Carter, 2026 1st rounder from SAC (some protections probably, 1-8?), unprotected 2027 & 2029 swap rights with GSW
SAC: Kuminga
MIL: Trey Murphy, Dejounte Murray, TJD, 2026 & 2028 & 2030 & 2032 GSW unprotected 1sts, 2031 GSW unprotected swap rights, and gaining their own 2027 pick back (it's really complicated but I believe NOP have swap rights with them and Atlanta is also somehow involved?)
Why GSW does it: Giannis
Why SAC does it: I wouldn't if I were them but it's functionally the same deal they were offering in the summer so I'm guessing it's still on? They are into Kuminga. Also, wouldn't mind getting rid of the Monk and Carter contracts lol.
Why MIL does it: Because Giannis asked? It's a Giannis trade, they're gonna get robbed regardless. At least in this trade they get some semblance of pick control back and additionally, get an opportunity to control someone's future thoroughly (and the long-term outlook for this Warriors team is not looking good after Steph retires lol, this move will kill their future flexibility so they'll soon be left with Giannis and nothing).
Why NOP does it: This (and the Bucks for obvious reasons) I'm quite iffy on - giving up Trey as well as their 2027 swap rights with MIL is a hefty price (which a reasonable front office wouldn't sign off on imo). But this is not a reasonable front office and it seems like they want to be good in the short run. Butler is currently better than Murphy and will likely be that way next year as well, they get some nice draft compensation and they get rid of a heinous contract (Murray's contract truly is one of the worst ones in the league). Additionally, they get starting calibre NBA players on cost-controlled contracts in Moody and Podz. A flier on Carter as well for whatever that's worth.
Know it's not going to happen but it was fun to just get in the headspace of all these different teams. Both MIL and to a lesser extent NOP are complete head-scratchers because they're not good and don't really have their own draft picks (just this year for NOP) so it's a pretty unique situation.
I’m kind of unexcited by any deal that brings in Giannis but does not send out Dray. I’ve had enough of the bricklaying.
Edit: but I love the effort and creativity. Is there a version of it where we keep Jimmy and send out Dray?
The difficulty with including Dray (aside from the salary matching) is that he is so uniquely valuable to the Warriors in a way that a guy like Butler isn't - I know Jimmy will be an all-star ish player in New Orleans, I'm not certain Dray would be even a starter level player there. But I definitely understand the impluse lol. This variant works on the trade machine but I think the Pelicans who were already very iffy would be even more against it.
GSW: Giannis, Matkovic, Eubanks, Monk
NOP: Draymond, Moody, Podz, Hield, Carter, 2026 1st rounder from SAC (some protections probably, 1-8?), unprotected 2027 & 2029 swap rights with GSW
SAC: Kuminga, Horford
MIL: Trey Murphy, Dejounte Murray, 2026 & 2028 & 2030 & 2032 GSW unprotected 1sts, 2031 GSW unprotected swap rights, and gaining their own 2027 pick back (it's really complicated but I believe NOP have swap rights with them and Atlanta is also somehow involved?)
GSW would probably also need to convert some sort of two-way into an NBA contract for the 14th roster spot (I think it'll be touch and go if they can get under the cap (2nd apron) with a normal vet min, they might even need to do another salary dumping move like send GP2 out and get a much cheaper/younger min on a Will Richard type contract).
That puts Draymond and Poole on the same team again? That's not nice...
:)