It's interesting that Steph is the kind of leader who doesn't really lead in these ways. He's not going to take some kind of stance on whom to trade or whom to play more or less; at least not publicly. I'm not saying good or bad, I'm saying that seems to be who he has been but he could do it differently.
I don’t see it as anything but 100% good that he doesn’t take public stances about who on the team should be benched or traded. And I don’t see how he could realistically do it differently.
I think he’s more akin to Tim Duncan in that way. But then you need a Gregg Popovich-type in that case. I don’t think that’s who Kerr is, and it definitely shouldn’t be outsourced to Draymond
Kerr told ESPN's Kendra Andrews that "there is a world where [Kuminga] can start for the rest of the year," as long as the third-year forward continues to play well and the team wins.
If you read closely, the only new news is that source(s) close to JK says Thursday was “the straw that broke the camel’s back.” No trade demands yet, but loss of faith.
1. Yes JK needed to play more. Kerr was wrong. OF COURSE JK should be mad after playing a good offensive game that he wasn’t on court for crunch time. Of course this is a loss of faith in Kerr, since he kept JK out and the team blew it.
2. I get it though. Kerr thought it was a blowout and he could sneak in some Wiggins-building time in semi-garbage time. Whether you think AW is a starter, a backup, or trade fodder, Wiggins-building is good. Absolutely everything had to go wrong for 6 minutes for Kerr to be wrong.
3. In general, I do think JK has been improving on offense a lot. His on-ball defense against non-bigs continues to excel, and his team defense is erratic but I think is improving. JK is clearly better than AW right now.
4. It might be that Shams/Slater are blowing something out of proportion. But @dogwild also reported separately sources said that JK was enraged. @dogwild is a Kerr hater but I believe it if he claims he has a source.
5. Having said all that… what is JK’s team’s endgame here with the public quotes? Clearly they want either Kerr to go all in on JK’s development (the quotes really don’t help) or have JK traded to another team (the quotes help in the sense that they will make Kerr and MJD angry and think he’s unprofessional and can’t function on this team, but they undercut any value GSW gets back which makes it less likely that JK gets traded). I think public silence is optimal here, no matter how unfairly Kerr treats JK.
6. If this was still a Bob Myers team, I’d expect GSW to just try to get through it and mature their way out of this. But since it’s a MDJ team, I don’t discount any shocking trades, not after the Poole/CP3/etc stunner in his first week.
7. Some kind of consolidation trade (like four quarters for a 50 cent piece) seems unavoidable at this point. Just be prepared to be mad at the return. What is Wiggins really going to get in return? I think JK, Podz and Trayce are the only ones with real trade value right now. I don’t see any game changers available coming back. You might like Markkanen or Siakam but their GMs are two of the biggest ripoff artists in the game.
8. If BP and Trayce weren’t replacement starter level right away, then probably Moody and JK would have had the minutes they need and want. Sometimes a blessing is also a curse.
What if I think Wiggins is who he’s always been except for a couple years of new scenery and playing for his next paycheck so Wiggins building makes you the old school Timberwolves? Can I be pissed off then?
You had me at "Kerr was wrong." He's not Jesus. He makes mistakes. This also doesn't mean he's a terrible terrible coach. he's a good coach but he's been slow to adapt and fans are in the right to call it out.
This is just so bad here. Steph draws all of that attention and instead of putting pressure on the rim Wiggins just stands there in the corner. Good teams are either getting a wide open dunk there or an open CP3 3. WE ARE NOT MAKING TEAMS PAY FOR TRAPPING STEPH!!!!!!
Steph needs to outlet that to Paul... Wiggins isn't going to get a lob there, so Wiggins is waiting for the advantage to be created. I guess you want CP3 to cut to the pocket to receive the pass?
Wiggins flashing to the rim would have forced Murray's hand and got CP3 a good look. That was an awful read from Steph but either one of those two has to make a better move to create the advantage.
