I would not trade Kuminga, But if they could get Jrue for CP3 and draft picks, with the assurance of a long time deal, I think you have to do it. I could be wrong but I personally think Jrue is one of the most underrated players in the NBA
I love CP3 but man oh man if the Warriors could somehow swap him for Jrue Holiday, in my opinion, they will be a championship team. Holiday is the perfect fit. A tall, physical, hard nosed defender and playmaker who is selfless and can guard almost any position on D. He is EXACTLY who the Warriors should be looking for. Iguodala 2.0
As Sleepy notes below, CP3 isn't the sticking point.
Jrue for CP3 would be a no-brainer. Even CP3 and a couple of firsts for Jrue would be a no-brainer (Warriors firsts are just trade chips right now ... the team can't really absorb any more young players until they see what happens with LQ, Gui, Garuba and Podz).
The equation changes when you include Kuminga in the deal.
I'd consider throwing in unprotected picks a brainer. Lottery-protected picks, sure. Unprotected picks for Giannis, sure. Unprotected picks to upgrade from CP3 to Jrue ... not so sure.
Plus, there's the practical issue that the uncertainty of when next year's pick conveys takes our next few first rounders off the table for trade purposes.
Jrue is many things but tall is not one of them. He's 6'3, the same as Steph. But he has a good wingspan, so he's long, which may be what you were getting at. He is certainly a better and more versatile defender than CP3, although CP3 is not a bad defender for a small. CP3 is the better passer and playmaker but Jrue is good. CP3 is the better shooter. Either can help us but in different ways.
I think we actually need what CP3 brings more than what Jrue brings because we have GP2, plus CP3 is on an expiring contract with a team option, while Jrue has a player option, so the Dubs have more control with CP3. I would not want to give up assets to make that deal.
NBA players just voted him the best defender in the entire league and capable of guarding any position on the court (1-5). That's not my opinion. That's pretty much the highest possible praise. It puts him in a league of his own. Head and shoulders above Chris Paul. A real game changer.
Warriors might be good w/ Paul, but they can't expect to win a championship with 2 starters who play below the rim and a center who is 6'7 on his tippy toes. Maybe in college. But not in the NBA.
> they can't expect to win a championship with 2 starters who play below the rim and a center who is 6'7 on his tippy toes
None of that changes if they swap out CP3 for Jrue.
I think most would trade CP3 for Jrue if it were just a straight up swap, for the reasons noted (size, D, relative youth). But in the real world, they’d likely have to include Kuminga to make PDX bite — which would instantly makes the team older, smaller, and slower. And they’d have to dump Klay next summer to afford Jrue’s $39.4M player option for ‘24-25 — which would put them over the second apron *even without Klay* and incur all kinds of punitive measures.
All this for a 33.5 year old 6’-3” PG who has talked openly about retiring sooner than later, and has an atrocious .476 TS (in 1566 minutes) in his three playoff runs as a Buck.
Maybe we still say yes to a deal, but at least let’s look at the full picture.
BBRef says 6'3" but the NBA says 6'5" so I guess 6'4" is as good a guess as any! What's an inch among friends? 😊
I am a big Jrue fan. But I think Paul is a significantly better passer and playmaker, and that's what we need to lift the bench mob. I'm not sure whether CP3 will start or not or if he does how long he'll be in before taking a breather and maybe coming back with the bench players. Nobody knows that yet.
Their center, Looney, is 6'9" not 6'7" and has a big wingspan. Or did you mean Draymond? The Dubs did win a championship with those two and Bjelica, and now it will be them and Saric, who is 6'10. So I think they can win with that if the other pieces are in place. That remains to be seen.
Yes I agree. The height of their other guards and wings are a big plus. But only if Kerr is willing to play them. For some reason, he doesn't seem to trust alot of his players in the playoffs. Refusing to play Kuminga a real head scratcher. What made the other Warriors teams great were their ability to switch every screen on D due to their athleticism and height. Literally 4 players interchangeable on the court at all times. That led to turnovers and stops and easy buckets in transition which is exactly what the Warriors were missing last year. Good defense leads to good offense. Then again, those teams had a Bogut, Jevale, enforcer in the middle,, when needed. And they didn't have to worry about a Joker, which they do now.
They may wind up using both of these players in certain rotations. No reason they can't play together. Both these players make the Warriors bigger, stronger, and better in and near the paint. If they succeed, Kuminga might be exiled.
If you're correct, the minutes won't be a problem as we will see the stuff that JK is made out of quicker and whether he can fit the Kerr model. If not, trade him and start the engines on the development of the two big guys. I don't think we've had players like TJD and DUG. Can't wait to see what they can add.
Agreed! Love what I've heard about both of them. Just noting that neither is likely to get regular rotation minutes, at least not right out of the gate. I'd assume sporadic minutes initially (i.e. garbage time + injury insurance + Santa Cruz) but obviously that could change over time if they start showing out consistently.
As for JK: based on the stuff Kerr has been MDJ have been saying, it seems clear they're tabbing him for regular rotation minutes (at least 20 MPG?), but yeah, what he shows in those minutes is still TBD.
Generally, I think JK is vying more with Moody and Payton for minutes (plus occasionally spelling Wiggs and Klay) than he is with Garuba and TJD.
>Generally, I think JK is vying more with Moody and Payton for minutes (plus occasionally spelling Wiggs and Klay) than he is with Garuba and TJD.
We know Kerr is earmarking JK for lots of minutes with Paul and Saric. It would be huge for him if he can also take GP2's minutes where he's playing with Steph and Dray/Loon. Because that's how he could gain a spot as the 5th guy in the closing lineup.
Unless Kuminga becomes a reliable 3-point shooter, including contested shots, and improves his handles. If he can do that, he can play either 3 or 4 and won't be exiled. I think that's what Kerr is hoping for.
Gonna zag, Garuba is in his third year just like JK and Moody, he’s just been in shitty situations until now. I think he’s gonna show out and force us to sign him to the main roster before the playoffs roll around.
I have good feelings about TJD but four years of college or no it’s not the NBA and he will take some time to adjust to the physicality.
From what I’ve seen of both, which isn’t much, I’d say they’re pretty evenly matched, but I’d probably bet on TJD based on how so many people have sung his praises in and out of the organization. Importantly, the Warriors have more invested in him.
Garuba has actually passed and defended at the NBA level - his defense is legitimately excellent, which is rare for any player on a rookie contract. Until proven otherwise, he’s several notches above TJD.
Yeah, I've rarely seen anyone get off the floor as fast as he does. Different position/size, but some of these where he flies in from the weak side remind me of (a healthy) Robert Williams III. The fact that he can do that, as well as guarding point-of-attack... crazy.
