According to NBA reporter Marc Stein: "The only certainty regarding Iguodala's plans for the coming season is that he intends to announce his play-or-retire decision at age 38 on his weekly podcast with Evan Turner. The Warriors, I’m told, do expect Iguodala to play for one more season but are prepared for any outcome and are also open to bringing the 18-year veteran back on his timetable."
OT: Spain has given one US player (Lorenzo Brown) the Spanish citizenship. He has never even been to Spain… Could we please do this with Steph for the German national team? Just for a little while during the off season?
So the adamancy of Myers on the 14 man payroll made me wonder:
Current roster:
Starters: Steph/Klay/Wiggs/Dray/Loon
Rotation Bench: Poole/MM/JK/DDV/JMG/Wise
Youngsters: PBJ/RR
That leaves 1 spot and two 2-ways.
If Andre fills that last spot, and he sticks with the 14-man roster, then there will be a 2-way crunch to be sure.
QW gets one 2-way spot for certain, I think. Who will get the other one? Personally, I'd like to see it go to TW as a developmental spot, but maybe they will want to give it to someone more likely to contribute useful minutes this season? Is there anyone in camp who qualifies for a 2-way who could contribute useful minutes this season?
* Firstly, the most important news: Myers wants to keep all three: Wiggs, Poole, and Dray.
Myers: “I think with both those guys and Draymond, the goal, we want all three as long as we can have them,” Myers said. “We’ve had conversations with all three players, their representatives. I’m not going to get into the likelihood or not of any of them getting done. But we know how important they are. … I don’t know that we win a championship last year if you take any of them away. Draymond, his pedigree here, he’ll go down as one of the best Warriors ever to put on a uniform.
“So we know the value of all those guys. Too early for me to say what will happen or won’t happen. But the goal is to keep those guys, all three of them, as long as we can. But again, there’s financial components.”
[When] I asked Myers specifically if the team could be thinking that Draymond might have to be offloaded in the future, Myers’ reaction was instant and fairly visceral. "No ... we're going to do everything we can to keep him in the fold."
[Maybe] the Warriors have figured out a way they can do all this, and just hearing Myers ruminate about this makes me think that Wiggins, Poole and/or Draymond might be more likely to land extensions in the next few weeks or months than I initially thought.
Re: Andre
"He is one of the few people in the world that can look at Curry or Draymond or Klay in the eye and meet them at their level, but also grab a Jordan Poole or (James) Wiseman or (Jonathan) Kuminga and speak to them and encourage them. There’s no one else in the league that can do that for our team. And we think he can still play and help us in certain spots. We really want him back."
* Plan is to roster 14 players, Andre included.
* Wiseman is improving every day.
Overall, great article, positive spin on the contract stuff, and it's getting my psyched to see training camp. Get a sub, if you can, or maybe just listen to the pod. There's a lot more elaboration on all the points, plus stuff on KD/Steph, Finals series, etc.
Eurobasket Semifinal tonight. Spain are going to be such a huge challenge for Germany, but as Kevin Garnett so aptly noted anything is possible. I can't wait for tonight.
I can see Curry, family asleep, late into the night, replaying that scene with LeBron on his TV, over and over again, as he strokes his white hairless cat like Ernst Stavro Blofeld. "Not four, not five, not six ...". The cat purrs as Curry replays his evil pan in his mind, over and over again. Tired, the DVD shut off, the numbers echo in Curry's mind as the Television turns to snow. He settles down, and begins to count the Larry O'Brian Trophies jumping over the fence.
BTW. Did it surprise anyone that no opposing coach took and obvious take foul on Wiggins given his yips at the free throw line. Granted, it is admirable not to resort to such measures. But if I was an opposing coach, I might do it once in a series or even once in a game, just to put it in his head. I have never liked that strategy, but all is fair in love and war and this was war. Just saying. There is a head game that happens within the game, and no one will ever know if this was a missed opportunity for a Warrior's opponent.
I am so sorry, it's been over a week since I have said ...
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I love you Andre, but the Brazilian Blur took a job in Sacra-tomato, and you had the most cush job on the Warriors staff, "Head of Player Chit Chat", available to you and you said, "No." Don't get me wrong, but #15 on the roster is yours, ready to sign on the last day you can be eligible for the playoffs. But #14, my favorite number since my youth and love of A. J. Foyt, goes to the passing savant, the man who put the Do in Purdue, the man who put the Purr in perfect pass, my one and only Trev.
Oh, blessed Gods of basketball, I prostrate myself before thee, please bring this passing wizard to the Warriors. Make my life suck, such that Warrior fans can shall bask in the glory of the over the back, no look pass assist to one cutting Kuminga.