CP3 was providing an outlet at the top of the key... I supsect Wiggins is waiting for the next action. It's true that Wiggins flashing to the rim would have got Murray to sink in a little... but Steph really just needs to give that to Chris... if Steph gives it to Chris, either he or Wiggins is getting an open jumper. It's really just a horrible read.
but yeah.... the only realistic play there is for CP3 to receive that escape pass and making a quick decision. Most likely shoot. You just can't make that pass in that situation.
If you agree that the purpose of the Warrior organization is to be a soft and safe place for Klay Wiggins Draymond and Kerr to enjoy all their past glories and not be subject to criticism, then we don't think the same way. It's a sport.
Come on Kerr, get competitive. Get real with them. Risk offending Wiggins's fragile ego. Tell Draymond to be calm or not play. Tell Klay if he gets wild with his shot selection again, he's benched.
I'm not an advocate for a mean tone cigar chomping Vince Lombardi coach, but I also am not down with accepting vet failure as "they have fragile egos let's not offend them."
Forget trading Kuminga, Moody, or even Wiggins. What do you think would happen if we traded Kerr for Spoelstra right about now?
I would love it as we would be near the top of the western conference since the players who are playing hard, well and consistently will be getting the minutes!
Warriors aren't falling apart. They're playing too well to be falling apart. They're very close to being a good team, and have been all season.
They don't have a closing lineup they believe in, or anything to rely on down the stretch other than games where Steph is hot and hits some step backs. From that standpoint, Kerr is lost. He keeps seeking combos and figuring it out on the fly. It's not all his fault because there's not been a lot of consistency, but the grab bag approach is exacerbating the problem.
Notes:
There was a play in early 4th quarter where Peyton Watson grabbed a board, and no one stopped the ball and he dunked it. The worst offender was Wiggins, who was in front of him, but then gave a free runway to the basket. They called a TO right after and I assumed they'd put Kuminga in for him because it was such a soft play.
Kuminga should have played more last night. This is similar to the game they lost close where Moody should have played over Klay.
That said, if there's any truth to the Shams report, Kuminga needs to put a sock in it. Horrible timing. Not interested in "what's good for Jonathan now". vs "what's good for the team".
I think Kuminga should say *MORE* not less. I haven't heard him quoted saying what you're quoting but if he is, he'd be the only one speaking the truth on the whole team.
Hopefully, Kerr would actually respond and we'd learn more than just "We need to play more together." Or better yet, he'd reward good play and not bad play, which is all we're asking.
I too have thought a lot about Wiggins on that Watson dunk.
Your last sentence resonates as well- I really have a hard time ascertaining whether Kuminga is an ego-first problem for the team, or whether Kerr is stuck-in-his-ways problem for the team. Probably some degree of both. I just know that Kuminga is a not-fully-formed very good player who we need on this team, and Kerr appears to be botching his development. And don't get me started on Moody.
If it means shedding Wiggins long-term salary or maybe even Dray's long-term salary, maximum offseason flexibility might be the best we can do to really improve the team.
I feel like Shams is overexaggerating what Slater is saying about JK losing faith in Kerr kind of like how Shams said that GP2 will be out for a while due to a tear in his muscles, but didn't specify the severity.
“There’s a reason we didn’t hand them jobs to start the season. It doesn’t work that way. If you did that, you’d have a revolt. You have to honor the work that the veterans have done,” Kerr said two weeks ago about his decision not to play his young players straight out of training camp.
No, Steve. The fans and even the players choose to revolt or not based on one thing: are you winning? That's it. When the Dubs were winning a lot, we could throw Jordan Bell out there and call him the Next Big Big and ... whatever. But acting in fear of a veteran "revolt" is the sign of a leader who has given up his leadership.
