JKs development post: He’s gone out of his way in games to look for Steph and Klay while remaining aggressive in his opportunities when the defense plays him that way. Good job JK. Still got ways to go but there’s no doubt he’s been adding to his game and feeling more comfortable in our system in the past month.
Any concern with JK's dipping three point shooting. It's at 28.4% this season with increased attempts. Should he step in to shoot the long 2s like Wiggins?
It should be pretty concerning considering the types of threes he takes and his career FT%. He took an off the dribble stepback three (pretty different from his usual shot type) last night and it hit off the side of the backboard.
I agree, more pointing out how his current three point percentage is based on shots that don't often have the degree of difficulty that this one did. He's got a long way to go on his shot imo.
Even by the lowest possible standards we might have had for him, Jordan Poole has really been a shockingly losing player this season. In a decent-sized sample of minutes (909 on court, 628 off) the Wiz have basically been an average .500 team with him on the bench (+0.1 pts per 100), and the worst team in NBA history with him on the floor (-15.6).
And … more of the same tonight (-22 in his 23 minutes).
I don’t love this site, but this article came up in my Apple News fees the other day and it encapsulates how I’ve felt watching Wizards games this year, as well as the last couple years:
Wes Unseld Jr. just hasn’t seems like a good coach, and the roster isn’t impressive either. A transcendent talent might still be able to play winning basketball in a situation like that, but it’d be tough. The Spurs can’t buy a win with Wemby, the Pistons can’t get anywhere with Cade, etc. Poole’s a good basketball player, but he’s not good enough to do what’s expected of him on the Wizards.
When Curry's NBA career accomplishments are listed for his Hall Of Fame candidacy, the first accolade listed even over his unanimous MVP should probably be:
Yeah, I won’t hazard a guess what the proximate causes might be. A post here a few days ago definitely made me think more seriously about the possibility of lingering psychological effects from the punch. But I think that might also be less of a factor than some combo of (1) complacency after getting the bag, as you allude to; (2) losing environment; (3) having to play against starters every night; (4) not getting to play alongside Steph and Dray; (5) too much baddie chasing; (6) smallish sample noise. Etc.
Who knows. But his putting up .654 TS in a championship run feels more miraculous by the day.
I don't think we can really evaluate individual players in particularly bad situations tbh. Like I'm comfortable saying Poole can't carry a team's O right now, but does he need a Curry type gravity around him or could he thrive on a slightly more serious team?
He can probably settle into some sort of 6th man role once he accepts that that's the role he needs to play. Don't think we are close to that acceptance yet though.
When Steph was out, he would put up numbers though, so I don’t think it was entirely Steph being on the court with him. I’m surprised. I thought he’d put up pretty big numbers with bad advanced stats this year
Did anyone notice in the second half last night Orlando brought a two man game on the right side trying to get both GS rookies involved defensively TJD put himself in great position and Podz tipped the ball leading to a turnover.
Orlando thought they could pick on our rookies!!??!! Ha!
The Nets have no intention of trading Mikal Bridges, per @wojespn. Brooklyn wants to continue to add talent around Bridges as a foundational piece to their roster.
Substack doing some bad things. I love DNHQ and am just posting this because it's one of those things where, when you know it, you have to spread the awareness:
I believe the original SB Nation was a project of Daily Kos, and they were both acquired by Vox Media later. Markos, the founder of Kos, lives in the Oakland / Berkeley area IIRC. DK's coverage of Ukraine is very good, I am back there almost daily after a hiatus of many years.
When we didn't re-sign GP2, my assumption (no sources) was that the Dubs trainers/medical folks had concerns about his health. During the '22 championship run I remember GP2 frequently squatting down and holding back a grimace during play stoppages.
The more I watch that Nurkic situation the more annoyed I get at Draymond. I still have no idea why he did that and I'm not buying the "he was trying to sell the call and free himself up"
(🚨Pure speculation warning) Yeah, he might still be in denial about having a problem and/or not taking it seriously, resulting in the team telling him to stay away. That also might explain why spent the previous couple of games looking bummed and disengaged.