People forget we played last season with GP2 rehabbing a core injury and missed Wiggins for damn near half the season. Having those two back full time and 100% healthy to start the season matters.
OT Kiki VanDeWeghe's name popped up in a vid and it got me thinking, that's got to be a Top 10 NBA name for sure. Totally subjective but any other worthy candidates to pass the time?
We could always pick on the international players for names that are a mouthful for Yanks: Zydrunas Ilgauskas for instance. There are harder ones to pronounce but I think that beats Vandeweghe. (Kiki did not use capital letters in the middle of his last name.) Or we could go for cute, like Bob Quick (but was he?) or Trooper Washington or Pickles Kennedy or our very own Sleepy Floyd. And just who did Fred Christ think he was anyway, God's gift to basketball? If we go for World B. Free we have to include Metta World Peace.
JZ might not be too thrilled, but there are only Moses Moody (#4) days until media day!
Moses grew up in Little Rock Arkansas and led his first high school to the state finals as a freshman, transferred across town and led his second high school to the state championship as a sophomore.
Then, like his fellow third year player JK, Moses decided to pursue his basketball dreams by moving to a strange, far-away land, namely, Florida, to go to Montverde Academy and help form a high school super-team. His senior year they went 25-0 and won the "national championship", on a team that included Cade Cunningham, Scottie Barnes, Day'Ron Sharpe and Dariq Whitehead who all ended up as first round NBA draft picks.
For fun if you want to watch more HS ball, here is some shaky footage of Montverde playing against a high-school-aged JK, but I didn't see Moses in the part I watched:
This is what Marcus Thompson II had to say about Moses choosing Montverde:
Seeking a greater challenge, he transferred again. At 16, he moved to Florida to attend Montverde Academy. With stud prospects like Cade Cunningham and Precious Achiuwa, Moody knew he’d have to reach another level. And he was so mature, his parents trusted him to go.
“So he goes from being the tallest player on the team and the most respected, to starting over,” said Kareem [his dad], who paused the community work to be hands-on when his youngest son got to high school. “And he wanted it. He said he wanted a bigger challenge.”
After Montverde, he had a number of offers, but decided to go back home and play for Arkansas for former Warriors HC Eric Musselman. He averaged 16.8 points and 5.8 rebounds, and helped get the team to the Elite Eight, while being named SEC Freshman of the Year.
Looking for a challenge again, he declared for the draft, and was picked #14 by the Dubs, just after Chris Duarte. There were reports that the Dubs preferred the older Duarte, and even tried to trade for him after Indy picked him, but luckily for us (imo), the Pacers stuck with Chris, at least until this past summer when they traded him to the Kings. I never quite got the allure of Duarte, even though he was an older and more experienced player.
Of course, the main news out of the draft was that Kendrick Perkins is pronunciation-challenged, and he flubbed trying to say "Moses Moody" multiple times (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E86fWIO35Xc)
With the Warriors, Moses was lauded for his mature attitude and basketball IQ, and after a few stints with the Sea Dubs, he started getting some playing time in his rookie season. He scored a career high (to date) 30 against the Nuggets on March 7th in a game where many of the old guys sat out. He started off with "Did Not Play's" early in the playoffs, but got more minutes against Dallas before sitting most of the Boston series.
It was expected in his sophomore campaign that he would play more than JK, being seen as more ready, but the coaches weren't happy with, well, something, and he got another string of DNPs and Inactives. Alchemy had his theories as to what the issues were, calling out his defensive positioning, false-steps, and not knowing the scouting report (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbfBvMhmcQo&t=572s), which you may or may not agree with. This lead to the viral presser where Moses responded to a question about limited playing time with "It sucks" (https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/warriors/article/moses-moody-rotation-playing-time-17874305.php)
But, he seems to have figured out something that regained the trust of the coaching staff, and averaged 13 minutes a game in the playoffs, shooting 59% from three and averaging 5.8 points, including going 8 for 11 on three pointers against the Lakers, seemingly the only Dub that could hit a three.
Here are some of his best plays, from GSW YouTube:
Consistent with his maturity, he has already started his own foundation and youth camp in Arkansas. He managed to recruit none other than Klay Thompson to help teach this summer, including a lesson on paper airplanes for when the kids get to do press conferences:
I’m always in the mood for talking about Moses. He’s reminding me more and more of my favorite Warrior who’s been easy to underestimate; Loondawg.
Like Lunchbox Looney, he seems like a totally cool dude who works hard, carries himself like a professional beyond his years, cares about his community and is poised to put it all together like Looney did.
Did anyone else watch the Curry camp video and think Moses is looking more “grown man” strong? https://youtu.be/rho-sJ9GfTI?si=4NZ5Yr-aXU8ILi8E He also seemed to improve his lateral quickness, last season, but I’m not sure if he’s actually quicker, or his just his read of plays are, which allows him to move a tick sooner.
The general consensus seems to see “decent rotation player”, but I honestly think he still has a chance be a good chance to be solid starter to /borderline all star and could reach Wiggins-esque level of productivity. Like Wiggins, K-pop campaign aside, I don’t see him as an actual all star because neither seem to push their own hype train and are pretty low key in general.
I agree Moody and Kuminga need to be in the rotation and play meaningful minutes. I am okay with Podz spending most of the year at SC because I don't think he's ready for the NBA. I would not be okay with him sitting on the bench in SF instead. I think TJD should be ready to contribute at least some regular minutes, if not at the start of the season then a couple of months in. I'm not sure about Garuba yet (not our draft pick but a young asset); maybe the same as TJD but I want to see him in the preseason.
Does anyone have any insights into Donovan Williams?
In the latest Warriors Plus Minus pod, around the ~42:00 mark Slate mentioned:
"They've not completely given up on the youth movement. That's why Garuba is exciting to them."
"They brought 50 vets in. They were doing scrimmage after scrimmage after scrimmage all summer long. I've never heard of a team doing all that they did. And Williams was really impressive. There's a reason he made it into camp... he's 6'6 with a 7'0 wingspan."
I have no insight on Williams, but I'm really quite impressed by the ingenuity of having an open competition for the 14th spot. Unless you're getting somebody you're completely sure is going to be great for that roster spot, it's 100% the right move to use it as a way to get the best FAs in the door for your offseason runs & training camp invites, and let the cream rise to the top.
Usman Garuba be like: "Hey, guys! I'm part of the conversation! I'm even in a DNHQ article I might have a real role on --" ********DAMIAN LILLARD TRADED TO MILWAUKEE*****
Usman could be a very useful player as a high IQ screener/passer who can be a high level defender across the other team's 1-5. That's an NBA career right there, and it fits extremely well with how the Warriors play.
