Durant? Even KD can't rescue the rusting hulk of the Lakers. LeBron was, of course, far and away the best player on the team. KD would be too and might play 20 more games which gets them into the bottom of the playoffs ... maybe. Except the Suns will still be good, Denver is probably going to better in the upcoming season, the Clippers will be better, the Pelicans will be better (if Zion is healthy), the T-Wolves will be better, the Blazers are probably better if Dame is healthy, the Mavericks will probably be at least good. The Jazz and Spurs are probably the only teams that got unambiguously worse. So KD would be joining a Laker team finishing behind the Warriors, Clippers, Suns, Grizzlies, Nuggets, T-Wolves, Jazz, Mavericks, and Blazers. Heck, even the Kings might be better than the KD+Russ Lakers.
Because of the way his contract escalates, yeah — but just for this season. After this season, it’s roughly equivalent to a vet min. But with the ~6x luxury tax multiplier, the ~$800K discount off the vet min this season works out to about $5M savings in total 2022-23 payroll (guesstimating — little help here, Patrick Murray?)
I see this less as news and more as draft clean-up. Nothing has changed for Rollins since the draft other than medical exams. So, he gets signed. A serious bet by the W’s but not a surprise since they did draft the guys just a few weeks ago.
The big youth movement is under way! Thank you cap/tax for making the team go this route to fill out the roster. Hopefully some of at least a few of our kids will be good!
It's uncanny! Even the difference in shooting percentage has mostly to do with Rollins attempting more 3's, bringing down his total average.
Hill stayed in school two more years. Hurt his junior year, and then was a much more efficient 3P shooter (.450) his senior year. We'll see if Rollins can progress the same way.
His career has really fallen off a cliff. It's a little shocking after his promising rookie year, but I guess it shows how much work it takes to stay in the league.
I still wonder about Jordan Bell. He looked so dynamic early and just piddled it all away. He looks like he could play in the league, but he's just a guy now.
Did he fall off a cliff or just fail to improve? He was a one-trick pony (barreling to the rim). He wasn't a good shooter or defender or passer. But that one trick helped us suck less.
I think you're correct. But I said his career has fallen off a cliff, and I think that's right too. The hope was that he would improve. Apparently, there's not much hope of that anymore.
I think he has physical limitations that aren't related to his work ethic. He weighs what a traditional center weighs which can make it harder to move around on the perimeter defensively, but he also doesn't protect the rim or rebound. He can offer some scoring punch off the bench perhaps but he is tough to find a fit for.
I think Zion is a better caliber athlete/player but has similar issues and requires a very specific roster built around him.
In that 19-20 season when he was having a really nice stretch around the middle of the season, a buddy of mine and I were comparing EP to a poor man's Zion Williamson. I hope he can find a niche for himself in this league.
DNHQ site has in recent weeks been a good place to chime in on the Warrior careers of GPII, OPJ, Damion Lee, Looney. Perhaps it's coming soon, but I haven't seen a Nice Big Review of the short but thought-provoking Warrior stint of Juan Toscano-Anderson, so lets talk about the guy. (Sorry if I'm jumping the gun on the site reviewing him)
For me, I remember seeing him in warmups before the 2020-21 season and wondering who this guy was. I wasn't the only one, as even announcers seemed to have merely shaken his hand and didn't know much. Then he started filling in and here's what I learned: the guy is all energy all the time. He endeared himself to Dubs fans with crazy hustle, jumping over scorers' tables for loose balls, playing mean D, and, surprisingly, showed he could hit the 3. His backstory was perhaps one of the more inspirational and interesting of any player: a local fan who was never any kind of high draft pick, toiling away internationally, finally gets a chance with the Dubs and wears 95. Epic stuff. Coming into this year, I thought he'd grow some more and have a bigger role, but outside of the dunk competition, he had few highlights. Actually, he didn't have any in the dunk competition, either... and mostly lost his role on the team.
