Non sequitur because it won't change anything going forward unless it causes the FO to trade Dray, which is highly doubtful. That being said, I agree with a lot of commentators that the blame on the FO is just a continued trend of players failing to take responsibility for their actions. If Dray and KD couldn't hash out their own issues without the FO acting as a mediator or giving their blessing it's their own fault. They are grown humans and at the time had completely different positions. Revisionist history by millionaire millennials.
My two cents on the controversial part of the convo:
The hypocrisy of these two is ridiculous. Trying to pretend that Kerr and Meyrs were the problem is immature at best. Notice how on the one hand KD says that management didn't do enough, and Dray agrees. But then Dray says management did too much and the only people who could fix things were Dray and KD, and KD agrees. Fellas, you can't have it both ways. They're just trying to absolve themselves of any responsibility by throwing other people under the bus.
As one YT commenter put it, paraphrased: "KD couldn't stand up for himself and expected everyone else to come to his rescue. That's all there is to it."
One thing we can all agree on, though, is that if KD or Klay hadn't gotten injured the Dubs would have threepeated.
Seriously draymond said he took the dumbest smart shot of all time instead of taking responsibility for his fuck up last season we need to just realize this is who he is lol
And in another news.. (come on Warriors FO, go for him, to erase everything Dray said 😅 )
[Stein] I’m hearing that Marc Gasol is not a lock to return to the Lakers, even after Gasol said following Spain’s quarterfinal loss to the United States in the Olympics that he intends to play out the final year of the two-year deal he signed with Los Angeles. It’s not yet clear if that means Gasol is poised to be set free to play elsewhere in the NBA or if he would ultimately opt to finish his career in his home country like brother Pau.
Interesting how in spoken interviews, Kuminga seems like a serious but fun guy who keeps things very low key, while in his own writing and in written interviews, he absolutely jumps off the page. Must be the language barrier, with English as his 4th language.
Hey, sorry I missed this. I did watch that interview, and it was awesome! Thanks for posting it!
Agree with you that's a really endearing interview. The difference I've gotten from the written stuff is that he seems to share a LOT about himself and his story, and he has a really forthcoming, expressive, and mature sounding way of telling his story when he does that, especially for someone young who has been through a lot.
For example, there's a part from article EA posted above where he talks about looking around the Vegas Strip at people partying and feeling old, and ties it back to his childhood and his path in life. He's a really interesting guy and (from the little I've seen) doesn't go into detail about himself as much in spoken interviews. That's the observation I was trying to make.
I'm going to write that one up for next week. It's good, and there's some other Kuminga stuff floating around that deserves to be bumped to everyone's attention too
I won’t overblow the innocuous Dray/KD interview any more than it’s been overblown (GSoM, my word), except to note that when the topic came to marriage/kids and KD started to craft his delicate reply, the Sleepyette chimed in to say, “come on, Kevin, just say, ‘I’m gay!!!’”
That’s all I got for today. Training camp can’t come soon enough, lol…
(To be clear; I'm happy for anyone to be whatever they want. When other people start pushing narratives, whether they end up being accurate or not, it's not so great).
Well that is the same guy that tweeted he'd drink Scarlett Johannson's bathwater when he was younger. Kind of insane how he managed to keep his dating life personal his entire career though, or maybe I just haven't been paying attention. Even Klay went public at some point.
Hah. In fairness, I would happily drink ScarJo’s bathwater even if I were gay. (And would certainly have no problem saying I would…)
I don’t know or care one way or the other, of course. If I had to bet even money, I’d bet he’s straight, but gay or bi would not shock me, particularly. It actually makes me like him a bit more to think of him a closeted gay man crushing everyone in a world of macho athletes… but I’ll always love him either way, and will never not be in awe of his mad game…
Oh and: great piece, Duby. As always, this place is a bastion of reason, perspective and good humor amid the sea of hysteria and hot-takery that is the sports blogosphere.
Speaking of interviews, Kendra and Grant interviewed Kuminga and it was really good! I recommend watching rather than listening to the podcast because Kuminga’s facial expressions are a big part of his personality.
Thinking about Jordan’s quote about so many guys just playing for financial security, Kuminga seems far more motivated than that and just wants to be great. He’s also seems like a fun guy to talk to and despite English being his 4th language, he clearly has an engaging personality and good sense of humor.