There's pretty much zero chance he ever handles the ball as well as Draymond does, and he just doesn't have the bounce/finishing skill that a TJD type player has where he can be
So there's a limit to what he can do offensively. The shot form doesn't give a ton of hope, but if he could get to a PJ Tucker level shooter from the corner he'd be an extremely valuable role player.
I'm curious, like HOW versatile he is defensively? He's listed at 220-230, but he looks pretty thick to me. 250 maybe. Can he give Embiid or Anthony Davis a go and then take KD the next night? Can he take Jayson Tatum for 25 minutes on a given night? If he's got some stopper capability in him the shot hardly matters. Like a non-crazy Anthony Mason type.
The way Kerr raved about DUG in his last presser, I'm starting to think *he* may be the guy who snatches up the #14 roster spot, with the final roster addition being another two-way player. We could do worse at that spot than a young, 7'-4" wingspanned bruiser who guards 1-5, crashes the boards like a madman, moves the ball well, and even hits open threes a little.
He's 2-way eligible and was available on a 2-way... most likely outcome is that he's kept on a 2-way through the season until they are forced to make a decision about adding him to the roster, either by running out of game availability or by worry that somebody else will scoop him up.
At first blush, I thought the trade was bad from the Suns perspective. But I saw some reasoned arguments how it made sense. I think that's just been how the last couple years have gone. All these individual moves make sense, and sure you have a roster with Durant, Booker and Beal, but it doesn't look anything like a title team to me. It's been haphazard, and comparatively I liked the roster construction on the Nets a lot more.
They have no Finals equity left from the team that made it a couple years back. No coaches, no one other than Booker. There's zero familiarity and shared growth here. It's all on the fly. Ayton was the last piece of that.
Do they have a single above average passer? Booker did pretty well last year as a lead, but while they have two elite, and one very good scorers they don't have an elite playmaker. They're built to be an offensive juggernaut, and they will be great. But it doesn't look like a cohesive unit.
Who is their best role player? Other than Durant, who at this age skews more toward a big, do they have a single playoff caliber wing?
They have a deep and talented guard group, but who is an above average passer? Who is an above average defender?
To be a title team they NEED to have two things happen, IMO. 1) Nurkic stays healthy, and plays better than he has the past couple years. 2) Little or Bates-Diop or Watanabe turns into an above average 3 and D wings.
I had somehow forgotten that they acquired Beal. Not sure how I reconciled that with CP3 going to Washington and then the Dubs, but that's what having three small kids and getting little sleep will do to you.
Yeah I think their roster has the same problems that it did at the end of last year, not enough playmaking (after CP3), not enough defensive acumen, and a high injury risk.
Good questions. If hopes are pinned on guys like Bates-Diop, they are gonna be disappointed. I do think they have tremendous talent, but it's an ongoing debate in team sports as to whether you can add talent and expect it to gel immediately. USA play in international settings suggest nope, unless it's absolutely overwhelming talent. I think they will struggle to figure it out, but if they do they could score a whole lotta points. Beal may be the odd man out here. He's used to a green light. But now it would come at the expense of Booker and KD, and that's a lot to justify. We shall see.
Bro... just let them hoop... KD and Book and Beal are gonna cook fools in isolation. They're good enough playmakers that teams can't bring a second defender. It's gonna be so good. Kinda like this:
I forget how talented that OKC squad was. It's amazing to see Steven Adams flying through the air to dunk. They were so young, athletic, and long. Too bad they ran into the buzzsaw that is the Warriors.
I wonder how different the NBA would look if OKC had polished off the Warriors after going up 3-1 and then gone on to win a championship. Would the new NBA be about long, young, athletic guys who take turns isolating?
They are also going to get cooked at the other end. Booker has never been an above average defender, KD is good, but hasn't been exceptionally good since his injury and he is 35 now, and Beal has never been a good defender. The Suns are going to be an entertaining team to watch as they will put up a lot of points as will their opponents.
We agree. My attempt at dry sarcasm clearly didn't land right, lol... I *thought* the glorious highlight video provided would have been both a pleasant blast from the past AND reminder of how the "your turn, my turn" iso heavy offense is goink in the modern NBA, but it was definitely a little too hidden message, lol
FWIW, articles coming out here with a bunch of Jrue landing spots that don't involve the Warriors at all... My money is on Jrue heading to one of the teams that was talked about in the last week WRT Dame... now all those offers that weren't quite good enough for Dame can be just unsweetened a tad for Jrue instead.
I'd love to see him end up on Miami and for Miami and Milwaukee to play in the playoffs with Holiday guarding Lillard like back in 2018 (when he destroyed Lillard), but who knows if Miami and Portland are eager to do business with each other lol.
I get how they think CP for Jrue would be a good deal -- taller, longer, more defense, great glue guy. But the Kuminga thing has to come from people who have given up on him. I just can't see that (or Moody) at all, and that's what it would take to make the salaries match.
Because they need to grab attention and outrage is a good vehicle for that. The Warriors front office is not that stupid, but that won't stop conversation as long as it captures attention.
Because we always wanted him and could never get him.
Did you ever see that episode of Frasier where he ends up going out with his old crush (Jean Smart)? He knows she's totally not a match, but he can't seem to get her out of his head. It's like that...
Why don't you suggest a player The Warriors should get for the 14th spot that would be happy with the small role and minutes that come with being at the end of the rotation and wouldn't take minutes from your boy Kuminga?
I would be glad to have that 14th spot and would not complain about having a small role. Happy to get a court-side seat, talk with Steph about what I'm seeing when he comes to the bench, and cash the checks. And I assure you, I'd be no threat to take minutes from JK or anyone else...
Meyers Leonard (shot 39% from three, and would bust his hump to have another shot in the league). A floor spacing big.
Blake Griffin: He may not have anything left, but as a tweener 3-4 ish guy, would probably be a good fit on the roster. And, he can pass. He might take minutes away from Kuminga, but I really doubt it.
JTA: Lesser contributions than Gay, probably, but more likely to rebound from a poor year. And all the intangibles are pluses (knows the system, will be a great locker room guy).
JTA: I agree that's close to a wash if Gay is healthy, but I wouldn't bet on him staying healthy at his age. JTA is much more likely to be available on any given night.
Leonard: I admit, I'm probably perversely interested in playing 5 out ball with the non-Draymond units.
The thing about Saric is that he's the ONLY big who can space out (unless you think Garuba's 3 point shooting will scale).
While I would rather have a big shooting wing, having Leonard and just sticking him in the corner is an option I find pretty fascinating.
Basically any big wing that's good enough to be signed is already signed, Gay is probably the best of the rest. For a team that could potentially use a big wing in the scenario where Kuminga doesn't pan out, doesn't hurt to bring him in.