The Federer retirement news reminded me of this essay from a ways back from David Foster Wallace - here's a link and a brief excerpt; I highly recommend the whole thing:
"Kinesthetic virtuoso or no, Roger Federer is now dominating the largest, strongest, fittest, best-trained and -coached field of male pros who’ve ever existed, with everyone using a kind of nuclear racket that’s said to have made the finer calibrations of kinesthetic sense irrelevant, like trying to whistle Mozart during a Metallica concert."
Back from a week in England for a wedding. We drove by Poole, but unfortunately did not have the time to stop and have a look. Still, it was still a little thrill to see the road sign.
I've been reading the tributes to Roger Federer as they've poured in today after he announced his retirement. I particularly liked this one:
“His legacy is grace,” said Mary Carillo, a former player and current broadcaster. “Grace in the way he played. Grace under pressure. Grace with children. Grace with kings, with queens. Grace when he moved, when he sat still, when he won, when he lost...It was just in his bones to be that way.”
Here's another one I really enjoyed: Nick Kyrgios, the temperamental Australian star, has said that Federer is the only player who has ever made him feel like he really did not know what he was doing on a tennis court.
I think you could fairly apply either of those quotes to Steph. Their greatness, both as athletes and as human beings, is comparable.
I have been privileged to be able to watch Federer throughout his career, just as I have been privileged to watch Steph from his first day in a Warriors uniform. Two of my all-time favorite athletes.
"In the big picture, the Cavs got an inefficient backup point guard, greased the wheels a little for the LeBron sign and trade and Love’s arrival, got Mozgov who was low-key very good for 3 Finals games before obsolescence, and punted most of their other picks, so their drafting did not help extend their dynasty. "
There seems to be some cut and paste error going on here...
This is going to sound very self congratulatory but at the time in the 2012 draft I really thought the Heat should take Draymond. They'd just won a title with a 33 year old Battier playing small ball 4, and I thought Draymond would be a great successor in that spot.
Prior to that I thought Pat Beverley was an interesting prospect for their roster, but they cut him after LeBron arrived.
It's an interesting 20/20 to go, "what if" with a couple players like that and LeBron staying in Miami. But even if they stick around a couple years, does LeBron really notice their talent and value? Or does he try to ship them off at the first chance for a more established star?
This entire series and the work that has been put into it is noteworthy. Bravo. There is a great attention to details and relates to me a proverb in my own business: numbers don't lie. Numbers and statistics can tell a story. But behind those numbers lie the motivations, judgements, choices and actions of human beings. And this, to me, is where the Warriors separate themselves from the rest of the field. The Warriors are the religious zealots of the NBA. They have a basketball prophet, they have a system, they have an organization built around a moral qualities: unselfishness, hard work, team first, equanimity, humility, hard word, an egalitarian culture and the 2 most important, Joy and Reverence for the game.
The Warrior's Dynasty is built on faith and the belief that, in adhering to the principles that they ascribe to, by acting in accordance with their own values, that they will ascend to the limits of their abilities, and whatever the results may be, they shall be accepted. With faith, one cannot fear failure. And when one does not fear failure, one can play like the Warriors play in the Finals. Fearless. Down 0-1. Down 1-2. Don't matter.
The Warriors are built on a set of values and beliefs that supersede the sport itself and, in so doing, these values protect it from the pitfalls of most NBA front offices:
The Championship means more than anything.
Blame it on the player, this one is not good enough.
Blame it on the coach, you should be able to win with these players.
Draft the 19 year old kids and believe that they are saviors.
We can't pay this player that much.
Go down the list, one move after another, and you see bad move after bad move, all decisions based on doubt, fear or greed.
But the Warriors are different. They have an organization built on trust, faith, commitment, respect for the game and everyone in it. And it is these qualities that drive their decision making and their draft picks. I'm not sure if the Warriors are drafting players or believers. "Have faith in us and your abilities shall be unleashed." It's the Warriors Way. "Passeth the Ball and thou shalt Receivith the Ball back in a more fortuitous position."
The Warriors didn't just pick good players. The Warriors remained true to their 'core' beliefs. And they reaped what they sowed.
As referenced here, Myers said Patrick Baldwin and Ryan Rollins, who both missed Summer League with minor injuries, should both be full-go for the start of camp two weekends from now.
This was my "Morpheus is fighting Neo" moment!
https://youtu.be/CIypRuYe5Fg?t=322
According to NBA reporter Marc Stein: "The only certainty regarding Iguodala's plans for the coming season is that he intends to announce his play-or-retire decision at age 38 on his weekly podcast with Evan Turner. The Warriors, I’m told, do expect Iguodala to play for one more season but are prepared for any outcome and are also open to bringing the 18-year veteran back on his timetable."
