Getting the 2nd pick in this year's draft is a huge score for the Warriors. This pick combined with 2 # 1's in the loaded 2021 draft should be used to restock the team with young talent on reasonable contracts.
The thought of trading away a couple of high picks for a high priced veteran is a bad move financially. I still cringe when I think about giving the pick that turned out to be Kevin Mchale + Robert Parish for Joe Barry Carrol.
I have heard this draft referred to as a weak draft, just like the ones that produced Steph Curry and Damon Lillard. This year's gem with the highest floor and the highest ceiling, if you are looking for wins and championships, is DENI ADVIJA.
He is the most experienced of the 19-year-olds in the draft with 3 years of professional experience. He is also the most versatile player in the draft who will fit like a glove with the Warriors.
His greatest strength is his keen competitive mind. The Warrior players will love playing with Deni and Steve Kerr will be thrilled to mentor him. Check out his interviews on youtube, he is
a happy kid off the court and an animal on the court. His father's nickname "killer" also fits Deni.
Remember, always draft the best basketball player, ask Portland who drafted Sam Bowie and Greg Oden instead of Michael Jordan and Kevin Durant.
As long as we are going after franchise players here’s a list I’d put between Giannis and Embiid:
Luca
Jason Tatum
Donovan Mitchell
The Joker
Etc.
And the non-franchise players I’d prefer over Embiid:
Porzingas
Issacs
Mo Bamba
Markkanen
Horford
Oladipo
Sabonis
Etc.
Not necessarily in any order, other than where the keyboard led me for players I’d rather see in a Warriors uniform that would either be worth destroying the depth or wouldn’t require it as much.
I don't see either of these options as especially doable. Milwaukee isn't getting rid of Giannis unless he doesn't want to be there. And Philadelphia is not going to give up on the Embid and Simmons combo for at least a year with a new coach coming in now.
I would say that the more getable player who would fit well with the Warriors style of play is the guy who already didn't fit in in Philly: Al Horford. Think of the possibilities - play him with the starting 5 and with Klay and the 2nd unit. He is a big man who loves to pass and he could be the fulcrum of the offense when Draymond is out of the game. And since he doesn't cost nearly as much, you can keep Looney and Paschall too. And get GRIII back as the backup 3. And add Aaron Baynes as your bruiser center who can hit 3s. I don't think he's injured [but I could be wrong] - but he never got off the bench in any of the games PHX played that I cked box scores. He's too old for their young core - but he's just right for the Dubs. And he wants to make amends for falling on Steph's hand and breaking it. And Horford wants a ring BAD. And if they can find a way to bring in Aaron Gordon too I'd be really happy. Dream Big!! And win more rings.
I'd rather the front office go in another direction than putting all their eggs into one basket, whether that be Embiid or Giannis. What happens if Embiid gets injured, again? It's already clear he has health and conditioning issues. The Warriors wouldn't have any depth to withstand an injury to a star player. The Warriors showed last season that they had enough depth to overcome an injury to a star player because they had adequate depth. They beat the Rockets , and hung with the Raptors until Klay got hurt, without KD. They won series without Steph. Injuries are a part of the game, and if a team has no depth, their entire success hinges on health. That's not a risk I'd be willing to take.
The Warriors have some valuable draft assets, as well as the TPE and MLE. I agree that those assets should be used on established players who can help win now, and not on rookies who will take a couple years to develop, at best. Steph, Klay and Draymond were not championship players in their first couple years. Most players aren't, even if they are on good teams.
Bob Myers should do his due diligence and kick the tires on every possible player he could acquire with those assets. Four of the five starting spots are already spoken for, so the focus should be on adding a few players to round out the rotation. Right now, the bench has too many unproven players. Some may be able to stick around, but the bench could use a serious upgrade.
IMO, the best version of the Warriors was when the bench would come in and INCREASE the lead the starters had built (2015). The offseason before that they added Sean Livingston. The year before they added Andre Iguodala. Those are the types of players that added to the core and made the Warriors a champion.
The Warriors are in a favourable financial position to capitalize on teams who may be looking to shed salary this offseason. There should be some very good players available.
Why Embiid? Might as well bring back Boogie if the Dubs are going after broken down formerly great players.
This team needs an injection of intelligent energy. Simmons could fit the bill if healthy, but Embiid has no chance of being what the Warriors need. I’m sure the coaches and players could make it work to an extent, but the Warriors would look a lot like Elton Brand’s Philly teams if they made that trade. I just don’t see a trade out there that leads to a better win % than Wiggins and a quality rookie or two on the roster. I wish they could trade down.