I think it is a) Draymond is too proud to fall to sell a call so he flails, knowing full well that he may hurt somebody in the process, and b) considering when he pounced on Sabonis- in a sense he takes advantage of the chaos situation to send a message. It's poor sportsmanship and generally BS. In layman's terms, he's been an asshole, and the league is calling him on it, and he needs to get it out of his game.
The thing that worries is me is how dependent he and others in the Warriors organization feel his game is on a certain unfiltered quality. Like, if he truly believes he needs to be unhinged to be a good player, then this is never gonna be resolved.
It was much less severe, but he did a version of the same thing in the midst of our 21–0 run in Game 6 of the '22 Finals. The call ended up going his way, but he definitely caught Jayson Tatum in the face. So glad he got away with that one at least, lol.
Yeah, I remember Draymond going on and on in the past about needing to "be himself" on the court for the Warriors otherwise there's no point of playing. I think we were able to keep him SOMEWHAT in check pre two timeline era because of the vets we had but now it looks bad because we're not winning enough and there's no OG to keep him from turning into.... this Draymond
Kerr, Steph, Meyers, and just about everyone else in the team let him get away with this behavior each and every time. I never bought into this excuse of Green having to "be himself" inorder to play with intensity. That version of 'himself' has always been to some degree a distraction and a poor excuse for lack of self control. It should have never reached this point, yet, here we are.
Can someone explain why the dubs would trade Moody?
What are they missing this year? A point forward (aka draymond), or is there some other gaping hole that everyone sees that can be filled by trading him?
I really saw moody as part of a solid future, along with our other young guys.
I doubt they will trade Moody. Apparently, he kind of has a 'meh' reputation around the league, so I doubt there would be much interest. Plus, he'd need to be paired with a high salary player to get someone who actually might improve our chances.
Imagine if we could somehow get Markkanen on our team. I think the price is too high, though. We might need to trade one of our starters in order for us to get him.
We're used to it now, but that three he hit late in last night's game, where he dribbles into the paint (leading Suggs into a DEVASTATING Looney screen and drawing Bitadze), meanders around for a while, turns his back to the basket to take it back out beyond the 3pt line, then spins around into a step-back... low key one of the craziest shots you'll ever see.
(And yes, I realize that was completely unrelated to the play type described in the stat above. Just another example of Steph >>>)
Steaming hot take incoming: The 2021, long considered one of the deepest drafts in years with top end talent (akin to 2003), is a worst draft than the 2020 and 2022 drafts. I say that because Franz Wagner is arguably the best player from 2021. Very good player but id argue that Paolo, Jabari, and Chet are more franchise altering type players and 2021 does not have neither the depth of 2020 or Ant/Tyrese
Kind of a lukewarm take, imo, given how potentially generationally awesome Chet is (if his body holds up). At this point among those three drafts I’d probably go something like:
1. Chet (‘22)
2. Ty (‘20)
3. Ant (‘20)
4. Maxey (‘20)
5. Bane (‘20)
6. Barnes (‘21)
7. Sengun (‘21)
8. Jalen Williams (‘22)
After that a lot of “eye of the beholder” choices between Paolo, Jabari, Sharpe, Wagner, Kuminga, Cade, Murphy, Moody, Mobley, Cam Thomas, Jalen Johnson, Gui Santos, Vassell, Okongwu, LaMelo, et al…
I've been thinking the same thing for a while - it's also notable how many guys in the 2021 draft have been total disaster headcases: Bouknight, Primo, Kai Jones.
Lol i forgot about Barnes. I just came back in and thought “hopefully someone doesn’t beat me to the Edit” and sure enough you did. Absolutely. Id go Chet then Barnes then Banchero then Jabari then Wagner. And yes I haven’t forgot about Mobley and Sengun but still have them a tier below
Smith was my #1 in that draft, I was concerned about Holmgren physically holding up in the NBA. Still am to an extent but he looks skilled enough to play the PF so I'm not super worried about it and he's looking like a generational talent so he's the clear #1 and that was a miss for me.