Link: https://syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/10049358-warriors-rumors-andre-iguodala-return-expected-by-gsw-amid-retirement-buzz.amp.html
OT: Spain has given one US player (Lorenzo Brown) the Spanish citizenship. He has never even been to Spain… Could we please do this with Steph for the German national team? Just for a little while during the off season?
So the adamancy of Myers on the 14 man payroll made me wonder:
Current roster:
Starters: Steph/Klay/Wiggs/Dray/Loon
Rotation Bench: Poole/MM/JK/DDV/JMG/Wise
Youngsters: PBJ/RR
That leaves 1 spot and two 2-ways.
If Andre fills that last spot, and he sticks with the 14-man roster, then there will be a 2-way crunch to be sure.
QW gets one 2-way spot for certain, I think. Who will get the other one? Personally, I'd like to see it go to TW as a developmental spot, but maybe they will want to give it to someone more likely to contribute useful minutes this season? Is there anyone in camp who qualifies for a 2-way who could contribute useful minutes this season?
So is this the open thread now?
New TK Show interview with Myers dropped. Lots of juicy tidbits.
https://theathletic.com/3596534/2022/09/16/warriors-bob-myers-interview-kawakami/
I'll highlight some important ones:
* Firstly, the most important news: Myers wants to keep all three: Wiggs, Poole, and Dray.
Myers: “I think with both those guys and Draymond, the goal, we want all three as long as we can have them,” Myers said. “We’ve had conversations with all three players, their representatives. I’m not going to get into the likelihood or not of any of them getting done. But we know how important they are. … I don’t know that we win a championship last year if you take any of them away. Draymond, his pedigree here, he’ll go down as one of the best Warriors ever to put on a uniform.
“So we know the value of all those guys. Too early for me to say what will happen or won’t happen. But the goal is to keep those guys, all three of them, as long as we can. But again, there’s financial components.”
[When] I asked Myers specifically if the team could be thinking that Draymond might have to be offloaded in the future, Myers’ reaction was instant and fairly visceral. "No ... we're going to do everything we can to keep him in the fold."
[Maybe] the Warriors have figured out a way they can do all this, and just hearing Myers ruminate about this makes me think that Wiggins, Poole and/or Draymond might be more likely to land extensions in the next few weeks or months than I initially thought.
Re: Andre
"He is one of the few people in the world that can look at Curry or Draymond or Klay in the eye and meet them at their level, but also grab a Jordan Poole or (James) Wiseman or (Jonathan) Kuminga and speak to them and encourage them. There’s no one else in the league that can do that for our team. And we think he can still play and help us in certain spots. We really want him back."
* Plan is to roster 14 players, Andre included.
* Wiseman is improving every day.
Overall, great article, positive spin on the contract stuff, and it's getting my psyched to see training camp. Get a sub, if you can, or maybe just listen to the pod. There's a lot more elaboration on all the points, plus stuff on KD/Steph, Finals series, etc.
Eurobasket Semifinal tonight. Spain are going to be such a huge challenge for Germany, but as Kevin Garnett so aptly noted anything is possible. I can't wait for tonight.
"Not four, not five, not six ..."
I can see Curry, family asleep, late into the night, replaying that scene with LeBron on his TV, over and over again, as he strokes his white hairless cat like Ernst Stavro Blofeld. "Not four, not five, not six ...". The cat purrs as Curry replays his evil pan in his mind, over and over again. Tired, the DVD shut off, the numbers echo in Curry's mind as the Television turns to snow. He settles down, and begins to count the Larry O'Brian Trophies jumping over the fence.
BTW. Did it surprise anyone that no opposing coach took and obvious take foul on Wiggins given his yips at the free throw line. Granted, it is admirable not to resort to such measures. But if I was an opposing coach, I might do it once in a series or even once in a game, just to put it in his head. I have never liked that strategy, but all is fair in love and war and this was war. Just saying. There is a head game that happens within the game, and no one will ever know if this was a missed opportunity for a Warrior's opponent.
I am so sorry, it's been over a week since I have said ...
T
R
V
I
O
N
I love you Andre, but the Brazilian Blur took a job in Sacra-tomato, and you had the most cush job on the Warriors staff, "Head of Player Chit Chat", available to you and you said, "No." Don't get me wrong, but #15 on the roster is yours, ready to sign on the last day you can be eligible for the playoffs. But #14, my favorite number since my youth and love of A. J. Foyt, goes to the passing savant, the man who put the Do in Purdue, the man who put the Purr in perfect pass, my one and only Trev.
Oh, blessed Gods of basketball, I prostrate myself before thee, please bring this passing wizard to the Warriors. Make my life suck, such that Warrior fans can shall bask in the glory of the over the back, no look pass assist to one cutting Kuminga.