Speaking of Bell, sometimes I wonder if how Bell and McCaw turned out for us after fairly successful first seasons and getting meaningful run ended up shaking Kerr’s faith in trusting youngsters like that again, to the point of where we are now with JK and Mood
Plausible theory. Or maybe Kerr is just getting old. When he came in he was like Steph play more, Steph and Klay you are ready to be the GOAT backcourt, David Lee sit down, Draymond is ready, Iguodala you're coming off the bench. Bogut you're barely starting.
Now he just checks a player's age before putting them in. The larger the number, the more minutes you'll play. OK that's really unfair, he plays young guys; but there's a flavor of it.
Exactly right. If Klay and Wiggins and Draymond want to revolt because they have less PT, then do we really need that kind of non-team-oriented thinking?
I wonder if Kerr is seeing this as his last year of coaching (ever or at least for awhile) and wants to spend it running with his legacy guys for a “last dance” sake, whether it’s a winning season or not. I dunno. The change from when he first got to Golden State to where he seems to be now looks fairly drastic, so it’s like, how do you explain what’s looking like a flame out like this, ya know?
He has not been good now for nearly 1.5 seasons - both as a people coach and as a game coach.
He has not been able to control Dray. He had the nerve to say that "punch should have been kept in-house".
Then we say his game coaching in the US world cup - Brandon Ingram was also very upset at how the World cup strategy was played out with Kerrs small ball rotations!
Maybe he needs a sabbatical, as I have been saying for a while!
Do you think leaking the video of Poole getting punched served him well? I certainly don’t. I think it was embarrassing for him to have everyone see it and talk about it for months on end. The entire season became about Poole vs. Draymond. He wasn’t allowed to just be a basketball player. Every thing he did was psycho-analyzed and used as evidence for why he was a victim or why he deserved it. Do you think that was in Poole’s benefit?
That’s why it needed to be kept in-house. Tired of it being framed as just Kerr being pro-Draymond.
His statement when it came out was bothersome. And his follow up was worse - there was no impactful punishment for Dray. Maybe Kerr is not all to blame for that as the FO was very likely part of it, including allowing Dray to be at the ring ceremony!
Things going against JK successfully demanding a trade here:
1. He's starting and playing well
2. He's under team control for the next 2 years
3. If he sits out, there are capable guys who can play well enough
4. If he sits out, he loses what he wants: minutes
5. He's relatively cheap
A trade request will be interesting... he doesn't have a lot of leverage... the Warriors are not going to be trading him for an uninteresting return...
6. He's the second best player on the team. If you trade him, prepare for a lot more Wiggins. How's that been going?
7. If you trade him, you'll never see me again, nor fans like me. He's not just good in an ordinary way, he inspires us with the potential to be world class. he's not there, but unlike say TJD, we can see how Kuminga can be not just really good but great and that's exciting. No one is all that threatened by losing people like me as fans, I don't mean that. I mean that the goal is to not just win but be amazed. JK is the funnest new thing about the Warriors since the big three got big.
It's weird how Podz and TJD who are rookies are getting playing time, but JK and Moody who are in their 3rd year in the NBA aren't getting playing time.
OMG people, it's just not as easy as "stick him on Payton and leave him in the corner"... Denver would have run a Spain screen to get JK switched onto Jokic (again) and given the ball to Jokic at the high post (again) to just bully JK down to the basket (again)...
If they were going to slow it down, I'm 100% on board with: they should have played Kuminga to have some semblance of isolation offense, defense be damned.
My point is that the idea of "why didn't they just put Kuminga on Peyton?!?!?!" is just dumb. The offense gets to influence what happens, so you don't get to just decide where your defenders are going to be.
False. "Michael Malone benched his proven veteran Michael Porter Jr. in crunch time in favor of a second-year backup, Peyton Watson, who seized the opportunity by playing excellent team defense and hitting a massive 3-pointer late in the fourth."
Please tell me you A. Knew who Peyton Watson was and B. thought he should play over MPJ down the stretch. Malone took a gamble and it paid off. He has options and so does Kerr. Which coach is right now making the right gambles?