Then he got a contract and he's gone, and will be missed. How do you view his time as a Warrior?
So with a total of $4.8M, assuming they bake in 8% yearly raises (max allowed under CBA), the contract would break down to:
$1.48M $1.60M $1.73M.
Including Quinn on the rookie min (I still don't know what payscale his 3 years and 42 games counts as), puts the total Dubs 22/23 15-man roster at $189,177,112, which necessitates a $129,278,094 luxury tax payment for a total(including two 2-way spots) at: $320,490,768. I think it'll still be the highest in the league, with the Nets trailing by ~$7M in actual payroll.
Oh I see. The 8% increase rules don't apply to rookie scale contracts. A raise of 8% would be below the minimum for someone with 1 year of experience.
That gives roster salary of $188,713,412, and total of $317,592,640. Again, if QW qualifies for a 1-year vet salary or 2-year, that will change the numbers again. Also, I don't know DDV's contract numbers, so I'm just assuming it's a standard 8% raise the second year.
Oh thanks. I pulled all my original numbers from them. Didn't realize they update so quickly. So they have Donte at 9.225M over 2 years instead of the reported 9.5M. And I didn't have Looney's year 2 and year 3 numbers correct, so those are updated - doesn't change anything for this year though. Next year is down to projected 489M @ 5% cap increase, tho.
What's fascinating is that next year, with a nominal 5% increase in salary cap, the Dubs project to a $498M total bill. But the year-over-year increase is difficult to project b/c of COV the past few years. But with a 10% salary cap increase (mentioned in the Hollinger article - and matching this year's increase), the Dubs would project to a $443M total bill. That's a $55M difference!
Note that giving Dray a max extension starting @ $30.7M would increase it to $468.6M under this scenario.
>>>Yes, I know these position titles mean less and less, but this is for convenience.
Especially with this team, that has a lot so much positional flexibility! This isn’t much of a depth chart, but my stab at trying to list them by position:
I think PBJ might need some time in the weight room before he gets the PF/C. Not that the Warriors wouldn't do it. I might swap him and JK on this list, since we already know how strong JK is.
I actually think the way I listed it shows that more. For example, conventional wisdom would say you always need a “point guard”, but the Warriors have a bunch of guys who can potentially be a primary ball handler in the back court: Curry, Poole, DDV and Rollins…with Mac and Gui also potentially fitting that role.
Probably the best representation would be one that tells you where the gaps / weak parts of the roster are. I'm not sure either of ours does that. But I haven't yet seen any others that have.
I like to differentiate between small wings and big wings.
PG-2G-SF-PF-C
Then create 4 positions between these traditional 5 spots:
Combo Guard (1-2) - Small Wing (2-3) - Big Wing (3-4) - Big (4-5)
While some players can guard or play more than 2 natural positions, most players divvy up their time on the court wit one or two.
Curry is a Combo Guard, but he plays PG primarily, so I list him as such.
Poole is a classic Combo Guard.
Because Curry and Poole play together, Klay is pushed to the 3, and will likely spend the rest of his career splitting time as a Small Wing (2-3)
Wiggs shifts up to play PF as well, so he is my Big Wing, (playing 3-4)
I say all this because when we say "Wings", there are really 2 types in my book. Those that guard down (onto small guards) and those who guard up (onto bigs).
Of course, there is that perfect WING. K Leonard, PG13, Tatum, Brown, Wiggs, 3 level scorers who can defend 2-4 equally well. But even then, they all tend to lean one way or the other (towards small or bigs).
Anywho, when I do depth charts, this is how I go about it. And Moody fits the bill as a Small Wing for sure.
Am I the only one wondering what the plan is with acquiring all of these high-ceiling, very young players? Can they really keep them all, or are they already making contingency plans for guys who either never reach their potential or who do and leave? Where are the guys who know they'll be role players and have accepted their roles? Are they collecting assets for (near-future?) trades?