I'm still holding out for Smith>Banchero though. I don't think Smith will be a #1 option like Banchero but I do think he'll be better in his role than Banchero will be in his. The idea of 6'10 Klay just sounds great to me lol.
I haven't watched much of Mobley TBH but in the little I have seen of him he just looks like a very solid player. A borderline all star maybe but not the franchise altering difference maker you're hoping to get based on his draft status. Still early for him though I suppose
Curious if Mobley is close to that group in your opinion. Seems like he's always going to be limited offensively, but DPOY potential has obvious value.
Wonder if Steve's message to Klay will actually stick or if this is only a few games sort of deal. There is a version of Klay that can still be very helpful to this team if he buys into that role. Once that's taken care of then we just have to turn our attention to Draymond and JK. I think those are the last two that has to be all in FOR THE TEAM, right? JK seems to be on his way in that regard. Am I missing anybody? Are there other personal agendas/distractions that I don't know about?
Wiggins was still a black hole. Playing with him will probably bring out the worst in Klay so keep them separate if you want Klay to keep playing team ball maybe.
Before the last couple games, he did have a stretch where he was taking really good shots and making smart passes, but it was against worse teams. I don't want to believe this, but I could see it being a few games sort of thing, esp since they apparently already had a team convo about this before right?
His tone in the postgame yesterday was completely different from his usual self. Sounds like a guy that got a reality check. Klay has always been the "I'm always going to be me and I'm gonna get my shots" kind of player but it sounds like he's finally seeing what all of us are thinking as far as his role goes
Yeah, I read those quotes, too, and have been thinking about them. We've seen Klay drift in and out with regards to his mindset over the last couple years (even over the last couple weeks!)—he's prone to some pretty extreme swings in his capacity for self-awareness and introspection, so it would probably be naive to think this represents some kind of watershed moment. But, reading between the lines, it does sound like the kind of conversation where they might at least have broached the subject of a bench role and/or reduced minutes. Even if this moment of clarity doesn't last, I'm glad to hear Klay getting a glimpse of this vision for the late stage of his career.
There was a brief moment in the '22 Playoffs, before I realized they might actually fuck around and win the title, where I just got sort of swept up in the romance of these old legends, diminished by time and injury but still game, and still down to play anyone, anytime, anyplace. You might beat them, but they'd take you to hell and back first. That's how I've always wanted this dynasty to end. It probably won't happen that way at this point, but if Klay can move into the acceptance stage of grief over his own basketball mortality it might at least give us a couple more years of enjoying his presence.
It certainly seemed like a paradigm shift, from chasing the Glory Day's (they'll pass you by) to accepting the next cycle of Dynasty Life™️. We can hope he and Dray both come to that...
New thread: https://open.substack.com/pub/dubnation/p/explain-new-starters-kuminga-and?r=3lm3s&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcome=true
I didn’t think it was possible, but somehow, someway, Atlanta figured out how NOT to focaccia up being up 3 on the Thunder with 3s left.
A little OT but it's honestly amazing how SGA doesn't really turn the ball over despite his high usage
Another day, another Pacers beatdown of the Bucks, who can’t seem to defend their way out of a paper bag.
139-122 Pacers — 2 minutes away from a 4-0 season sweep.
They actually won the season series 4-1 this year. Bucks won in Milwaukee on Dec. 13 140-126.
JKs development post: He’s gone out of his way in games to look for Steph and Klay while remaining aggressive in his opportunities when the defense plays him that way. Good job JK. Still got ways to go but there’s no doubt he’s been adding to his game and feeling more comfortable in our system in the past month.
He said it in his postgame. It’s because he’s getting reps.
Any concern with JK's dipping three point shooting. It's at 28.4% this season with increased attempts. Should he step in to shoot the long 2s like Wiggins?
It should be pretty concerning considering the types of threes he takes and his career FT%. He took an off the dribble stepback three (pretty different from his usual shot type) last night and it hit off the side of the backboard.
To be fair the stepback was a grenade that got handed to him lol.