I did know who Peyton Watson was because we’d played the nuggets twice before. I don’t think pulling MPJ who did very little that game is impressive or different than anything Kerr has done this season.
The only way I see this playing out well is if wiggins completely makes way for JK - that might mean trading him away! Otherwise its going to be another aKerr-lead disaster like last season!
I think Steve needs to join Klay and Draymond as far as evolving and accepting reality at this point in the run too. You have capable young guys on your roster glued to the bench. How about changing things up a little bit and getting them involved instead of stubbornly sticking to what you know. You work with what you have and play to their strengths. I feel like Steve is forcing what he has to work with what he's envisioning.
With Draymond back it'll takes some pressure off the guards. I don't think he needs to be an elite floor general that has the ball the whole possession. Just continue to be the connector.
Play the players who are playing well, consistently. There are only 3 or 4 on this team currently - Steph, JK, Podz, Dario - everyone elses time has to be based on how they are doing
JK was not playing that well defensively last game...
This is Kerr's problem this year, there many good players on this roster, but very few players playing well consistently, and even Dario & Podz, who've played consistently, are flawed and terrible in lots of matchups.
Steve is attached to the OGs at a time when the OGs are not a pure path to success, so yes, he has to adapt, and thus far he is refusing to, to the point where he is insisting on running a system as if Draymond is there when Draymond is not and we have nothing close to a proxy for him.
Duby Dub Dubs with some perspective in a new post: https://dubnationhq.com/p/it-could-be-worse-no-really
It's interesting that Steph is the kind of leader who doesn't really lead in these ways. He's not going to take some kind of stance on whom to trade or whom to play more or less; at least not publicly. I'm not saying good or bad, I'm saying that seems to be who he has been but he could do it differently.
I think Steph does not like confrontation. But you need to be in certain situations.
I don’t see it as anything but 100% good that he doesn’t take public stances about who on the team should be benched or traded. And I don’t see how he could realistically do it differently.
I think he’s more akin to Tim Duncan in that way. But then you need a Gregg Popovich-type in that case. I don’t think that’s who Kerr is, and it definitely shouldn’t be outsourced to Draymond
https://twitter.com/TheDunkCentral/status/1743333867191484670
Moses Moody’s camp is frustrated with his role in Golden State, per
@JDumasReports
“The people around Moses are frustrated with the lack of a role and consistency.”
----------------------------------------------------
annddddddddddddddddddddd here's the disgruntled Moody news.
They should be. I’m glad they’re grumbling.
Naturally!
I mean how could they feel any other way?
"Moses Moody’s camp is frustrated with his role in Golden State, per
@JDumasReports
“The people around Moses are frustrated with the lack of a role and consistency.”
(Via @957thegame)"
Kerr told ESPN's Kendra Andrews that "there is a world where [Kuminga] can start for the rest of the year," as long as the third-year forward continues to play well and the team wins.
That's some kind of bullshit talk. Disappointing. Really trying hard to avoid committing to someone he should be committing to.
"This world is not Earth, of course. Could be Saturn, probably more like Uranus," said Kerr, giggling like a schoolgirl.
I saw that quote before Thursday's game, btw...
Slater and Shams piece on Kuminga’s discontent: https://theathletic.com/5181608/2024/01/05/jonathan-kuminga-steve-kerr-warriors-lineup/
If you read closely, the only new news is that source(s) close to JK says Thursday was “the straw that broke the camel’s back.” No trade demands yet, but loss of faith.
1. Yes JK needed to play more. Kerr was wrong. OF COURSE JK should be mad after playing a good offensive game that he wasn’t on court for crunch time. Of course this is a loss of faith in Kerr, since he kept JK out and the team blew it.
2. I get it though. Kerr thought it was a blowout and he could sneak in some Wiggins-building time in semi-garbage time. Whether you think AW is a starter, a backup, or trade fodder, Wiggins-building is good. Absolutely everything had to go wrong for 6 minutes for Kerr to be wrong.