It’s pretty clear that the Warriors are trying to stay competitive for the long haul. In additional to the reasons listed below, there’s also the approach that if you hope your young prospects pop, but not all will. With so many young guys under your control with a chance to pop, the odds increase that you end up with a good team in the future.
This. We have a lot of young 'uns with potential but that doesn't mean they'll all become what we expect. Putting aside Loon and Wiggs, who are still young but proven vets, and Poole, who has proven himself offensively, we have a lot of question marks. Y'all know I'm a JW fan but he still has it to prove. PBJ isn't even healthy enough to see what he really has. EA noted that Rollins didn't impress him in college. Moody seems solid but can he take a big step up to make an impact? (I think so but he has to do it.) And Kuminga has the raw tools but so have other athletic young players who never developed the BBIQ to go with them. We can hope they all develop well and maybe they will but Goofus is right, probably not all will.
That’s an excellent question. Somebody tweeted this exact scenario not on worrying about the cost of keeping Wiggins and Poole in a couple of years but on keeping all these rookies when they come up for extensions a year or two after that. keeping in mind that Steph and Klay have the type of game / physical profile to maintain a decent level of play into their late 30s
If all the rookies are so good that it’s hard to decide who to keep, wow, that would be a good problem to have. This is more of a ‘get a bunch and see if any work out’ strategy. Plus the rooks are cheaper than any other options to fill the roster.
Yep. The combination of Steph & Klay (Dray being questionable due to wear and tear) being able to extend their careers beyond The Prophecy (Steph only has one year left so we need to trade everyone and go all in) AND the too much too soon level of young rising talent (Poole, JK, Mood, Wise) is a problem. Not even counting Wiggs here. One out-of-the-box solution is to get even younger, and by that I mean invest in players who aren't even close to the league, aka, good future draft capital. It's risky of course, but the goal would be to exchange part of the overloaded up and coming group with future lotto picks, thereby pushing some of the costs down the road. Bob has the Midas touch, but its almost like we have too many large future salaries to contend with all at the same time. It would be more ideal to have 3 lottery picks spread out over 5-6 years rather than 3 in 2 years. Again, quality problem, and it ain't going away anytime soon.
I actually /like/ that strategy -- up to a point. It just feels like we've got a ton of youngsters who are considered possible stars (Poole, Wiseman, Kuminga, Moody, Baldwin, Rollins), to the point that we could have too few of the hard hat, lunch pail guys who don't expect to star but are professional enough to stay ready and do the dirty work.
The Ws gave up GPII, Porter Jr, Bjelica, DLee, and JTA, all of whom kind of fit that description. That's a lot of guys to replace. JMG probably fits the bill, if he's got the right attitude. I'm hopeful for Moody. But will DDV (former starter on a championship team at 24) accept a role? What about Kuminga and Wiseman, both high lottery picks?
I do think that the timing is going to be tricky here. If the young guys start to show something, will they (should they?) be patient and wait their turn? Will the OGs yield minutes and glory so the younger guys can rise?
Cost, basically. The league rules were designed to allow teams to carry 2 max contracts with good assortment of middling contracts or 3 max contracts and a bunch of Vet Mins + available MLE money. The Warriors used the last (massive) bump in the salary cap to acquire Durant and thusly, a 4th Max Salary Slot which turned into 2-way Wiggs. No-one expects a third year combo guard drafted 28th to turn into a star overnight and be worth 25m while still on his rookie contract. 3 lottery picks follow, all who begin their careers with much higher salaries (Wiseman 12m this year?) And these all increase every year with the expectation that they will command sizable extensions.
I call this Cluster F in Numbers.
Outside of vet mins and a few bucks off the MLE, their only real option is to load up on controllable rookie contracts an hope that some of these guys can contribute meaningful backup minutes in the regular season (knowing full well most won't sniff the playoffs)
When you think about it, what team wouldn't want this problem? Too many good players? Besides, a lot of young guys in the locker room can be good for the vets. They can be annoying and drive you crazy at times, but the youthful exuberance can really breed good vibes.