I agree, more pointing out how his current three point percentage is based on shots that don't often have the degree of difficulty that this one did. He's got a long way to go on his shot imo.
Even by the lowest possible standards we might have had for him, Jordan Poole has really been a shockingly losing player this season. In a decent-sized sample of minutes (909 on court, 628 off) the Wiz have basically been an average .500 team with him on the bench (+0.1 pts per 100), and the worst team in NBA history with him on the floor (-15.6).
And … more of the same tonight (-22 in his 23 minutes).
Yeah, but it’s his team and he’s got this!
That is a bad record to be setting (worst team in NBA history with him on the floor).
He’s playing like one of the worst high minute players in nba history.
I don’t love this site, but this article came up in my Apple News fees the other day and it encapsulates how I’ve felt watching Wizards games this year, as well as the last couple years:
https://wizofawes.com/posts/washington-wizards-coaching-staff-has-failed-jordan-poole#
Wes Unseld Jr. just hasn’t seems like a good coach, and the roster isn’t impressive either. A transcendent talent might still be able to play winning basketball in a situation like that, but it’d be tough. The Spurs can’t buy a win with Wemby, the Pistons can’t get anywhere with Cade, etc. Poole’s a good basketball player, but he’s not good enough to do what’s expected of him on the Wizards.
I wonder if his best work with the Warriors was maybe the outlier.
Sports history is chock full of players with one good, or even great, season, surrounded by years of mediocrity.
Just like wiggins had before he got paid too?
A bit different, cos Wiggs got paid by Minnesota before he came here, and took a big paycut on his extension with GS.
Also, Wiggs plays defense.
What? Wiggins was paid more before (contract he got from Minny). His new contract is lower.
When Curry's NBA career accomplishments are listed for his Hall Of Fame candidacy, the first accolade listed even over his unanimous MVP should probably be:
"-Got Jordan Poole paid 128 million dollars"
He has to care about this kind of stuff, right? Coming up it seemed like it. Wonder how much getting the bag made him lose focus.
I'm sure the punch did to, but I suspect getting the bag explains more at this point.
Yeah, I won’t hazard a guess what the proximate causes might be. A post here a few days ago definitely made me think more seriously about the possibility of lingering psychological effects from the punch. But I think that might also be less of a factor than some combo of (1) complacency after getting the bag, as you allude to; (2) losing environment; (3) having to play against starters every night; (4) not getting to play alongside Steph and Dray; (5) too much baddie chasing; (6) smallish sample noise. Etc.
Who knows. But his putting up .654 TS in a championship run feels more miraculous by the day.
I don't think we can really evaluate individual players in particularly bad situations tbh. Like I'm comfortable saying Poole can't carry a team's O right now, but does he need a Curry type gravity around him or could he thrive on a slightly more serious team?
He can probably settle into some sort of 6th man role once he accepts that that's the role he needs to play. Don't think we are close to that acceptance yet though.
When Steph was out, he would put up numbers though, so I don’t think it was entirely Steph being on the court with him. I’m surprised. I thought he’d put up pretty big numbers with bad advanced stats this year
The Athletic guys do a killer postgame podcast on +/-. Lots of fleshing out about how important Klay’s postgame statement could be.
In essence, if Steve Can usher the Killer Klay era into the HOF vet Klay eta, that would be a huge value to the team.
Link?
Do what Shawyer says below. But if you want a web link, you can get it from the Athletic: https://theathletic.com/podcast/11-warriors-plus-minus/?episode=302
Search for "Warriors Plus Minus" in your podcast app.
Did anyone notice in the second half last night Orlando brought a two man game on the right side trying to get both GS rookies involved defensively TJD put himself in great position and Podz tipped the ball leading to a turnover.
Orlando thought they could pick on our rookies!!??!! Ha!
To paraphrase Animal House, “They can’t do that to our rookies. Only we can do that to our rookies.”
Need to see more of TJD but damn, Podz picks things up really fast
Uh, so does TJD.
Hence why I said I need to see more of him..... he just started playing serious basketball lol.