Starts with Kendra and Monte briefly discussing Draymond/KD, then talking about Kuminga, Moose’s, GP2 and JJ. Kuminga interview is 29:00
Like I said, his facials expressions add a lot. His voice is kind of stoic, but his sense of humor and personality definitely come out when when you watch him.
Aug 20, 2021Liked by punk basketball, Daniel Hardee
I’m not too interested in the whole KD thing, but I loved the interview. In particular the part right before the argument, I think starting at 7:10 when KD talks about the first season with the warriors, and being locked in, knowing his role, working hard every day to go out and win. Really cool moment which reminded me how good that team was, and how hard they worked to get that good.
With Summer League wrapped up, it's clear Kuminga was the right answer. ESPN's NBA draft expert Mike Schmitz couldn't help but praise Kuminga when breaking down how rookies performed this summer.
"While it has always been about consistency and sustainability with Kuminga, he's looking like a steal for the Golden State Warriors at No. 7," Schmitz wrote.
Because Mobley is a connector who will be better with more talent around him, Cavs fans should be thrilled about what they have in the former USC 7-footer.
The same could be said for Jonathan Kuminga, who shot just 42% from 2 and 27.8% from 3 over four games and was still one of the more impressive rookies to take the floor. What Kuminga showed as a downhill driver, shot-creator, occasional shotmaker and versatile defender left more of an impression on me than him needing 18 shots to score 18 points consistently. While it has always been about consistency and sustainability with Kuminga, he's looking like a steal for the Golden State Warriors at No. 7.
"Not every top-five pick is physically ready to dominate summer league games, which doesn't mean that NBA success isn't right around the corner. "
***
Then gives Ingram and KAT as examples. Then continues by addressing Mobley:
***
"There should be little worry about Evan Mobley's 37.2 true shooting percentage and slight build at this stage of his career, as the glimpses he showed as a passer, ball handler and shooter should far outweigh any type of efficiency metrics. "
"if you squint really hard, you can convince yourself that Mobley doesn't suck like he appeared"
Could be true, summer league is a really weird thing. I bet Wise would have stunk up the joint in summer league last year. Players whose strengths are reliant on team execution will struggle more than those that excel in simpler things like winning 1 on 1 battles & shooting.
Given the flashes he showed against real NBA players, I think he would have been pretty eye-popping against SL talent with his size and athleticism alone.
I think KD being ambiguous about his intentions with the team made controversy inevitable. Had he have told the team to make the best of his last year with the warriors, then things probably would have been fine.
Ultimately, we all watched a breakup between KD and Dramond occur, so feelings were going to be hurt. Time does it's thing and like most people, it's in the past now.
I feel like if it were in the past, they wouldn't have brought it up 3 years later on an interview. I find it hard to believe Dray hasn't discussed this with KD already privately.
I may have made my point poorly. Sometimes, when a relationship ends, you realize that that you are simply incompatible no matter how much you wish it where otherwise. Until you realize that in those situations, you will imagine all the ways that you could have been different to salvage the relationship, but that that is besides the point, it wasn't gong to work long term.
All the hyper focus on Draymond and the front office misses the big picture at the end of the day to me. The goals of KD and Draymond/Warriors simply were not aligned. That is all that matters. They all could have handled the situation better but it seems pointless to get hung up on that at this point.
I just wish KD would say explicitly out lout that the Warriors, at the end of day, didn't offer what he was looking for basketball wise. Ultimately, he is the one who chose to breakup with the team, which is totally ok.
I think you misunderstood me. I'm saying there's no way these 2 haven't already discussed it privately before this happened on Dray's show. So to bring it up again publicly 3 years later makes it look like it's not in the past, esp. if they're now trying to blame the front office.
Aug 19, 2021Liked by punk basketball, Daniel Hardee
I almost skipped this whole thread because I'm pretty much over this story and ready to move on to anointing JFK as the single greatest wing in NBA history (quick before he plays in a real game). However, I read the whole thread anyway and learned 2 things:
1) I am definitely over this story
2) there are a lot of thoughtful posters here and I actually read some interesting and thoughtful takes on the whole thing. I hope the ratio of thoughtful posters to ... the other kind stays this way (or even goes higher?) as it is currently a pleasure to read most of y'alls posts.