3. In general, I do think JK has been improving on offense a lot. His on-ball defense against non-bigs continues to excel, and his team defense is erratic but I think is improving. JK is clearly better than AW right now.
4. It might be that Shams/Slater are blowing something out of proportion. But @dogwild also reported separately sources said that JK was enraged. @dogwild is a Kerr hater but I believe it if he claims he has a source.
5. Having said all that… what is JK’s team’s endgame here with the public quotes? Clearly they want either Kerr to go all in on JK’s development (the quotes really don’t help) or have JK traded to another team (the quotes help in the sense that they will make Kerr and MJD angry and think he’s unprofessional and can’t function on this team, but they undercut any value GSW gets back which makes it less likely that JK gets traded). I think public silence is optimal here, no matter how unfairly Kerr treats JK.
6. If this was still a Bob Myers team, I’d expect GSW to just try to get through it and mature their way out of this. But since it’s a MDJ team, I don’t discount any shocking trades, not after the Poole/CP3/etc stunner in his first week.
7. Some kind of consolidation trade (like four quarters for a 50 cent piece) seems unavoidable at this point. Just be prepared to be mad at the return. What is Wiggins really going to get in return? I think JK, Podz and Trayce are the only ones with real trade value right now. I don’t see any game changers available coming back. You might like Markkanen or Siakam but their GMs are two of the biggest ripoff artists in the game.
8. If BP and Trayce weren’t replacement starter level right away, then probably Moody and JK would have had the minutes they need and want. Sometimes a blessing is also a curse.
What if I think Wiggins is who he’s always been except for a couple years of new scenery and playing for his next paycheck so Wiggins building makes you the old school Timberwolves? Can I be pissed off then?
How bout Caruso or Bogdan?
On the other hand, Lakers somehow managed to get DLo, Vanderbilt, and Beasley for Westbrook and a couple of scraps last season.
I WANT TO BELIEVE
You had me at "Kerr was wrong." He's not Jesus. He makes mistakes. This also doesn't mean he's a terrible terrible coach. he's a good coach but he's been slow to adapt and fans are in the right to call it out.
https://twitter.com/BrickMuse/status/1743142569620730324
This is just so bad here. Steph draws all of that attention and instead of putting pressure on the rim Wiggins just stands there in the corner. Good teams are either getting a wide open dunk there or an open CP3 3. WE ARE NOT MAKING TEAMS PAY FOR TRAPPING STEPH!!!!!!
Steph needs to outlet that to Paul... Wiggins isn't going to get a lob there, so Wiggins is waiting for the advantage to be created. I guess you want CP3 to cut to the pocket to receive the pass?
Wiggins flashing to the rim would have forced Murray's hand and got CP3 a good look. That was an awful read from Steph but either one of those two has to make a better move to create the advantage.
CP3 was providing an outlet at the top of the key... I supsect Wiggins is waiting for the next action. It's true that Wiggins flashing to the rim would have got Murray to sink in a little... but Steph really just needs to give that to Chris... if Steph gives it to Chris, either he or Wiggins is getting an open jumper. It's really just a horrible read.
but yeah.... the only realistic play there is for CP3 to receive that escape pass and making a quick decision. Most likely shoot. You just can't make that pass in that situation.
Any situation...
MAKE MURRAY COMMIT! CP3 and Wiggins camping at the 3pt line allowed him to play free safety on both. That's an easy steal
Bingo!
If you agree that the purpose of the Warrior organization is to be a soft and safe place for Klay Wiggins Draymond and Kerr to enjoy all their past glories and not be subject to criticism, then we don't think the same way. It's a sport.
Come on Kerr, get competitive. Get real with them. Risk offending Wiggins's fragile ego. Tell Draymond to be calm or not play. Tell Klay if he gets wild with his shot selection again, he's benched.
I'm not an advocate for a mean tone cigar chomping Vince Lombardi coach, but I also am not down with accepting vet failure as "they have fragile egos let's not offend them."