The Nets have no intention of trading Mikal Bridges, per @wojespn. Brooklyn wants to continue to add talent around Bridges as a foundational piece to their roster.
https://twitter.com/esidery/status/1742623304656019666
Also, it looks like Thunder is not interested in acquiring star-level talent in their roster.
> Also, it looks like Thunder is not interested in acquiring star-level talent in their roster.
Of course not. They already have star-in-the-making talent on their roster. Why muck it up?
Yeah. IMO Thunder are a solid rotational shooter and center to spell Chet away from doing serious damage. They don’t need star power.
Right off hand I'd say they are doing serious damage right now, albeit it's still only a third of the way through the season.
Good on both fronts
Substack doing some bad things. I love DNHQ and am just posting this because it's one of those things where, when you know it, you have to spread the awareness:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/1/3/2214943/-Which-Nazi-Ideas-am-I-Supposed-to-Debate-for-Your-Profit?pm_campaign=trending&pm_source=sidebar&pm_medium=web#comment_87747862
(Ironically, Daily Kos is Vox Media which is responsible for SB Nation, which, well, you know the rest...)
I believe the original SB Nation was a project of Daily Kos, and they were both acquired by Vox Media later. Markos, the founder of Kos, lives in the Oakland / Berkeley area IIRC. DK's coverage of Ukraine is very good, I am back there almost daily after a hiatus of many years.
Total Bullshit.
Man, that’s fucked up.
Thank you for sharing.
Also excellent…
https://www.techdirt.com/2023/12/26/substack-turns-on-its-nazis-welcome-sign/
(From the great kottke.org site)
Totally. Very disappointing, which is why I feel I need to raise awareness.
These guys have been problematic since the beginnings on this stuff. We will take this under consideration
Thank you.
https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1742654448059679004
Several more weeks out for GP2...... hamstring strain.
Whew, so glad it's not another season-ender!!
Interesting that a calf injury led to a hamstring tear. When Boogie Cousins came back from torn achilles, he tore his hammy too
Different leg (according to commentary last night)
You compensate for weakness in one leg by overstressing the other
When we didn't re-sign GP2, my assumption (no sources) was that the Dubs trainers/medical folks had concerns about his health. During the '22 championship run I remember GP2 frequently squatting down and holding back a grimace during play stoppages.
The more I watch that Nurkic situation the more annoyed I get at Draymond. I still have no idea why he did that and I'm not buying the "he was trying to sell the call and free himself up"
Nobody is buying that, not even Draymond, which is why he is in voluntary counseling and not with the team.
Who said it's voluntary? You really think he'd be in counseling right now if he wasn't suspended?
(🚨Pure speculation warning) Yeah, he might still be in denial about having a problem and/or not taking it seriously, resulting in the team telling him to stay away. That also might explain why spent the previous couple of games looking bummed and disengaged.
I feel like him being away from practice is more of getting some continuity as a team and not having him in and out around the team.
But at least some of it must be what you said also though
I think it is a) Draymond is too proud to fall to sell a call so he flails, knowing full well that he may hurt somebody in the process, and b) considering when he pounced on Sabonis- in a sense he takes advantage of the chaos situation to send a message. It's poor sportsmanship and generally BS. In layman's terms, he's been an asshole, and the league is calling him on it, and he needs to get it out of his game.
The thing that worries is me is how dependent he and others in the Warriors organization feel his game is on a certain unfiltered quality. Like, if he truly believes he needs to be unhinged to be a good player, then this is never gonna be resolved.
It was much less severe, but he did a version of the same thing in the midst of our 21–0 run in Game 6 of the '22 Finals. The call ended up going his way, but he definitely caught Jayson Tatum in the face. So glad he got away with that one at least, lol.
Yeah, I remember Draymond going on and on in the past about needing to "be himself" on the court for the Warriors otherwise there's no point of playing. I think we were able to keep him SOMEWHAT in check pre two timeline era because of the vets we had but now it looks bad because we're not winning enough and there's no OG to keep him from turning into.... this Draymond
Kerr, Steph, Meyers, and just about everyone else in the team let him get away with this behavior each and every time. I never bought into this excuse of Green having to "be himself" inorder to play with intensity. That version of 'himself' has always been to some degree a distraction and a poor excuse for lack of self control. It should have never reached this point, yet, here we are.