There's no chance the Bucks give up on Giannis, and very little chance he gives up on the team. The chances are better that the Sixers decide they can't use both Embiid and Simmons, but even then it feels like it would be a stretch to get Embiid with a trade like that, and I'm not even sure it would be worth it. That's a lot of depth and future value to sacrifice for another superstar now.
I think there's no situation where I'd pick Embiid over Antetekuonpo if the costs were remotely close, assuming both are in good health. It gets even worse given Embiid's injury history and the amount of depth the team would be sacrificing to acquire him. We've had enough of "great team on the injured reserve list, bad team on the court" by now.
I doubt we could reasonably trade Wiggins or Draymond at this point. If they perform better than other teams expect, we're better off keeping them. If they underperform their contracts, we'd have to give up assets to give them away. The middle ground, the most likely scenario, is *both* of those things are true.
Embiid is probably more gettable. You could see sometime over the next 18 months where they break those two up and decide to stick with Simmons. He would fit great, and could dominate with the level of space around him.
That said, zero scenarios where I’d rather have him over Giannis.
Keep Wiggins. I just have a feeling this kid is going to produce at a high level, and be perfect for the Dubs in that 3 spot (notwithstanding the contract, which I don't have to pay for, heh.) Definitely keep the pick. Sure, take Wiseman, or whomever, but I would much prefer a solid 2/3 with the #2, AND Thad Young, whom I have long thought would make a great Warrior. Trading Draymond would just be stupid, wrong, and to be honest, I would personally much prefer that the team win with the assets they have (totally 100% doable) then bringing in Giannis or Embiid. Dubs don't need any glitz to contend, nor do I feel the Bay need the static. But I am certainly not the GM etc. so it'll be fun to observe all the 'hoop'la and speculation leading up to the draft. Wiseman and Thad? 'Melo2 and Thad? Edwards and Thad? Any of those sounds wonderfully helpful to me. #strengthinnumbers #goldenstate #letsgowarriors
I disagree with Gregg.
No one talking about free agent AD and a sign and trade to make the money work. Playing on team lebum is a circus especially if you don’t win it all
Getting the 2nd pick in this year's draft is a huge score for the Warriors. This pick combined with 2 # 1's in the loaded 2021 draft should be used to restock the team with young talent on reasonable contracts.
The thought of trading away a couple of high picks for a high priced veteran is a bad move financially. I still cringe when I think about giving the pick that turned out to be Kevin Mchale + Robert Parish for Joe Barry Carrol.
I have heard this draft referred to as a weak draft, just like the ones that produced Steph Curry and Damon Lillard. This year's gem with the highest floor and the highest ceiling, if you are looking for wins and championships, is DENI ADVIJA.
He is the most experienced of the 19-year-olds in the draft with 3 years of professional experience. He is also the most versatile player in the draft who will fit like a glove with the Warriors.
His greatest strength is his keen competitive mind. The Warrior players will love playing with Deni and Steve Kerr will be thrilled to mentor him. Check out his interviews on youtube, he is
a happy kid off the court and an animal on the court. His father's nickname "killer" also fits Deni.
Remember, always draft the best basketball player, ask Portland who drafted Sam Bowie and Greg Oden instead of Michael Jordan and Kevin Durant.
As long as we are going after franchise players here’s a list I’d put between Giannis and Embiid:
Luca
Jason Tatum
Donovan Mitchell
The Joker
Etc.
And the non-franchise players I’d prefer over Embiid:
Porzingas
Issacs
Mo Bamba
Markkanen
Horford
Oladipo
Sabonis
Etc.
Not necessarily in any order, other than where the keyboard led me for players I’d rather see in a Warriors uniform that would either be worth destroying the depth or wouldn’t require it as much.
I don't see either of these options as especially doable. Milwaukee isn't getting rid of Giannis unless he doesn't want to be there. And Philadelphia is not going to give up on the Embid and Simmons combo for at least a year with a new coach coming in now.
I would say that the more getable player who would fit well with the Warriors style of play is the guy who already didn't fit in in Philly: Al Horford. Think of the possibilities - play him with the starting 5 and with Klay and the 2nd unit. He is a big man who loves to pass and he could be the fulcrum of the offense when Draymond is out of the game. And since he doesn't cost nearly as much, you can keep Looney and Paschall too. And get GRIII back as the backup 3. And add Aaron Baynes as your bruiser center who can hit 3s. I don't think he's injured [but I could be wrong] - but he never got off the bench in any of the games PHX played that I cked box scores. He's too old for their young core - but he's just right for the Dubs. And he wants to make amends for falling on Steph's hand and breaking it. And Horford wants a ring BAD. And if they can find a way to bring in Aaron Gordon too I'd be really happy. Dream Big!! And win more rings.