The Federer retirement news reminded me of this essay from a ways back from David Foster Wallace - here's a link and a brief excerpt; I highly recommend the whole thing:
https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/20/sports/playmagazine/20federer.html
"Kinesthetic virtuoso or no, Roger Federer is now dominating the largest, strongest, fittest, best-trained and -coached field of male pros who’ve ever existed, with everyone using a kind of nuclear racket that’s said to have made the finer calibrations of kinesthetic sense irrelevant, like trying to whistle Mozart during a Metallica concert."
Back from a week in England for a wedding. We drove by Poole, but unfortunately did not have the time to stop and have a look. Still, it was still a little thrill to see the road sign.
I've been reading the tributes to Roger Federer as they've poured in today after he announced his retirement. I particularly liked this one:
“His legacy is grace,” said Mary Carillo, a former player and current broadcaster. “Grace in the way he played. Grace under pressure. Grace with children. Grace with kings, with queens. Grace when he moved, when he sat still, when he won, when he lost...It was just in his bones to be that way.”
Here's another one I really enjoyed: Nick Kyrgios, the temperamental Australian star, has said that Federer is the only player who has ever made him feel like he really did not know what he was doing on a tennis court.
I think you could fairly apply either of those quotes to Steph. Their greatness, both as athletes and as human beings, is comparable.
I have been privileged to be able to watch Federer throughout his career, just as I have been privileged to watch Steph from his first day in a Warriors uniform. Two of my all-time favorite athletes.
Editorial note:
"In the big picture, the Cavs got an inefficient backup point guard, greased the wheels a little for the LeBron sign and trade and Love’s arrival, got Mozgov who was low-key very good for 3 Finals games before obsolescence, and punted most of their other picks, so their drafting did not help extend their dynasty. "
There seems to be some cut and paste error going on here...
Stephen Curry Shots That Didn't Count... BUT STILL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRoHWVP6hd4
This is going to sound very self congratulatory but at the time in the 2012 draft I really thought the Heat should take Draymond. They'd just won a title with a 33 year old Battier playing small ball 4, and I thought Draymond would be a great successor in that spot.
Prior to that I thought Pat Beverley was an interesting prospect for their roster, but they cut him after LeBron arrived.
It's an interesting 20/20 to go, "what if" with a couple players like that and LeBron staying in Miami. But even if they stick around a couple years, does LeBron really notice their talent and value? Or does he try to ship them off at the first chance for a more established star?
This entire series and the work that has been put into it is noteworthy. Bravo. There is a great attention to details and relates to me a proverb in my own business: numbers don't lie. Numbers and statistics can tell a story. But behind those numbers lie the motivations, judgements, choices and actions of human beings. And this, to me, is where the Warriors separate themselves from the rest of the field. The Warriors are the religious zealots of the NBA. They have a basketball prophet, they have a system, they have an organization built around a moral qualities: unselfishness, hard work, team first, equanimity, humility, hard word, an egalitarian culture and the 2 most important, Joy and Reverence for the game.
The Warrior's Dynasty is built on faith and the belief that, in adhering to the principles that they ascribe to, by acting in accordance with their own values, that they will ascend to the limits of their abilities, and whatever the results may be, they shall be accepted. With faith, one cannot fear failure. And when one does not fear failure, one can play like the Warriors play in the Finals. Fearless. Down 0-1. Down 1-2. Don't matter.
The Warriors are built on a set of values and beliefs that supersede the sport itself and, in so doing, these values protect it from the pitfalls of most NBA front offices:
The Championship means more than anything.
Blame it on the player, this one is not good enough.
Blame it on the coach, you should be able to win with these players.
Draft the 19 year old kids and believe that they are saviors.
We can't pay this player that much.
Go down the list, one move after another, and you see bad move after bad move, all decisions based on doubt, fear or greed.
But the Warriors are different. They have an organization built on trust, faith, commitment, respect for the game and everyone in it. And it is these qualities that drive their decision making and their draft picks. I'm not sure if the Warriors are drafting players or believers. "Have faith in us and your abilities shall be unleashed." It's the Warriors Way. "Passeth the Ball and thou shalt Receivith the Ball back in a more fortuitous position."
The Warriors didn't just pick good players. The Warriors remained true to their 'core' beliefs. And they reaped what they sowed.
Dominos Nabiscos Cookie.
In other news…
**
https://twitter.com/timkawakami/status/1570421960953450497?s=21&t=J6fDVIrE6R-aoiP4QwbdBw
As referenced here, Myers said Patrick Baldwin and Ryan Rollins, who both missed Summer League with minor injuries, should both be full-go for the start of camp two weekends from now.