I'm sure that the answer is a little bit of all of these. Having a lot of promising, cost-controlled young players gives you both tradeable assets as well as cheaper contracts on your roster to balance the $$$$ at the top. Most likely not all of the young guys end up staying with the team but I'm sure that some will, either in a role player capacity or as something more impactful. This season will give the team decision-makers more data on what they have in these guys and which players fit into which bucket. By acquiring all of these high-ceiling young players, the Warriors are giving themselves team-building options for the future since they don't have the salary flexibility to be super-active in FA.
I got Garcia by decision. I'm not sold on Danny being a true title contender at 154 but I think he's better than Benavidez, who has fought once in the last 3 years. Also, DG has always reminded me of a Puerto Rican Klay Thompson, which is neither here nor there but it's fun. WBU?
There are 3 ‘name recognition’ boxers that come to mind that are absolutely the worst boxers I’ve seen recently (remember just talking boxers that have been pushed by their promotions and or the media): Rolly Romero, Angelo Leo, and Jose Benavidez JR (with an honorable mention to Reymart Gaballo) so I expect DG to win convincingly and hopefully Make JB jr a full time trainer in his brothers
I've been thinking about the contracts situation, and a possible solution came to my mind. I humbly hereby propose it to Joe Lacob.
Call a meeting, with:
- Bob Myers
- Steve Kerr
- Steph Curry
- Klay Thompson
- Draymond Green
- Andrew Wiggins
- Jordan Poole
plus:
- Andre Iguodala (because of his charisma and because he's a finance man)
- Kevon Looney (because he's the wisest)
, and in such meeting, PLAN TOGETHER the financial and sport matters, max contracts included, for the next 4 seasons.
Isn't that an idea? What do you think?
For name's sake, we will call it 'The fellowship of the Multiple Rings' (this should keep us patent-wise safe from that bully JR Tolkien guy)
The Sky Phantom throwing down dunks never gets old
Klay Thompson's Strongest Career Dunks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ey2I2g5N4Z4
So if both players were willing, LeBron for Durant straight up. Who says no?
Personally I think it makes both teams better in the short run.
I say yes for the dual comedy of KD-Russ and LeBron-Irving
Durant? Even KD can't rescue the rusting hulk of the Lakers. LeBron was, of course, far and away the best player on the team. KD would be too and might play 20 more games which gets them into the bottom of the playoffs ... maybe. Except the Suns will still be good, Denver is probably going to better in the upcoming season, the Clippers will be better, the Pelicans will be better (if Zion is healthy), the T-Wolves will be better, the Blazers are probably better if Dame is healthy, the Mavericks will probably be at least good. The Jazz and Spurs are probably the only teams that got unambiguously worse. So KD would be joining a Laker team finishing behind the Warriors, Clippers, Suns, Grizzlies, Nuggets, T-Wolves, Jazz, Mavericks, and Blazers. Heck, even the Kings might be better than the KD+Russ Lakers.
Oh it definitely would not be the trade of Durant's choice. Hence the qualifier in the prompt IF the players agreed to it.
From a team perspective though, would the Lakers say no? Would the Nets say no?
Nets would probably ask for a pick or two to sweeten the deal, just given the age of the players involved and the length of KD's contract.
As LeBron becomes the first player/coach/GM.
As against Kyrie coaching Nash....
Draymond lives in LA now? I never knew that
His fiancee is at least a part time actress and singer so it isn't all that surprising.
I think I noticed that's where he lives at least a year or 2 ago.
or he always has and I just didn't know
He's cheaper than any vet minimum too right?
Vet mins only count a max of $1.7m towards the cap.