I'd still assume that the Warriors are looking around the league for the guy who fills the 14th spot just as much as looking at the players they are bringing in. OKC still has 19 guys signed for only 15 roster spots, are we 100% sure they are keeping Bertans (I think it's likely for financial reasons but I wouldn't be shocked if they cut him)?
If they kick the tires and determine last year wasn’t an outlier, he won’t make the team. If he makes the team, think of him as an older, bigger Otto Porter type player, but in the much less critical 14th man role.
My guess is that similar to Avery Bradley he's a name that the core veterans may have advocated to get a look. So they bring him in and watch him get smoked by younger, better dudes in training camp and then there's no hard feelings when he doesn't make the final roster.
I read somewhere that he's always been a "Net +/-" positive, even with the poor shooting and such... as such, I interpret him as a vet camp invite that's going to come in and show up like a professional, and be the bar against which the younger candidates are tested against. He's a real NBA pro, so if the youngsters can outcompete him, you have a little more confidence that they belong in the NBA than if they were only outcompeting each other & G League guys.
OTOH, if he's actually not regularly giving up blow-bys, he's maybe still got enough lateral movement to be useful on the roster. The objective with the 14th man on THIS roster is to be a useful contributor, not a long term investment. That hyper athletic youngster who doesn't yet know where to be on the floor, but might figure it out as he grows into his body, isn't what we're looking at for this spot.
In other words, you're not confident in his shooting, his passing, his rebounding, his defense, or his special teams. But he does make a good practice dummy for actually talented young players.
He DEFINITELY checks this box. And if he's able to show he's obviously the best player there among all the competitors, that's a sign he's still worthy of an NBA roster spot. Maybe he's really good at complicated defensive rotations, or making quick decisions on offense... things that just don't show up in any of these stat sheets.
IIRC, the Warriors are the only team in the NBA with a mandate to add somebody to the roster. That's a pretty big carrot to all the "on the margin" guys looking to find a spot. And they've shown that they'll keep spots open for 2-way guys, and they'll give good 2-way guys plenty of minutes. It's a pretty ingenious way to optimize filling those last two roster spots, if you ask me.
I think we might be speaking past each other here. It's just a camp invite. His invite was phrased really ackwardly to make it sound like he got a roster spot.
YEah, I get it. I just think there must be a couple thousand edge-case players who could be there and he is a PROVEN poor player at this stage. There's gotta be some international player, college player, G Leaguer who makes more sense there than a guy who has shown who he is. Which by the was was a pretty damn good player a long time ago.
Agreed. There have to be some reasonably good G-leaguers or fringe NBA guys who are younger, and probably better. This is a throw-away move. No chance it works out, so it's practically just a meet and greet with Rudy Gay.
[EDIT] Gonna leave this up here but... LOL... it's actually NB80's Volume 2. It does have Steve Kerr I guess?
"It's totally boss!" LOLWUT
[EDIT2] For those jonesing for SC30 content, here's an 11-month old BasketballRef video to tide you over: How Steph Curry BROKE The NBA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFW3jJgjNcY
My hot take on the "blockbuster" trade: If everybody on every team stays healthy for the entire season the Warriors still have as good a chance as any team to win the championship. The only reason they don't have the same odds as the Bucks is the Warriors age and injury history is somewhat worse but it is not like Dame and Giannis played 82 games last year.
Yeah, I’ve been thinking that if I could somehow know the Warriors will stay healthy all year, I’d bet on them over the field. People are just looking at last year’s results and discounting the prospects of:
1. Klay being good mentally and physically from the start, instead of screwing up the mojo for a big chunk of the season.
2. Wiggins and GP2 around all season, instead of fractions of it.
3. CP3 being a potentially much better team runner than Poole during non-Steph minutes.
4. TJD and and DUG being more playable than Wiseman and PBJ
Yeah, probably a lot bc I can't imagine Portland really wanting Russell anyway. But the same is true of Rui, Vanderbilt... A lot of the would-be matching salary just got extended. He'd be a frightening addition for them.
I would not trade Kuminga, But if they could get Jrue for CP3 and draft picks, with the assurance of a long time deal, I think you have to do it. I could be wrong but I personally think Jrue is one of the most underrated players in the NBA
I love CP3 but man oh man if the Warriors could somehow swap him for Jrue Holiday, in my opinion, they will be a championship team. Holiday is the perfect fit. A tall, physical, hard nosed defender and playmaker who is selfless and can guard almost any position on D. He is EXACTLY who the Warriors should be looking for. Iguodala 2.0
As Sleepy notes below, CP3 isn't the sticking point.
Jrue for CP3 would be a no-brainer. Even CP3 and a couple of firsts for Jrue would be a no-brainer (Warriors firsts are just trade chips right now ... the team can't really absorb any more young players until they see what happens with LQ, Gui, Garuba and Podz).
The equation changes when you include Kuminga in the deal.
I'd consider throwing in unprotected picks a brainer. Lottery-protected picks, sure. Unprotected picks for Giannis, sure. Unprotected picks to upgrade from CP3 to Jrue ... not so sure.
Plus, there's the practical issue that the uncertainty of when next year's pick conveys takes our next few first rounders off the table for trade purposes.
That's fair. I didn't think of that wrinkle. Endorsed.
Jrue is many things but tall is not one of them. He's 6'3, the same as Steph. But he has a good wingspan, so he's long, which may be what you were getting at. He is certainly a better and more versatile defender than CP3, although CP3 is not a bad defender for a small. CP3 is the better passer and playmaker but Jrue is good. CP3 is the better shooter. Either can help us but in different ways.
I think we actually need what CP3 brings more than what Jrue brings because we have GP2, plus CP3 is on an expiring contract with a team option, while Jrue has a player option, so the Dubs have more control with CP3. I would not want to give up assets to make that deal.
He's listed at 6'4 thank you very much :)
NBA players just voted him the best defender in the entire league and capable of guarding any position on the court (1-5). That's not my opinion. That's pretty much the highest possible praise. It puts him in a league of his own. Head and shoulders above Chris Paul. A real game changer.
Warriors might be good w/ Paul, but they can't expect to win a championship with 2 starters who play below the rim and a center who is 6'7 on his tippy toes. Maybe in college. But not in the NBA.
> they can't expect to win a championship with 2 starters who play below the rim and a center who is 6'7 on his tippy toes
None of that changes if they swap out CP3 for Jrue.
I think most would trade CP3 for Jrue if it were just a straight up swap, for the reasons noted (size, D, relative youth). But in the real world, they’d likely have to include Kuminga to make PDX bite — which would instantly makes the team older, smaller, and slower. And they’d have to dump Klay next summer to afford Jrue’s $39.4M player option for ‘24-25 — which would put them over the second apron *even without Klay* and incur all kinds of punitive measures.