Non sequitur because it won't change anything going forward unless it causes the FO to trade Dray, which is highly doubtful. That being said, I agree with a lot of commentators that the blame on the FO is just a continued trend of players failing to take responsibility for their actions. If Dray and KD couldn't hash out their own issues without the FO acting as a mediator or giving their blessing it's their own fault. They are grown humans and at the time had completely different positions. Revisionist history by millionaire millennials.
Any bets Embiid ends up on a negative contract by the time it’s over? I hope Simmons gets traded so we can see the truth.
That's the scary part about Wiseman, those athletic bigman are so fragile
Warriors schedule: https://twitter.com/anthonyvslater/status/1428797265557217286?s=21
I think this season the NBA was merciful to us, the last one was tough
My two cents on the controversial part of the convo:
The hypocrisy of these two is ridiculous. Trying to pretend that Kerr and Meyrs were the problem is immature at best. Notice how on the one hand KD says that management didn't do enough, and Dray agrees. But then Dray says management did too much and the only people who could fix things were Dray and KD, and KD agrees. Fellas, you can't have it both ways. They're just trying to absolve themselves of any responsibility by throwing other people under the bus.
As one YT commenter put it, paraphrased: "KD couldn't stand up for himself and expected everyone else to come to his rescue. That's all there is to it."
One thing we can all agree on, though, is that if KD or Klay hadn't gotten injured the Dubs would have threepeated.
Seriously draymond said he took the dumbest smart shot of all time instead of taking responsibility for his fuck up last season we need to just realize this is who he is lol
I thought that was legit, it was a really smart dumb shot.
In fairness, those that think it was really dumb smart shot make a strong case.
I could be persuaded 😉
ooh lookie look!
> @NBATV
Eyes The full 2021-22
@NBA
regular-season schedule drops today at 3pm ET on NBA TV!
I really enjoyed this article, more so than any other on the topic. I’m with you Duby - being comfortable with ambiguity is the key to life!
OT: I can't believe TheRinger's expose got Mike Richards to step down as Jeopardy host! Way to go TheRinger!
Right? Give it to LaVar!! Don't overthink it, the answer is right there.
And in another news.. (come on Warriors FO, go for him, to erase everything Dray said 😅 )
[Stein] I’m hearing that Marc Gasol is not a lock to return to the Lakers, even after Gasol said following Spain’s quarterfinal loss to the United States in the Olympics that he intends to play out the final year of the two-year deal he signed with Los Angeles. It’s not yet clear if that means Gasol is poised to be set free to play elsewhere in the NBA or if he would ultimately opt to finish his career in his home country like brother Pau.
Ivan B pointed out this excellent Kuminga article: https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/warriors/article/Aiming-to-outshine-even-the-Vegas-Strip-Jonathan-16395703.php
Interesting how in spoken interviews, Kuminga seems like a serious but fun guy who keeps things very low key, while in his own writing and in written interviews, he absolutely jumps off the page. Must be the language barrier, with English as his 4th language.
Did you watch the interview I shared below with Kendra and Grant? His facial expressions reveal quite a bit and it’s quite endearing.
Hey, sorry I missed this. I did watch that interview, and it was awesome! Thanks for posting it!
Agree with you that's a really endearing interview. The difference I've gotten from the written stuff is that he seems to share a LOT about himself and his story, and he has a really forthcoming, expressive, and mature sounding way of telling his story when he does that, especially for someone young who has been through a lot.
For example, there's a part from article EA posted above where he talks about looking around the Vegas Strip at people partying and feeling old, and ties it back to his childhood and his path in life. He's a really interesting guy and (from the little I've seen) doesn't go into detail about himself as much in spoken interviews. That's the observation I was trying to make.
Damn paywall...
On a completely unrelated note, if you ever need to quickly turn javascript on or off in the browser, there's a nifty chrome extension to do so: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/quick-javascript-switcher/geddoclleiomckbhadiaipdggiiccfje?hl=en
This is a very helpful post for general internet use. Can't believe I forgot about this.
😄 thanks!
Just don't forget to turn it back on again, or you'll spend hours thinking that the entire internet broke
I'm going to write that one up for next week. It's good, and there's some other Kuminga stuff floating around that deserves to be bumped to everyone's attention too
I won’t overblow the innocuous Dray/KD interview any more than it’s been overblown (GSoM, my word), except to note that when the topic came to marriage/kids and KD started to craft his delicate reply, the Sleepyette chimed in to say, “come on, Kevin, just say, ‘I’m gay!!!’”