Because of the way his contract escalates, yeah — but just for this season. After this season, it’s roughly equivalent to a vet min. But with the ~6x luxury tax multiplier, the ~$800K discount off the vet min this season works out to about $5M savings in total 2022-23 payroll (guesstimating — little help here, Patrick Murray?)
This is correct. Current Salary + Tax: $317,171,967
If Rollins were a vet min, instead: $322,286,399
So almost exactly $5M.
I see this less as news and more as draft clean-up. Nothing has changed for Rollins since the draft other than medical exams. So, he gets signed. A serious bet by the W’s but not a surprise since they did draft the guys just a few weeks ago.
The big youth movement is under way! Thank you cap/tax for making the team go this route to fill out the roster. Hopefully some of at least a few of our kids will be good!
I think it's been said before but:
George Hill measurements: 6'1.5 height 6'9 wingspan 180 lb (age 22)
Ryan Rollins: 6'2 height 6'10" wingspan 179 lb (age 20)
Sophomore year stats:
Hill: 35.1 MPG 18.9 PPG .518/.320/.798 6.0 RPG 3.6 APG 1.7 SPG 0.3 BPG
Rollins: 32.7 MPG 18.9 PPG .468/.311/.802 6.0 RPG 3.6 APG 1.7 SPG 0.3 BPG
It's uncanny! Even the difference in shooting percentage has mostly to do with Rollins attempting more 3's, bringing down his total average.
Hill stayed in school two more years. Hurt his junior year, and then was a much more efficient 3P shooter (.450) his senior year. We'll see if Rollins can progress the same way.
Wolves sign Paschall to a two-way
Probably his last season to be eligible for a 2-way. I wish him all the best, but this is probably one foot in the door of being out of the league.
Yeah I was rooting for him, but defensive liability without a reliable jumper. That’s tough
His career has really fallen off a cliff. It's a little shocking after his promising rookie year, but I guess it shows how much work it takes to stay in the league.
I still wonder about Jordan Bell. He looked so dynamic early and just piddled it all away. He looks like he could play in the league, but he's just a guy now.
Did he fall off a cliff or just fail to improve? He was a one-trick pony (barreling to the rim). He wasn't a good shooter or defender or passer. But that one trick helped us suck less.
I think you're correct. But I said his career has fallen off a cliff, and I think that's right too. The hope was that he would improve. Apparently, there's not much hope of that anymore.
I think this is the most accurate assessment. And honestly, that's on him.
That's sad as he has a lot of talent and should be able to find a role in the league. Work ethic, though. Needs to improve his D.
I think he has physical limitations that aren't related to his work ethic. He weighs what a traditional center weighs which can make it harder to move around on the perimeter defensively, but he also doesn't protect the rim or rebound. He can offer some scoring punch off the bench perhaps but he is tough to find a fit for.
I think Zion is a better caliber athlete/player but has similar issues and requires a very specific roster built around him.
In that 19-20 season when he was having a really nice stretch around the middle of the season, a buddy of mine and I were comparing EP to a poor man's Zion Williamson. I hope he can find a niche for himself in this league.
DNHQ site has in recent weeks been a good place to chime in on the Warrior careers of GPII, OPJ, Damion Lee, Looney. Perhaps it's coming soon, but I haven't seen a Nice Big Review of the short but thought-provoking Warrior stint of Juan Toscano-Anderson, so lets talk about the guy. (Sorry if I'm jumping the gun on the site reviewing him)
For me, I remember seeing him in warmups before the 2020-21 season and wondering who this guy was. I wasn't the only one, as even announcers seemed to have merely shaken his hand and didn't know much. Then he started filling in and here's what I learned: the guy is all energy all the time. He endeared himself to Dubs fans with crazy hustle, jumping over scorers' tables for loose balls, playing mean D, and, surprisingly, showed he could hit the 3. His backstory was perhaps one of the more inspirational and interesting of any player: a local fan who was never any kind of high draft pick, toiling away internationally, finally gets a chance with the Dubs and wears 95. Epic stuff. Coming into this year, I thought he'd grow some more and have a bigger role, but outside of the dunk competition, he had few highlights. Actually, he didn't have any in the dunk competition, either... and mostly lost his role on the team.