All this for a 33.5 year old 6’-3” PG who has talked openly about retiring sooner than later, and has an atrocious .476 TS (in 1566 minutes) in his three playoff runs as a Buck.
Maybe we still say yes to a deal, but at least let’s look at the full picture.
BBRef says 6'3" but the NBA says 6'5" so I guess 6'4" is as good a guess as any! What's an inch among friends? 😊
I am a big Jrue fan. But I think Paul is a significantly better passer and playmaker, and that's what we need to lift the bench mob. I'm not sure whether CP3 will start or not or if he does how long he'll be in before taking a breather and maybe coming back with the bench players. Nobody knows that yet.
Their center, Looney, is 6'9" not 6'7" and has a big wingspan. Or did you mean Draymond? The Dubs did win a championship with those two and Bjelica, and now it will be them and Saric, who is 6'10. So I think they can win with that if the other pieces are in place. That remains to be seen.
Yes I agree. The height of their other guards and wings are a big plus. But only if Kerr is willing to play them. For some reason, he doesn't seem to trust alot of his players in the playoffs. Refusing to play Kuminga a real head scratcher. What made the other Warriors teams great were their ability to switch every screen on D due to their athleticism and height. Literally 4 players interchangeable on the court at all times. That led to turnovers and stops and easy buckets in transition which is exactly what the Warriors were missing last year. Good defense leads to good offense. Then again, those teams had a Bogut, Jevale, enforcer in the middle,, when needed. And they didn't have to worry about a Joker, which they do now.
Tough question for y'all . . . who will win out and secure more minutes in our big rotation this year?
TJD or Garuba?
Like the old Deion Sanders commercials used to say, "Both!"
They may wind up using both of these players in certain rotations. No reason they can't play together. Both these players make the Warriors bigger, stronger, and better in and near the paint. If they succeed, Kuminga might be exiled.
TJD and DUG *combined* will be lucky to get half as many minutes as JK this season.
If you're correct, the minutes won't be a problem as we will see the stuff that JK is made out of quicker and whether he can fit the Kerr model. If not, trade him and start the engines on the development of the two big guys. I don't think we've had players like TJD and DUG. Can't wait to see what they can add.
Agreed! Love what I've heard about both of them. Just noting that neither is likely to get regular rotation minutes, at least not right out of the gate. I'd assume sporadic minutes initially (i.e. garbage time + injury insurance + Santa Cruz) but obviously that could change over time if they start showing out consistently.
As for JK: based on the stuff Kerr has been MDJ have been saying, it seems clear they're tabbing him for regular rotation minutes (at least 20 MPG?), but yeah, what he shows in those minutes is still TBD.
Generally, I think JK is vying more with Moody and Payton for minutes (plus occasionally spelling Wiggs and Klay) than he is with Garuba and TJD.
>Generally, I think JK is vying more with Moody and Payton for minutes (plus occasionally spelling Wiggs and Klay) than he is with Garuba and TJD.
We know Kerr is earmarking JK for lots of minutes with Paul and Saric. It would be huge for him if he can also take GP2's minutes where he's playing with Steph and Dray/Loon. Because that's how he could gain a spot as the 5th guy in the closing lineup.
Unless Kuminga becomes a reliable 3-point shooter, including contested shots, and improves his handles. If he can do that, he can play either 3 or 4 and won't be exiled. I think that's what Kerr is hoping for.
So aside from the hopes and hype, do you think he will become an integral part of the Dubs this season?
Gonna zag, Garuba is in his third year just like JK and Moody, he’s just been in shitty situations until now. I think he’s gonna show out and force us to sign him to the main roster before the playoffs roll around.
I have good feelings about TJD but four years of college or no it’s not the NBA and he will take some time to adjust to the physicality.
What a coup that would be! If Garuba can force the Dubs' hand by earning a spot on the roster, that would be great.
As for TJD, there's time for him to develop. But if he can contribute this year, look out.
Yeah, this is where I'm at. Garuba's been in the NBA for two years. I think that once he learns the system, he'll be able to contribute.
He's a great fit for our system, and the coaching staff knows how to use a player with that skillset.
Garuba should have the edge right now and to start the season but I got a sneaky feeling TJD contributes a lot more this year than people will expect.
From what I’ve seen of both, which isn’t much, I’d say they’re pretty evenly matched, but I’d probably bet on TJD based on how so many people have sung his praises in and out of the organization. Importantly, the Warriors have more invested in him.
I second this.
I agree!
Garuba has actually passed and defended at the NBA level - his defense is legitimately excellent, which is rare for any player on a rookie contract. Until proven otherwise, he’s several notches above TJD.
I haven't seen enough of Garuba. I am excited about TJD so far.
Warriors just posted a highlight video for Kuminga's blocks!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9Q00h-SmHE
Jesus. That man is just so damn explosive. Half of the time he doesn’t leave the floor until the shot is already in the air, it seems.
Yeah, I've rarely seen anyone get off the floor as fast as he does. Different position/size, but some of these where he flies in from the weak side remind me of (a healthy) Robert Williams III. The fact that he can do that, as well as guarding point-of-attack... crazy.
https://www.nbcsportsbayarea.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/andrew-wiggins-gary-payton-ii-important-warriors/1658368/
People forget we played last season with GP2 rehabbing a core injury and missed Wiggins for damn near half the season. Having those two back full time and 100% healthy to start the season matters.
Sky's the limit
OT Kiki VanDeWeghe's name popped up in a vid and it got me thinking, that's got to be a Top 10 NBA name for sure. Totally subjective but any other worthy candidates to pass the time?
Joe Smith
Bo Outlaw
God Shammgod! Plus he gave his name to everyone's favorite ankle-breaker.
Bol Bol's gotta be up there.
Athanasios Rotimi Antetokounmpo.
Magic Johnson.
Brandin Podziemski.
We could always pick on the international players for names that are a mouthful for Yanks: Zydrunas Ilgauskas for instance. There are harder ones to pronounce but I think that beats Vandeweghe. (Kiki did not use capital letters in the middle of his last name.) Or we could go for cute, like Bob Quick (but was he?) or Trooper Washington or Pickles Kennedy or our very own Sleepy Floyd. And just who did Fred Christ think he was anyway, God's gift to basketball? If we go for World B. Free we have to include Metta World Peace.
Metta World Peace didn't quite live up to his name :-)
World B. Free
Šarūnas Marčiulionis
Seconded!
Alaa Abdelnaby
JZ might not be too thrilled, but there are only Moses Moody (#4) days until media day!
Moses grew up in Little Rock Arkansas and led his first high school to the state finals as a freshman, transferred across town and led his second high school to the state championship as a sophomore.