Forget trading Kuminga, Moody, or even Wiggins. What do you think would happen if we traded Kerr for Spoelstra right about now?
Meritocracia so quero eso.
I would love it as we would be near the top of the western conference since the players who are playing hard, well and consistently will be getting the minutes!
Warriors aren't falling apart. They're playing too well to be falling apart. They're very close to being a good team, and have been all season.
They don't have a closing lineup they believe in, or anything to rely on down the stretch other than games where Steph is hot and hits some step backs. From that standpoint, Kerr is lost. He keeps seeking combos and figuring it out on the fly. It's not all his fault because there's not been a lot of consistency, but the grab bag approach is exacerbating the problem.
Notes:
There was a play in early 4th quarter where Peyton Watson grabbed a board, and no one stopped the ball and he dunked it. The worst offender was Wiggins, who was in front of him, but then gave a free runway to the basket. They called a TO right after and I assumed they'd put Kuminga in for him because it was such a soft play.
Kuminga should have played more last night. This is similar to the game they lost close where Moody should have played over Klay.
That said, if there's any truth to the Shams report, Kuminga needs to put a sock in it. Horrible timing. Not interested in "what's good for Jonathan now". vs "what's good for the team".
They are falling apart culturally if they have lost JK and Moody, who are still two of the better 21-and-under players in the league.
I think Kuminga should say *MORE* not less. I haven't heard him quoted saying what you're quoting but if he is, he'd be the only one speaking the truth on the whole team.
And that would help, what, exactly?
Hopefully, Kerr would actually respond and we'd learn more than just "We need to play more together." Or better yet, he'd reward good play and not bad play, which is all we're asking.
Disagree, only see it being counter productive.
I too have thought a lot about Wiggins on that Watson dunk.
Your last sentence resonates as well- I really have a hard time ascertaining whether Kuminga is an ego-first problem for the team, or whether Kerr is stuck-in-his-ways problem for the team. Probably some degree of both. I just know that Kuminga is a not-fully-formed very good player who we need on this team, and Kerr appears to be botching his development. And don't get me started on Moody.
The Siakam noise is heating up..... I don't think I want it to happen but it feels.... so.... imminent.
Siakam is like a 1% shot from three I don't get it
Siakam said that he doesn't want to sign an extension with his new team.
If it means shedding Wiggins long-term salary or maybe even Dray's long-term salary, maximum offseason flexibility might be the best we can do to really improve the team.
That would be the exact shitty return I don't want.
I feel like Shams is overexaggerating what Slater is saying about JK losing faith in Kerr kind of like how Shams said that GP2 will be out for a while due to a tear in his muscles, but didn't specify the severity.
https://www.si.com/nba/2023/09/27/damian-lillard-trade-shams-charania-deleted-tweet-raptors-mistake
“There’s a reason we didn’t hand them jobs to start the season. It doesn’t work that way. If you did that, you’d have a revolt. You have to honor the work that the veterans have done,” Kerr said two weeks ago about his decision not to play his young players straight out of training camp.
No, Steve. The fans and even the players choose to revolt or not based on one thing: are you winning? That's it. When the Dubs were winning a lot, we could throw Jordan Bell out there and call him the Next Big Big and ... whatever. But acting in fear of a veteran "revolt" is the sign of a leader who has given up his leadership.
Speaking of Bell, sometimes I wonder if how Bell and McCaw turned out for us after fairly successful first seasons and getting meaningful run ended up shaking Kerr’s faith in trusting youngsters like that again, to the point of where we are now with JK and Mood
Plausible theory. Or maybe Kerr is just getting old. When he came in he was like Steph play more, Steph and Klay you are ready to be the GOAT backcourt, David Lee sit down, Draymond is ready, Iguodala you're coming off the bench. Bogut you're barely starting.
Now he just checks a player's age before putting them in. The larger the number, the more minutes you'll play. OK that's really unfair, he plays young guys; but there's a flavor of it.