I'd rather the front office go in another direction than putting all their eggs into one basket, whether that be Embiid or Giannis. What happens if Embiid gets injured, again? It's already clear he has health and conditioning issues. The Warriors wouldn't have any depth to withstand an injury to a star player. The Warriors showed last season that they had enough depth to overcome an injury to a star player because they had adequate depth. They beat the Rockets , and hung with the Raptors until Klay got hurt, without KD. They won series without Steph. Injuries are a part of the game, and if a team has no depth, their entire success hinges on health. That's not a risk I'd be willing to take.
The Warriors have some valuable draft assets, as well as the TPE and MLE. I agree that those assets should be used on established players who can help win now, and not on rookies who will take a couple years to develop, at best. Steph, Klay and Draymond were not championship players in their first couple years. Most players aren't, even if they are on good teams.
Bob Myers should do his due diligence and kick the tires on every possible player he could acquire with those assets. Four of the five starting spots are already spoken for, so the focus should be on adding a few players to round out the rotation. Right now, the bench has too many unproven players. Some may be able to stick around, but the bench could use a serious upgrade.
IMO, the best version of the Warriors was when the bench would come in and INCREASE the lead the starters had built (2015). The offseason before that they added Sean Livingston. The year before they added Andre Iguodala. Those are the types of players that added to the core and made the Warriors a champion.
The Warriors are in a favourable financial position to capitalize on teams who may be looking to shed salary this offseason. There should be some very good players available.
My personal wish list for trades includes:
- Will Barton
- Myles Turner
- Dwight Powell
- Thaddeus Young
- Ricky Rubio
- Robert Covington
- Spencer Dinwiddie
Why Embiid? Might as well bring back Boogie if the Dubs are going after broken down formerly great players.
This team needs an injection of intelligent energy. Simmons could fit the bill if healthy, but Embiid has no chance of being what the Warriors need. I’m sure the coaches and players could make it work to an extent, but the Warriors would look a lot like Elton Brand’s Philly teams if they made that trade. I just don’t see a trade out there that leads to a better win % than Wiggins and a quality rookie or two on the roster. I wish they could trade down.
There's no chance the Bucks give up on Giannis, and very little chance he gives up on the team. The chances are better that the Sixers decide they can't use both Embiid and Simmons, but even then it feels like it would be a stretch to get Embiid with a trade like that, and I'm not even sure it would be worth it. That's a lot of depth and future value to sacrifice for another superstar now.
I think there's no situation where I'd pick Embiid over Antetekuonpo if the costs were remotely close, assuming both are in good health. It gets even worse given Embiid's injury history and the amount of depth the team would be sacrificing to acquire him. We've had enough of "great team on the injured reserve list, bad team on the court" by now.
I doubt we could reasonably trade Wiggins or Draymond at this point. If they perform better than other teams expect, we're better off keeping them. If they underperform their contracts, we'd have to give up assets to give them away. The middle ground, the most likely scenario, is *both* of those things are true.
Embiid is probably more gettable. You could see sometime over the next 18 months where they break those two up and decide to stick with Simmons. He would fit great, and could dominate with the level of space around him.
That said, zero scenarios where I’d rather have him over Giannis.
Keep Wiggins. I just have a feeling this kid is going to produce at a high level, and be perfect for the Dubs in that 3 spot (notwithstanding the contract, which I don't have to pay for, heh.) Definitely keep the pick. Sure, take Wiseman, or whomever, but I would much prefer a solid 2/3 with the #2, AND Thad Young, whom I have long thought would make a great Warrior. Trading Draymond would just be stupid, wrong, and to be honest, I would personally much prefer that the team win with the assets they have (totally 100% doable) then bringing in Giannis or Embiid. Dubs don't need any glitz to contend, nor do I feel the Bay need the static. But I am certainly not the GM etc. so it'll be fun to observe all the 'hoop'la and speculation leading up to the draft. Wiseman and Thad? 'Melo2 and Thad? Edwards and Thad? Any of those sounds wonderfully helpful to me. #strengthinnumbers #goldenstate #letsgowarriors