Then he got a contract and he's gone, and will be missed. How do you view his time as a Warrior?
FYI, JTA for HWFL runs 8/1, then each Mon, OPJ & GP2.
Darn it, I couldn’t write that all in acronyms…
FYI, JTA 4 HWFL @ 8/1, OPJ @ 8/8, GP2 @ 8/15
JTA vote better be UNANIMOUS
Any dissenting voters will be thrown over a scorer's table and be issued an Unfortunate Mustache.
So with a total of $4.8M, assuming they bake in 8% yearly raises (max allowed under CBA), the contract would break down to:
$1.48M $1.60M $1.73M.
Including Quinn on the rookie min (I still don't know what payscale his 3 years and 42 games counts as), puts the total Dubs 22/23 15-man roster at $189,177,112, which necessitates a $129,278,094 luxury tax payment for a total(including two 2-way spots) at: $320,490,768. I think it'll still be the highest in the league, with the Nets trailing by ~$7M in actual payroll.
Perks thinks it is this:
—
Ryan Rollins' 3-year deal at the rookie minimum salary signed through the mid-level exception:
2022-23: $1,017,781
2023-24: $1,719,864
2024-25: $2,019,699
2025 (RFA): $2,524,624 (QO)
Third year partially guaranteed for a TBD amount.
https://twitter.com/gswcba/status/1552803472684175360?s=21&t=b5BjCwp7t7U7pEte_XH45Q
Oh I see. The 8% increase rules don't apply to rookie scale contracts. A raise of 8% would be below the minimum for someone with 1 year of experience.
That gives roster salary of $188,713,412, and total of $317,592,640. Again, if QW qualifies for a 1-year vet salary or 2-year, that will change the numbers again. Also, I don't know DDV's contract numbers, so I'm just assuming it's a standard 8% raise the second year.
Spotrac seems to have up to date numbers: https://www.spotrac.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/yearly/cap/
Oh thanks. I pulled all my original numbers from them. Didn't realize they update so quickly. So they have Donte at 9.225M over 2 years instead of the reported 9.5M. And I didn't have Looney's year 2 and year 3 numbers correct, so those are updated - doesn't change anything for this year though. Next year is down to projected 489M @ 5% cap increase, tho.
What's fascinating is that next year, with a nominal 5% increase in salary cap, the Dubs project to a $498M total bill. But the year-over-year increase is difficult to project b/c of COV the past few years. But with a 10% salary cap increase (mentioned in the Hollinger article - and matching this year's increase), the Dubs would project to a $443M total bill. That's a $55M difference!
Note that giving Dray a max extension starting @ $30.7M would increase it to $468.6M under this scenario.
>>>Yes, I know these position titles mean less and less, but this is for convenience.
Especially with this team, that has a lot so much positional flexibility! This isn’t much of a depth chart, but my stab at trying to list them by position:
PG - Curry
PG/SG - Poole, DDV, Rollins
Wing - Klay, Moody, QW, LQ
Wing/PF - Wiggins, Kuminga
PF
PF/C - Draymond, JMG, PBJ
C - Looney, Wiseman
Looks right. Heck, as noted by others, MM4 could end up as a small ball PF. Lots of teams role out 6'6" shooters at PF.
I think PBJ might need some time in the weight room before he gets the PF/C. Not that the Warriors wouldn't do it. I might swap him and JK on this list, since we already know how strong JK is.
Yes, the main thing the outdated positions tell you is very roughly who can play together on the court at the same time.
I actually think the way I listed it shows that more. For example, conventional wisdom would say you always need a “point guard”, but the Warriors have a bunch of guys who can potentially be a primary ball handler in the back court: Curry, Poole, DDV and Rollins…with Mac and Gui also potentially fitting that role.