Exactly right. If Klay and Wiggins and Draymond want to revolt because they have less PT, then do we really need that kind of non-team-oriented thinking?
Slater is gonna be on 95.7 in the 11 o’clock hour to add more detail to this.
I wonder if Kerr is seeing this as his last year of coaching (ever or at least for awhile) and wants to spend it running with his legacy guys for a “last dance” sake, whether it’s a winning season or not. I dunno. The change from when he first got to Golden State to where he seems to be now looks fairly drastic, so it’s like, how do you explain what’s looking like a flame out like this, ya know?
He has not been good now for nearly 1.5 seasons - both as a people coach and as a game coach.
He has not been able to control Dray. He had the nerve to say that "punch should have been kept in-house".
Then we say his game coaching in the US world cup - Brandon Ingram was also very upset at how the World cup strategy was played out with Kerrs small ball rotations!
Maybe he needs a sabbatical, as I have been saying for a while!
Do you think leaking the video of Poole getting punched served him well? I certainly don’t. I think it was embarrassing for him to have everyone see it and talk about it for months on end. The entire season became about Poole vs. Draymond. He wasn’t allowed to just be a basketball player. Every thing he did was psycho-analyzed and used as evidence for why he was a victim or why he deserved it. Do you think that was in Poole’s benefit?
That’s why it needed to be kept in-house. Tired of it being framed as just Kerr being pro-Draymond.
His statement when it came out was bothersome. And his follow up was worse - there was no impactful punishment for Dray. Maybe Kerr is not all to blame for that as the FO was very likely part of it, including allowing Dray to be at the ring ceremony!
Yeah, couple it with never really taking a prolonged break for his back (outside of when he was rehabbing it) it might be time for a leave of absence
I have a feeling this is going to quickly turn into a trade request
Even without a trade request.
It's pretty clear some package of JK + CP3 is the best trade package the Warriors have.
Things going against JK successfully demanding a trade here:
1. He's starting and playing well
2. He's under team control for the next 2 years
3. If he sits out, there are capable guys who can play well enough
4. If he sits out, he loses what he wants: minutes
5. He's relatively cheap
A trade request will be interesting... he doesn't have a lot of leverage... the Warriors are not going to be trading him for an uninteresting return...
6. He's the second best player on the team. If you trade him, prepare for a lot more Wiggins. How's that been going?
7. If you trade him, you'll never see me again, nor fans like me. He's not just good in an ordinary way, he inspires us with the potential to be world class. he's not there, but unlike say TJD, we can see how Kuminga can be not just really good but great and that's exciting. No one is all that threatened by losing people like me as fans, I don't mean that. I mean that the goal is to not just win but be amazed. JK is the funnest new thing about the Warriors since the big three got big.
Wiggins was the best option last night!
Single game plus minus can be deceiving so we should ignore that Kuminga was a team best +6 and Wiggins was a team worst -14.
Then why was Wiggins the best option? In what way did he take over or even provide medium value in the fourth?
Dude I was completely agreeing with you and piling on.
I think (hope?) he's being sarcastic
Yeah, but it's going to be Moody instead... or maybe Moody alongside JK as well
Probably both, and the return will suck, and there will be sadness
The Golden State Warriors Are Falling Apart:
https://www.theringer.com/nba/2024/1/5/24026439/golden-state-warriors-steve-kerr-steph-curry-nikola-jokic
Echoes a lot of the down sentiments here... really hoping the team can figure it out.
>Malone has a willingness to gamble on youth and energy in high-stakes moments, while Kerr largely leans on only his veterans.
That's a harsh fact.
Same is true for Spoelstra playing the young ones in Miami.
Now tell me how many minutes Kerr gave to the Warriors' rookies...
It's weird how Podz and TJD who are rookies are getting playing time, but JK and Moody who are in their 3rd year in the NBA aren't getting playing time.
I like the article pointing out that with JK they could've put him on Watson to give them not-puny size as the low man on defense.
