Gary Payton II and Jordan Poole put LaMelo Ball's Hornets in a box
Gary Payton II and Jordan Poole put LaMelo Ball's Hornets in a box
Aw man, if only the Warriors had drafted LaMelo they could be undefeated
Aww man if the Warriors made all the right moves this offseason they could have been 7-0 right now instead of 6-1 smh!!
“Who’s our Kukoc? Where’s our Steve Kerr? Rodman? Ron Harper was solid. That’s all I’m saying is that carrying all that extra salary ballast with Wiggins means a whole lot of minimum contract players that we’ll be counting on in the playoffs.”
I’ve been pondering this quote from Duby Dub Dubs in our second most beloved article in DNHQ history, “My Worst Take: Examining the Andrew Wiggins trade after three games”. It’s hilarious that the community got that invested in my trial of Duby’s basketball IQ considering
A.) I once wanted Steph traded instead of Monta so I’m probably not the most trustworthy source for opinions that aren’t emotionally tainted
B.) How much analysis of Wiggins’ impact on all future Warriors timelines after just three games in the lost year of 2020? Talk about racing to conclusions sheesh.
But the quote I referenced above has been on my mind during this entire march back to the top of the mountain after Kevin Durant’s departure. How WOULD these Warriors find the auxiliary pieces to patch into the machine built from Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson’s championship pedigrees?
It helps that they got three lottery picks in the last two years; apparently they’re not trading them anytime soon either. It also helps that they were able to hunt down bargains that fit into their basically nonexistent “shiny new players” budget. It’s amazing that bright-eyed youngsters and aging journeymen looking to turn their careers around can actually contribute to winning basketball without hurting the wallet, amirite?
We saw some of those guys step it up last night in a 114-92 win over the Charlotte Hornets.
Guys like Gary Payton II, a former G League Defensive Player of the year and a son of an Oakland legend. He was a guy who was hanging around the fringes of the Golden State roster since last season. An electric summer league stint and a brief but impressive preseason got him a non-guaranteed contract this season. Now he’s out here terrorizing the highest scoring team in the NBA into submission.
LaMelo Ball found this out firsthand.
14 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals on 6-of-9 shooting from the field? Yeah, GP2 put in some work. Coach Steve Kerr is gonna have to find some more minutes for Young Glove. HOW DID THE WARRIORS SOMEHOW SIGN A QUALITY PLAYER FOR CHEAP DESPITE WIGGINS’ MASSIVE CONTRACT?!
The Poole just got deeper
There was a ton of conversation this week about relitigating the 2020 draft where the Dubs chose James Wiseman #2 over Ball. I didn’t choose to participate as I have NBA 2K to play if I ever need to dream about Steph Curry playing with Lavar Ball’s baby boy. The reality is the Warriors chose the obvious positional need with the 7-footer Wiseman, rather than add another guard alongside the Splash Bros.
But maybe we should have realized they weren’t going to draft LaMelo, the reigning rookie of the year, because they already had a combo guard who could fill up the box score. PUT SOME RESPECT ON JORDAN POOLE’S NAME. HE WAS THE WARRIORS FIRST ROUND PICK IN 2019 DAMMIT!
A career high in made three-pointers and steals for Poole in a game featuring a man several emotional Warriors fans pined for many months after the draft? JP has a competitive gear that he can tap into for special moments, and this was clearly a night made for him to get busy. Poole finished with a team high 31 points.
Ball finished with 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists on a rough 5-of-14 shooting night. He missed all six of his shots from deep too, failing to get going against the franchise that passed on him after “promising to draft him”. HOW UNFORTUNATE.
If you consider that the Warriors have Curry (15-8-9 stat line despite inconsistent shooting), Poole, Payton II and the eventually returning Thompson, one could make the argument that the Warriors already have four guards that are better or equally as impactful as whatever LaMelo Ball could’ve been with Golden State bahahah.
(That’d be a bad argument btw, Ball is already a star. I was just being a li’l gold blooded to kick November off).
Shout out to the Tsunami Papi
Okay so I’ve covered some doubting perspectives Warriors fans have levied against the legend Bob Myers (where are the luxury taxed Warriors going to find players that help them compete…why didn’t the Warriors draft LaMelo because they need a young guard to help Curry…). But one of my favorite skeptical opinions about the Warriors roster was fueled by the frustration that they didn’t get anything for Kelly Oubre Jr.’s expiring contract.
Okay but whose GM did they actually think would be crazy enough to trade something fun and of equal value for KOJ after the inconsistent and injury-marred season he had with GSW?
Look, I liked KOJ overall as a Warrior; anybody who can put up 40 in a Golden State uniform will always have a place in my homer heart.
Dang, in a box? Now don’t get me wrong, I think Oubre has some strong potential in terms of athleticism and defensive acumen, and if he finds the right opportunity he could defini—WAIT KELLY WATCH OUT!!! HE’S GONNA PUT YOU IN A BOX!!!!
Lot of Lamelo vs. Wiseman talk here it seems, but I think Lamelo was a non-starter for the Warriors because of the baggage of his father. Remember, this is an organization that keeps a literal family atmosphere where player’s families are welcome to be around the team and facilities during the season. You allow Levar into that, I think you risk poisoning the whole well, messing up the vibe and chemistry of the family atmosphere which would have toxic effects on the team itself and the organization as a whole. That’s not Lamelo’s fault, and Levar maybe isnt as bad as the “Lonzo in LA” days but Golden State is way closer to the kinda high-profile LA is that there’s a chance Levar would’ve upped his shenanigans again for more opportunistic spotlight.
I think everyone in the org had enough of the kind of media blitzing that came with having Durant on the team (not Durant himself, but KD did bring that kind of off-court attention from the media that I think was really draining for them), and something like that—but without being in the middle of a dynasty—would’ve been a thing that might’ve dogged last years team and reverberated into the future for as long as a Ball was on this team and Levar was allowed around.
So as much as a misstep some might think drafting Wiseman was, imagine how much worse it’d be with everyone also possibly getting f-ed by being around the likes of potential toxicity that hadn’t been known since Mark Jackson’s last year as coach. I think Lacob said, “I’m good, and we’re good.”
Top team roundup: Utah is walking around saying "You do know we were the best team in the regular season last year, yes?" While Miami wet the bed against Boston not even playing well. Duncan Robinson interesting stat: 5-17, all of them threes.