Probably the best representation would be one that tells you where the gaps / weak parts of the roster are. I'm not sure either of ours does that. But I haven't yet seen any others that have.
Is Moody really a SF? He's always a shooting guard in my head
He's got good size for a SF.
I like to differentiate between small wings and big wings.
PG-2G-SF-PF-C
Then create 4 positions between these traditional 5 spots:
Combo Guard (1-2) - Small Wing (2-3) - Big Wing (3-4) - Big (4-5)
While some players can guard or play more than 2 natural positions, most players divvy up their time on the court wit one or two.
Curry is a Combo Guard, but he plays PG primarily, so I list him as such.
Poole is a classic Combo Guard.
Because Curry and Poole play together, Klay is pushed to the 3, and will likely spend the rest of his career splitting time as a Small Wing (2-3)
Wiggs shifts up to play PF as well, so he is my Big Wing, (playing 3-4)
I say all this because when we say "Wings", there are really 2 types in my book. Those that guard down (onto small guards) and those who guard up (onto bigs).
Of course, there is that perfect WING. K Leonard, PG13, Tatum, Brown, Wiggs, 3 level scorers who can defend 2-4 equally well. But even then, they all tend to lean one way or the other (towards small or bigs).
Anywho, when I do depth charts, this is how I go about it. And Moody fits the bill as a Small Wing for sure.
I see him as a wing who can guard 1-3, don't think the SG/SF distinction is that important but he could play in either spot.
Exactly. He's a wing in the modern NBA. You can name a position but... it's positionless basketball, somewhat.
Would have thought they'd want a bit of court time somewhere but ... OK... hope it works out, fingers crossed.
Am I the only one wondering what the plan is with acquiring all of these high-ceiling, very young players? Can they really keep them all, or are they already making contingency plans for guys who either never reach their potential or who do and leave? Where are the guys who know they'll be role players and have accepted their roles? Are they collecting assets for (near-future?) trades?
It’s pretty clear that the Warriors are trying to stay competitive for the long haul. In additional to the reasons listed below, there’s also the approach that if you hope your young prospects pop, but not all will. With so many young guys under your control with a chance to pop, the odds increase that you end up with a good team in the future.
This. We have a lot of young 'uns with potential but that doesn't mean they'll all become what we expect. Putting aside Loon and Wiggs, who are still young but proven vets, and Poole, who has proven himself offensively, we have a lot of question marks. Y'all know I'm a JW fan but he still has it to prove. PBJ isn't even healthy enough to see what he really has. EA noted that Rollins didn't impress him in college. Moody seems solid but can he take a big step up to make an impact? (I think so but he has to do it.) And Kuminga has the raw tools but so have other athletic young players who never developed the BBIQ to go with them. We can hope they all develop well and maybe they will but Goofus is right, probably not all will.
Any post that says “Goofus is right” should be automatically included on Posts of the Week, in my book.
That’s an excellent question. Somebody tweeted this exact scenario not on worrying about the cost of keeping Wiggins and Poole in a couple of years but on keeping all these rookies when they come up for extensions a year or two after that. keeping in mind that Steph and Klay have the type of game / physical profile to maintain a decent level of play into their late 30s
If all the rookies are so good that it’s hard to decide who to keep, wow, that would be a good problem to have. This is more of a ‘get a bunch and see if any work out’ strategy. Plus the rooks are cheaper than any other options to fill the roster.
Yep. The combination of Steph & Klay (Dray being questionable due to wear and tear) being able to extend their careers beyond The Prophecy (Steph only has one year left so we need to trade everyone and go all in) AND the too much too soon level of young rising talent (Poole, JK, Mood, Wise) is a problem. Not even counting Wiggs here. One out-of-the-box solution is to get even younger, and by that I mean invest in players who aren't even close to the league, aka, good future draft capital. It's risky of course, but the goal would be to exchange part of the overloaded up and coming group with future lotto picks, thereby pushing some of the costs down the road. Bob has the Midas touch, but its almost like we have too many large future salaries to contend with all at the same time. It would be more ideal to have 3 lottery picks spread out over 5-6 years rather than 3 in 2 years. Again, quality problem, and it ain't going away anytime soon.