Hell, same applies to Moody too but he's dead or something apparently.
OMG people, it's just not as easy as "stick him on Payton and leave him in the corner"... Denver would have run a Spain screen to get JK switched onto Jokic (again) and given the ball to Jokic at the high post (again) to just bully JK down to the basket (again)...
So you'd rather have smaller Podz or CP3 as the low man and last line of defense on the help rotations?
Playing small has its cost and the Warriors aren't even getting the benefits since they don't play fast.
If they were going to slow it down, I'm 100% on board with: they should have played Kuminga to have some semblance of isolation offense, defense be damned.
My point is that the idea of "why didn't they just put Kuminga on Peyton?!?!?!" is just dumb. The offense gets to influence what happens, so you don't get to just decide where your defenders are going to be.
His corner 3 to bring them within 2 was so underrated. He misses that shot and I'm confident we would have won
"Malone has a willingness to gamble on youth and energy in high-stakes moments, while Kerr largely leans on only his veterans."
Malone has no choice but to play those players, there’s no other options on the roster. I’m willing to bet he might rely more on vets if he had ours.
False. "Michael Malone benched his proven veteran Michael Porter Jr. in crunch time in favor of a second-year backup, Peyton Watson, who seized the opportunity by playing excellent team defense and hitting a massive 3-pointer late in the fourth."
Please tell me you A. Knew who Peyton Watson was and B. thought he should play over MPJ down the stretch. Malone took a gamble and it paid off. He has options and so does Kerr. Which coach is right now making the right gambles?
I did know who Peyton Watson was because we’d played the nuggets twice before. I don’t think pulling MPJ who did very little that game is impressive or different than anything Kerr has done this season.
No lies detected
The only way I see this playing out well is if wiggins completely makes way for JK - that might mean trading him away! Otherwise its going to be another aKerr-lead disaster like last season!
I really really hope they dont trade JK away!
Trading Wiggins would be ideal at this time.
Doesn't help when the "heartbeat" and one vocal vet on theam is constsntly getting himself suspended.
Man that Andre one is tough.
I think Steve needs to join Klay and Draymond as far as evolving and accepting reality at this point in the run too. You have capable young guys on your roster glued to the bench. How about changing things up a little bit and getting them involved instead of stubbornly sticking to what you know. You work with what you have and play to their strengths. I feel like Steve is forcing what he has to work with what he's envisioning.
But whose minutes are you giving away? This team is just somehow too deep and has too many "good enough" players who need/want more floor time...
Wiggins
I appreciate CP3 for what he has done so far for us but the rise of Podz has made him expendable IMO
I've seen good defenders force Podz to pick up the ball on the perimeter enough to believe he can truly capably be a PG this year.
CP3 picks up his dribble constantly.
With Draymond back it'll takes some pressure off the guards. I don't think he needs to be an elite floor general that has the ball the whole possession. Just continue to be the connector.
Play the players who are playing well, consistently. There are only 3 or 4 on this team currently - Steph, JK, Podz, Dario - everyone elses time has to be based on how they are doing
JK was not playing that well defensively last game...
This is Kerr's problem this year, there many good players on this roster, but very few players playing well consistently, and even Dario & Podz, who've played consistently, are flawed and terrible in lots of matchups.
ok - but he was offensivey better then most on the team and it was not like the others were somehow stopping the nuggets from scoring either?
This is the part that complicates things
An under 500 team with too many good players. Sounds sus.
Yeah, it's weird...
Too many decent but ultimately one way guys.
And the problem is our core vets look like part of that one-way (sometimes no way) group.
Steve is attached to the OGs at a time when the OGs are not a pure path to success, so yes, he has to adapt, and thus far he is refusing to, to the point where he is insisting on running a system as if Draymond is there when Draymond is not and we have nothing close to a proxy for him.
Okay I'm basically saying FIND A ROLE FOR MOODY. HE IS FREAKING CAPABLE.