Then, like his fellow third year player JK, Moses decided to pursue his basketball dreams by moving to a strange, far-away land, namely, Florida, to go to Montverde Academy and help form a high school super-team. His senior year they went 25-0 and won the "national championship", on a team that included Cade Cunningham, Scottie Barnes, Day'Ron Sharpe and Dariq Whitehead who all ended up as first round NBA draft picks.
Here's a few clips of high school Moses:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDzP-DwFaI4
For fun if you want to watch more HS ball, here is some shaky footage of Montverde playing against a high-school-aged JK, but I didn't see Moses in the part I watched:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnWA1Ta2p-Y
This is what Marcus Thompson II had to say about Moses choosing Montverde:
Seeking a greater challenge, he transferred again. At 16, he moved to Florida to attend Montverde Academy. With stud prospects like Cade Cunningham and Precious Achiuwa, Moody knew he’d have to reach another level. And he was so mature, his parents trusted him to go.
“So he goes from being the tallest player on the team and the most respected, to starting over,” said Kareem [his dad], who paused the community work to be hands-on when his youngest son got to high school. “And he wanted it. He said he wanted a bigger challenge.”
https://theathletic.com/2754000/2021/08/08/warriors-moses-moody-summer-league-49ers-sunday-randomness/
After Montverde, he had a number of offers, but decided to go back home and play for Arkansas for former Warriors HC Eric Musselman. He averaged 16.8 points and 5.8 rebounds, and helped get the team to the Elite Eight, while being named SEC Freshman of the Year.
Looking for a challenge again, he declared for the draft, and was picked #14 by the Dubs, just after Chris Duarte. There were reports that the Dubs preferred the older Duarte, and even tried to trade for him after Indy picked him, but luckily for us (imo), the Pacers stuck with Chris, at least until this past summer when they traded him to the Kings. I never quite got the allure of Duarte, even though he was an older and more experienced player.
Of course, the main news out of the draft was that Kendrick Perkins is pronunciation-challenged, and he flubbed trying to say "Moses Moody" multiple times (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E86fWIO35Xc)
With the Warriors, Moses was lauded for his mature attitude and basketball IQ, and after a few stints with the Sea Dubs, he started getting some playing time in his rookie season. He scored a career high (to date) 30 against the Nuggets on March 7th in a game where many of the old guys sat out. He started off with "Did Not Play's" early in the playoffs, but got more minutes against Dallas before sitting most of the Boston series.
It was expected in his sophomore campaign that he would play more than JK, being seen as more ready, but the coaches weren't happy with, well, something, and he got another string of DNPs and Inactives. Alchemy had his theories as to what the issues were, calling out his defensive positioning, false-steps, and not knowing the scouting report (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbfBvMhmcQo&t=572s), which you may or may not agree with. This lead to the viral presser where Moses responded to a question about limited playing time with "It sucks" (https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/warriors/article/moses-moody-rotation-playing-time-17874305.php)
But, he seems to have figured out something that regained the trust of the coaching staff, and averaged 13 minutes a game in the playoffs, shooting 59% from three and averaging 5.8 points, including going 8 for 11 on three pointers against the Lakers, seemingly the only Dub that could hit a three.
Here are some of his best plays, from GSW YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Itf2pPLi6tQ
Consistent with his maturity, he has already started his own foundation and youth camp in Arkansas. He managed to recruit none other than Klay Thompson to help teach this summer, including a lesson on paper airplanes for when the kids get to do press conferences:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DKecnLUMBg
You can contribute to his foundation "Motivate One" on his website
https://www.mosesmoody.com/
I’m always in the mood for talking about Moses. He’s reminding me more and more of my favorite Warrior who’s been easy to underestimate; Loondawg.
Like Lunchbox Looney, he seems like a totally cool dude who works hard, carries himself like a professional beyond his years, cares about his community and is poised to put it all together like Looney did.
Did anyone else watch the Curry camp video and think Moses is looking more “grown man” strong? https://youtu.be/rho-sJ9GfTI?si=4NZ5Yr-aXU8ILi8E He also seemed to improve his lateral quickness, last season, but I’m not sure if he’s actually quicker, or his just his read of plays are, which allows him to move a tick sooner.
The general consensus seems to see “decent rotation player”, but I honestly think he still has a chance be a good chance to be solid starter to /borderline all star and could reach Wiggins-esque level of productivity. Like Wiggins, K-pop campaign aside, I don’t see him as an actual all star because neither seem to push their own hype train and are pretty low key in general.
+ career .703 playoff True Shooting (in 266 minutes)
I agree Moody and Kuminga need to be in the rotation and play meaningful minutes. I am okay with Podz spending most of the year at SC because I don't think he's ready for the NBA. I would not be okay with him sitting on the bench in SF instead. I think TJD should be ready to contribute at least some regular minutes, if not at the start of the season then a couple of months in. I'm not sure about Garuba yet (not our draft pick but a young asset); maybe the same as TJD but I want to see him in the preseason.
Does anyone have any insights into Donovan Williams?
In the latest Warriors Plus Minus pod, around the ~42:00 mark Slate mentioned:
"They've not completely given up on the youth movement. That's why Garuba is exciting to them."
"They brought 50 vets in. They were doing scrimmage after scrimmage after scrimmage all summer long. I've never heard of a team doing all that they did. And Williams was really impressive. There's a reason he made it into camp... he's 6'6 with a 7'0 wingspan."
Slater is pretty well-informed, so I'm curious.
I have no insight on Williams, but I'm really quite impressed by the ingenuity of having an open competition for the 14th spot. Unless you're getting somebody you're completely sure is going to be great for that roster spot, it's 100% the right move to use it as a way to get the best FAs in the door for your offseason runs & training camp invites, and let the cream rise to the top.
Thinking Basketball: How Stephen Curry’s playmaking makes Warriors flexible | NBA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpZUNQJ6-BU
Now the ACTUAL video
Finally got to watch this; while excellent, it is a repackaging of his post-Kings series video he did back in ... whenever that series was.
Man, some of those possessions in slow-mo... reminds me why his wizardry is the best show in the NBA.
Usman Garuba be like: "Hey, guys! I'm part of the conversation! I'm even in a DNHQ article I might have a real role on --" ********DAMIAN LILLARD TRADED TO MILWAUKEE*****
Guys? Guys? I'm still here...?
Usman could be a very useful player as a high IQ screener/passer who can be a high level defender across the other team's 1-5. That's an NBA career right there, and it fits extremely well with how the Warriors play.
There's pretty much zero chance he ever handles the ball as well as Draymond does, and he just doesn't have the bounce/finishing skill that a TJD type player has where he can be
So there's a limit to what he can do offensively. The shot form doesn't give a ton of hope, but if he could get to a PJ Tucker level shooter from the corner he'd be an extremely valuable role player.