I actually /like/ that strategy -- up to a point. It just feels like we've got a ton of youngsters who are considered possible stars (Poole, Wiseman, Kuminga, Moody, Baldwin, Rollins), to the point that we could have too few of the hard hat, lunch pail guys who don't expect to star but are professional enough to stay ready and do the dirty work.
The Ws gave up GPII, Porter Jr, Bjelica, DLee, and JTA, all of whom kind of fit that description. That's a lot of guys to replace. JMG probably fits the bill, if he's got the right attitude. I'm hopeful for Moody. But will DDV (former starter on a championship team at 24) accept a role? What about Kuminga and Wiseman, both high lottery picks?
I do think that the timing is going to be tricky here. If the young guys start to show something, will they (should they?) be patient and wait their turn? Will the OGs yield minutes and glory so the younger guys can rise?
Cost, basically. The league rules were designed to allow teams to carry 2 max contracts with good assortment of middling contracts or 3 max contracts and a bunch of Vet Mins + available MLE money. The Warriors used the last (massive) bump in the salary cap to acquire Durant and thusly, a 4th Max Salary Slot which turned into 2-way Wiggs. No-one expects a third year combo guard drafted 28th to turn into a star overnight and be worth 25m while still on his rookie contract. 3 lottery picks follow, all who begin their careers with much higher salaries (Wiseman 12m this year?) And these all increase every year with the expectation that they will command sizable extensions.
I call this Cluster F in Numbers.
Outside of vet mins and a few bucks off the MLE, their only real option is to load up on controllable rookie contracts an hope that some of these guys can contribute meaningful backup minutes in the regular season (knowing full well most won't sniff the playoffs)
When you think about it, what team wouldn't want this problem? Too many good players? Besides, a lot of young guys in the locker room can be good for the vets. They can be annoying and drive you crazy at times, but the youthful exuberance can really breed good vibes.
I'm sure that the answer is a little bit of all of these. Having a lot of promising, cost-controlled young players gives you both tradeable assets as well as cheaper contracts on your roster to balance the $$$$ at the top. Most likely not all of the young guys end up staying with the team but I'm sure that some will, either in a role player capacity or as something more impactful. This season will give the team decision-makers more data on what they have in these guys and which players fit into which bucket. By acquiring all of these high-ceiling young players, the Warriors are giving themselves team-building options for the future since they don't have the salary flexibility to be super-active in FA.
Danny Garcia vs Jose Benavidez Jr. this weekend. what say you, Crusty?
I got Garcia by decision. I'm not sold on Danny being a true title contender at 154 but I think he's better than Benavidez, who has fought once in the last 3 years. Also, DG has always reminded me of a Puerto Rican Klay Thompson, which is neither here nor there but it's fun. WBU?
There are 3 ‘name recognition’ boxers that come to mind that are absolutely the worst boxers I’ve seen recently (remember just talking boxers that have been pushed by their promotions and or the media): Rolly Romero, Angelo Leo, and Jose Benavidez JR (with an honorable mention to Reymart Gaballo) so I expect DG to win convincingly and hopefully Make JB jr a full time trainer in his brothers
Corner going forward
Exactly what I was saying, but better! lol
Love the Ellis comparison but with a 6'10" wingspan instead of not even 6'3" for Ellis. Plus a willingness to defend.
Almost traded up to number 30 for Rollins? That’s wild! Hope that bodes well.
Denver ended up getting #30 by trading JaMychal Green to OKC. So... the Dubs ended up with #30. Sorta. ;-)