Can someone explain why the dubs would trade Moody?
What are they missing this year? A point forward (aka draymond), or is there some other gaping hole that everyone sees that can be filled by trading him?
I really saw moody as part of a solid future, along with our other young guys.
Maybe I’m wringing my hands for no reason :(
Because if we trade a heave salaried vet, the trading partner will likely want a young promising piece as well.
I doubt they will trade Moody. Apparently, he kind of has a 'meh' reputation around the league, so I doubt there would be much interest. Plus, he'd need to be paired with a high salary player to get someone who actually might improve our chances.
https://old.reddit.com/r/warriors/comments/18xppof/nba_university_most_ppg_on_movement_shooting_off/
[NBA University] Most PPG on movement shooting off screens:
1. Klay: 5.5 PPG—51.7 EFG%
1.. Steph: 5.5—73.9%
3. Lauri: 3.5—50.0%
4. PG: 2.4—55.0%
5. KD: 2.3—50.0%
6. Kispert: 2.2—61.0%
7. Bogdan: 2.14—44.9%
8. Ingram: 2.12—57.1%
9. Edwards 2.11—63.5%
10. Simons: 2.1—76.7%
Imagine if we could somehow get Markkanen on our team. I think the price is too high, though. We might need to trade one of our starters in order for us to get him.
He’s the one guy that I’d really want for the Dubs.
Which version of starters?
That's a good question. I don't know, to be honest.
Just imagine if Draymond were around setting screens... he sets great screens for Steph.
one of these things is not like the others…
Are you talking about Bogdan or Simons? Because Bogdan has <50% eFG% off of screens, while Simons has a higher eFG% than Steph.
What jumps at me, is that the Warriors have #1 and #2 on this list...and by a sizeable margin. (And a bunch of us want to add #3).
Think he’s talking about Steph being the second most efficient by a wide margin, while doing so on twice as much volume as Simons.
haha yep
*Closer to 3x as much volume
Steph >>>
We're used to it now, but that three he hit late in last night's game, where he dribbles into the paint (leading Suggs into a DEVASTATING Looney screen and drawing Bitadze), meanders around for a while, turns his back to the basket to take it back out beyond the 3pt line, then spins around into a step-back... low key one of the craziest shots you'll ever see.
(And yes, I realize that was completely unrelated to the play type described in the stat above. Just another example of Steph >>>)
one?
I’m surprised Kispert is that efficient. His shot is so flat, doesn’t feel like it should go in lol
That’s the one that jumped out at me.
Steaming hot take incoming: The 2021, long considered one of the deepest drafts in years with top end talent (akin to 2003), is a worst draft than the 2020 and 2022 drafts. I say that because Franz Wagner is arguably the best player from 2021. Very good player but id argue that Paolo, Jabari, and Chet are more franchise altering type players and 2021 does not have neither the depth of 2020 or Ant/Tyrese
Kind of a lukewarm take, imo, given how potentially generationally awesome Chet is (if his body holds up). At this point among those three drafts I’d probably go something like:
1. Chet (‘22)
2. Ty (‘20)
3. Ant (‘20)
4. Maxey (‘20)
5. Bane (‘20)
6. Barnes (‘21)
7. Sengun (‘21)
8. Jalen Williams (‘22)
After that a lot of “eye of the beholder” choices between Paolo, Jabari, Sharpe, Wagner, Kuminga, Cade, Murphy, Moody, Mobley, Cam Thomas, Jalen Johnson, Gui Santos, Vassell, Okongwu, LaMelo, et al…
“et al” is Latin for “Wiseman and Mannion”.
Nice job slipping gui in there. Future all-star for sure!
I've been thinking the same thing for a while - it's also notable how many guys in the 2021 draft have been total disaster headcases: Bouknight, Primo, Kai Jones.