I'm curious, like HOW versatile he is defensively? He's listed at 220-230, but he looks pretty thick to me. 250 maybe. Can he give Embiid or Anthony Davis a go and then take KD the next night? Can he take Jayson Tatum for 25 minutes on a given night? If he's got some stopper capability in him the shot hardly matters. Like a non-crazy Anthony Mason type.
The way Kerr raved about DUG in his last presser, I'm starting to think *he* may be the guy who snatches up the #14 roster spot, with the final roster addition being another two-way player. We could do worse at that spot than a young, 7'-4" wingspanned bruiser who guards 1-5, crashes the boards like a madman, moves the ball well, and even hits open threes a little.
Steph, CP, CoJo
Wiggs, Klay, JK, Moses, GP, Podz
Dray, Loon, Saric, DUG, TJD
<3 <3 <3
He's 2-way eligible and was available on a 2-way... most likely outcome is that he's kept on a 2-way through the season until they are forced to make a decision about adding him to the roster, either by running out of game availability or by worry that somebody else will scoop him up.
They'll probably have the 15th spot open later on and can use that for Garuba (or LQ) the way they did with Lamb.
At first blush, I thought the trade was bad from the Suns perspective. But I saw some reasoned arguments how it made sense. I think that's just been how the last couple years have gone. All these individual moves make sense, and sure you have a roster with Durant, Booker and Beal, but it doesn't look anything like a title team to me. It's been haphazard, and comparatively I liked the roster construction on the Nets a lot more.
They have no Finals equity left from the team that made it a couple years back. No coaches, no one other than Booker. There's zero familiarity and shared growth here. It's all on the fly. Ayton was the last piece of that.
Do they have a single above average passer? Booker did pretty well last year as a lead, but while they have two elite, and one very good scorers they don't have an elite playmaker. They're built to be an offensive juggernaut, and they will be great. But it doesn't look like a cohesive unit.
Who is their best role player? Other than Durant, who at this age skews more toward a big, do they have a single playoff caliber wing?
They have a deep and talented guard group, but who is an above average passer? Who is an above average defender?
To be a title team they NEED to have two things happen, IMO. 1) Nurkic stays healthy, and plays better than he has the past couple years. 2) Little or Bates-Diop or Watanabe turns into an above average 3 and D wings.
I don't think either of those things happens.
Guards: Booker, Beal, Allen, Gordon, Lee
Wings: Durant, Okogie, Little, Watanabe, Bates-Diop
Bigs: Nurkic, Eubanks, Chimezie Metu, Bol Bol
I had somehow forgotten that they acquired Beal. Not sure how I reconciled that with CP3 going to Washington and then the Dubs, but that's what having three small kids and getting little sleep will do to you.
Yeah I think their roster has the same problems that it did at the end of last year, not enough playmaking (after CP3), not enough defensive acumen, and a high injury risk.
Good questions. If hopes are pinned on guys like Bates-Diop, they are gonna be disappointed. I do think they have tremendous talent, but it's an ongoing debate in team sports as to whether you can add talent and expect it to gel immediately. USA play in international settings suggest nope, unless it's absolutely overwhelming talent. I think they will struggle to figure it out, but if they do they could score a whole lotta points. Beal may be the odd man out here. He's used to a green light. But now it would come at the expense of Booker and KD, and that's a lot to justify. We shall see.
I'm pretty sure Phoenix will be a top team and a difficult matchup for the Warriors. Booker is super underrated.
Bro... just let them hoop... KD and Book and Beal are gonna cook fools in isolation. They're good enough playmakers that teams can't bring a second defender. It's gonna be so good. Kinda like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8A3eyIiJQA
I forget how talented that OKC squad was. It's amazing to see Steven Adams flying through the air to dunk. They were so young, athletic, and long. Too bad they ran into the buzzsaw that is the Warriors.
I wonder how different the NBA would look if OKC had polished off the Warriors after going up 3-1 and then gone on to win a championship. Would the new NBA be about long, young, athletic guys who take turns isolating?
They are also going to get cooked at the other end. Booker has never been an above average defender, KD is good, but hasn't been exceptionally good since his injury and he is 35 now, and Beal has never been a good defender. The Suns are going to be an entertaining team to watch as they will put up a lot of points as will their opponents.
We agree. My attempt at dry sarcasm clearly didn't land right, lol... I *thought* the glorious highlight video provided would have been both a pleasant blast from the past AND reminder of how the "your turn, my turn" iso heavy offense is goink in the modern NBA, but it was definitely a little too hidden message, lol
Are you gonna make a permanent profile already?
Classic Suns profile. Name in any era a Suns team that defended well but couldn't score. This is what they do.
You're not wrong
https://sports.yahoo.com/five-possible-landing-spots-jrue-144328462.html
FWIW, articles coming out here with a bunch of Jrue landing spots that don't involve the Warriors at all... My money is on Jrue heading to one of the teams that was talked about in the last week WRT Dame... now all those offers that weren't quite good enough for Dame can be just unsweetened a tad for Jrue instead.
I'd love to see him end up on Miami and for Miami and Milwaukee to play in the playoffs with Holiday guarding Lillard like back in 2018 (when he destroyed Lillard), but who knows if Miami and Portland are eager to do business with each other lol.
why are folks on 957 the game talking about trading CP3 and JK for Jrue!!! Please not JK!
I get how they think CP for Jrue would be a good deal -- taller, longer, more defense, great glue guy. But the Kuminga thing has to come from people who have given up on him. I just can't see that (or Moody) at all, and that's what it would take to make the salaries match.
Because they need to grab attention and outrage is a good vehicle for that. The Warriors front office is not that stupid, but that won't stop conversation as long as it captures attention.
Wait. Rudy Gay? I missed it! Let's see...
Last year 38% from the field, 25% from three. 37 years old. Never a legendary defender.
Uh.
Please tell me: why? What am I missing here?
(NOTE: If you say "veteran leadership" Substack will delete your account.)
Because we always wanted him and could never get him.
Did you ever see that episode of Frasier where he ends up going out with his old crush (Jean Smart)? He knows she's totally not a match, but he can't seem to get her out of his head. It's like that...
He's our new stretch big! 250lbs!!
Why don't you suggest a player The Warriors should get for the 14th spot that would be happy with the small role and minutes that come with being at the end of the rotation and wouldn't take minutes from your boy Kuminga?
I would be glad to have that 14th spot and would not complain about having a small role. Happy to get a court-side seat, talk with Steph about what I'm seeing when he comes to the bench, and cash the checks. And I assure you, I'd be no threat to take minutes from JK or anyone else...
Because I don’t feel like it? Is that an acceptable answer?
Here are a few:
Meyers Leonard (shot 39% from three, and would bust his hump to have another shot in the league). A floor spacing big.
Blake Griffin: He may not have anything left, but as a tweener 3-4 ish guy, would probably be a good fit on the roster. And, he can pass. He might take minutes away from Kuminga, but I really doubt it.
JTA: Lesser contributions than Gay, probably, but more likely to rebound from a poor year. And all the intangibles are pluses (knows the system, will be a great locker room guy).
Good list. I'd rank these:
1. Meyers
2. JTA
3. Gay
4. Griffin
We are somewhat lacking in the Meyers department...
As a Jew no thanks
I wouldn't mind Leonard, although his role as a shooting big is less important to the team now that they have Saric.
I think Blake is a worse option than Gay, he's just as old, more injury-prone, and smaller without being much faster.
JTA I would be all for since he knows the system and fits well with the culture but I think it's a side-grade at best.
JTA: I agree that's close to a wash if Gay is healthy, but I wouldn't bet on him staying healthy at his age. JTA is much more likely to be available on any given night.
Leonard: I admit, I'm probably perversely interested in playing 5 out ball with the non-Draymond units.
The thing about Saric is that he's the ONLY big who can space out (unless you think Garuba's 3 point shooting will scale).
While I would rather have a big shooting wing, having Leonard and just sticking him in the corner is an option I find pretty fascinating.
Basically any big wing that's good enough to be signed is already signed, Gay is probably the best of the rest. For a team that could potentially use a big wing in the scenario where Kuminga doesn't pan out, doesn't hurt to bring him in.
I'd still assume that the Warriors are looking around the league for the guy who fills the 14th spot just as much as looking at the players they are bringing in. OKC still has 19 guys signed for only 15 roster spots, are we 100% sure they are keeping Bertans (I think it's likely for financial reasons but I wouldn't be shocked if they cut him)?
I mean, they brought in Dwight.
I just take it as a 'we need a guy for camp, let's kick the tires on Rudy Gay' move.
He'll be gone in a couple of weeks, and we can go on with our lives. :)
If they kick the tires and determine last year wasn’t an outlier, he won’t make the team. If he makes the team, think of him as an older, bigger Otto Porter type player, but in the much less critical 14th man role.
Jinx.
😁
My guess is that similar to Avery Bradley he's a name that the core veterans may have advocated to get a look. So they bring him in and watch him get smoked by younger, better dudes in training camp and then there's no hard feelings when he doesn't make the final roster.
I read somewhere that he's always been a "Net +/-" positive, even with the poor shooting and such... as such, I interpret him as a vet camp invite that's going to come in and show up like a professional, and be the bar against which the younger candidates are tested against. He's a real NBA pro, so if the youngsters can outcompete him, you have a little more confidence that they belong in the NBA than if they were only outcompeting each other & G League guys.
OTOH, if he's actually not regularly giving up blow-bys, he's maybe still got enough lateral movement to be useful on the roster. The objective with the 14th man on THIS roster is to be a useful contributor, not a long term investment. That hyper athletic youngster who doesn't yet know where to be on the floor, but might figure it out as he grows into his body, isn't what we're looking at for this spot.
In other words, you're not confident in his shooting, his passing, his rebounding, his defense, or his special teams. But he does make a good practice dummy for actually talented young players.
Is how I'm reading it.
He DEFINITELY checks this box. And if he's able to show he's obviously the best player there among all the competitors, that's a sign he's still worthy of an NBA roster spot. Maybe he's really good at complicated defensive rotations, or making quick decisions on offense... things that just don't show up in any of these stat sheets.
IIRC, the Warriors are the only team in the NBA with a mandate to add somebody to the roster. That's a pretty big carrot to all the "on the margin" guys looking to find a spot. And they've shown that they'll keep spots open for 2-way guys, and they'll give good 2-way guys plenty of minutes. It's a pretty ingenious way to optimize filling those last two roster spots, if you ask me.
It's only a camp invite. He's not actually locked up for the upcoming season.
I'm not in favor of having the guy on the team, but locking him up seems a bit drastic.
I think we might be speaking past each other here. It's just a camp invite. His invite was phrased really ackwardly to make it sound like he got a roster spot.
YEah, I get it. I just think there must be a couple thousand edge-case players who could be there and he is a PROVEN poor player at this stage. There's gotta be some international player, college player, G Leaguer who makes more sense there than a guy who has shown who he is. Which by the was was a pretty damn good player a long time ago.
Agreed. There have to be some reasonably good G-leaguers or fringe NBA guys who are younger, and probably better. This is a throw-away move. No chance it works out, so it's practically just a meet and greet with Rudy Gay.
I see where you are coming from. Seems like the dubs are just giving everyone a camp invite so it means very little to me.
Thinking Basketball: How Stephen Curry’s playmaking makes Warriors flexible | NBA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2oeP440r5o
[EDIT] Gonna leave this up here but... LOL... it's actually NB80's Volume 2. It does have Steve Kerr I guess?
"It's totally boss!" LOLWUT
[EDIT2] For those jonesing for SC30 content, here's an 11-month old BasketballRef video to tide you over: How Steph Curry BROKE The NBA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFW3jJgjNcY
I said it before and I'll say it again: Steph Curry was the best player of the 1980's and anyone who disagrees doesnt know basketball
My hot take on the "blockbuster" trade: If everybody on every team stays healthy for the entire season the Warriors still have as good a chance as any team to win the championship. The only reason they don't have the same odds as the Bucks is the Warriors age and injury history is somewhat worse but it is not like Dame and Giannis played 82 games last year.
Yeah, I’ve been thinking that if I could somehow know the Warriors will stay healthy all year, I’d bet on them over the field. People are just looking at last year’s results and discounting the prospects of:
1. Klay being good mentally and physically from the start, instead of screwing up the mojo for a big chunk of the season.
2. Wiggins and GP2 around all season, instead of fractions of it.
3. CP3 being a potentially much better team runner than Poole during non-Steph minutes.
4. TJD and and DUG being more playable than Wiseman and PBJ
5. Moody and JFK entering their 3rd year.
6. Draymond not punching a teammate and creating distrust.
Yet? ;-P
Seriously, great list #1-6.
Hope Holiday goes back East again and not a Western contender (Clippers?).
Thank goodness the Lakers can't trade Russell et al for now.
That’s a terrifying thought. Wonder who else they’d have to throw in to pull that off….
Yeah, probably a lot bc I can't imagine Portland really wanting Russell anyway. But the same is true of Rui, Vanderbilt... A lot of the would-be matching salary just got extended. He'd be a frightening addition for them.