Interesting. Let’s discuss again in a few years (um, maybe 10) and I bet this take won’t be so hot.
If you gave me my choice between Scottie Barnes and Paolo Banchero, I'm taking Barnes for sure
Lol i forgot about Barnes. I just came back in and thought “hopefully someone doesn’t beat me to the Edit” and sure enough you did. Absolutely. Id go Chet then Barnes then Banchero then Jabari then Wagner. And yes I haven’t forgot about Mobley and Sengun but still have them a tier below
I'm not really a Banchero guy tbh, I don't think he'll end up #3 out of both drafts
Ur a Sengun guy so you probably still think the 2021 draft > 2022. Im also probably higher on Jabari Smith than alot of people
Smith was my #1 in that draft, I was concerned about Holmgren physically holding up in the NBA. Still am to an extent but he looks skilled enough to play the PF so I'm not super worried about it and he's looking like a generational talent so he's the clear #1 and that was a miss for me.
I'm still holding out for Smith>Banchero though. I don't think Smith will be a #1 option like Banchero but I do think he'll be better in his role than Banchero will be in his. The idea of 6'10 Klay just sounds great to me lol.
I haven't watched much of Mobley TBH but in the little I have seen of him he just looks like a very solid player. A borderline all star maybe but not the franchise altering difference maker you're hoping to get based on his draft status. Still early for him though I suppose
Curious if Mobley is close to that group in your opinion. Seems like he's always going to be limited offensively, but DPOY potential has obvious value.
Potentially. He was my highest rated prospect in 2021 but it would have to start away from Donovan and Jarrett Allen
Similarly, I'm still not sure what to make of Cade given the complete dearth of talent on the Pistons.
Wonder if Steve's message to Klay will actually stick or if this is only a few games sort of deal. There is a version of Klay that can still be very helpful to this team if he buys into that role. Once that's taken care of then we just have to turn our attention to Draymond and JK. I think those are the last two that has to be all in FOR THE TEAM, right? JK seems to be on his way in that regard. Am I missing anybody? Are there other personal agendas/distractions that I don't know about?
Wiggins was still a black hole. Playing with him will probably bring out the worst in Klay so keep them separate if you want Klay to keep playing team ball maybe.
Before the last couple games, he did have a stretch where he was taking really good shots and making smart passes, but it was against worse teams. I don't want to believe this, but I could see it being a few games sort of thing, esp since they apparently already had a team convo about this before right?
His tone in the postgame yesterday was completely different from his usual self. Sounds like a guy that got a reality check. Klay has always been the "I'm always going to be me and I'm gonna get my shots" kind of player but it sounds like he's finally seeing what all of us are thinking as far as his role goes
Yeah, I read those quotes, too, and have been thinking about them. We've seen Klay drift in and out with regards to his mindset over the last couple years (even over the last couple weeks!)—he's prone to some pretty extreme swings in his capacity for self-awareness and introspection, so it would probably be naive to think this represents some kind of watershed moment. But, reading between the lines, it does sound like the kind of conversation where they might at least have broached the subject of a bench role and/or reduced minutes. Even if this moment of clarity doesn't last, I'm glad to hear Klay getting a glimpse of this vision for the late stage of his career.
There was a brief moment in the '22 Playoffs, before I realized they might actually fuck around and win the title, where I just got sort of swept up in the romance of these old legends, diminished by time and injury but still game, and still down to play anyone, anytime, anyplace. You might beat them, but they'd take you to hell and back first. That's how I've always wanted this dynasty to end. It probably won't happen that way at this point, but if Klay can move into the acceptance stage of grief over his own basketball mortality it might at least give us a couple more years of enjoying his presence.
Very well said. Couldn't agree more.
Seems like more than momentary… he mentioned passing the torch…
I dunno, has anyone heard him talk like this before? I’d be suprised if this doesnt signify a shift (for the better as seen last night)
It certainly seemed like a paradigm shift, from chasing the Glory Day's (they'll pass you by) to accepting the next cycle of Dynasty Life™️. We can hope he and Dray both come to that...