That’s all I got for today. Training camp can’t come soon enough, lol…
Just like Aaron Rodgers is gay, right?
(To be clear; I'm happy for anyone to be whatever they want. When other people start pushing narratives, whether they end up being accurate or not, it's not so great).
(And to be further clear, not saying you are pushing a narrative, just making a related point)
#CancelAbaddon
Well that is the same guy that tweeted he'd drink Scarlett Johannson's bathwater when he was younger. Kind of insane how he managed to keep his dating life personal his entire career though, or maybe I just haven't been paying attention. Even Klay went public at some point.
Hah. In fairness, I would happily drink ScarJo’s bathwater even if I were gay. (And would certainly have no problem saying I would…)
I don’t know or care one way or the other, of course. If I had to bet even money, I’d bet he’s straight, but gay or bi would not shock me, particularly. It actually makes me like him a bit more to think of him a closeted gay man crushing everyone in a world of macho athletes… but I’ll always love him either way, and will never not be in awe of his mad game…
If the wife calls em out to say someone's gay its usually true, just saying
Oh and: great piece, Duby. As always, this place is a bastion of reason, perspective and good humor amid the sea of hysteria and hot-takery that is the sports blogosphere.
thanks brother, would NOT be possible without the community!!
I think he's just a hooper... just not ready to settle down with a basketball team or a partner.
The asexual spectrum is vast. And there is not a lot of space carved out for it in societal discussion.
Speaking of interviews, Kendra and Grant interviewed Kuminga and it was really good! I recommend watching rather than listening to the podcast because Kuminga’s facial expressions are a big part of his personality.
Thinking about Jordan’s quote about so many guys just playing for financial security, Kuminga seems far more motivated than that and just wants to be great. He’s also seems like a fun guy to talk to and despite English being his 4th language, he clearly has an engaging personality and good sense of humor.
Starts with Kendra and Monte briefly discussing Draymond/KD, then talking about Kuminga, Moose’s, GP2 and JJ. Kuminga interview is 29:00
https://youtu.be/_ozVxZ1Zz6k
Thank you! Loved the interview. He seems mature for his age and charming in a subtle way. So excited for the new season. Is it October yet?! 😩
nice find! Got it lined up to listen to after I listen to this new Vial album I just got in the mail
Like I said, his facials expressions add a lot. His voice is kind of stoic, but his sense of humor and personality definitely come out when when you watch him.
no worries, I'm done with busy season at work, so I absolutely have time to watch : )
I may have to write this all up. Here's an article on him from Vegas: https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/warriors/article/Aiming-to-outshine-even-the-Vegas-Strip-Jonathan-16395703.php
And then he also wrote this amazing article for Player's Tribune a while back
https://www.theplayerstribune.com/articles/jonathan-kuminga-high-school-g-league
"I don't really talk trash, my basketball talks trash" was about as close to a Chuck Norris meme as you could get haha
Oh no you're right... the legend continues. Loved that moment. Great interview!
I’m not too interested in the whole KD thing, but I loved the interview. In particular the part right before the argument, I think starting at 7:10 when KD talks about the first season with the warriors, and being locked in, knowing his role, working hard every day to go out and win. Really cool moment which reminded me how good that team was, and how hard they worked to get that good.
“The whole KD leaving thing”. Somehow I swear substack deletes key words just to mess with me.
I usually delete and repost when I notice quickly
Anyone subscribe to espn+ and want to share a little more of what Mike Schmitz had to say about Kuminga?
https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/warriors/jonathan-kuminga-looks-steal-espns-nba-draft-expert
With Summer League wrapped up, it's clear Kuminga was the right answer. ESPN's NBA draft expert Mike Schmitz couldn't help but praise Kuminga when breaking down how rookies performed this summer.
"While it has always been about consistency and sustainability with Kuminga, he's looking like a steal for the Golden State Warriors at No. 7," Schmitz wrote.
It’s pretty short…
***
Because Mobley is a connector who will be better with more talent around him, Cavs fans should be thrilled about what they have in the former USC 7-footer.
The same could be said for Jonathan Kuminga, who shot just 42% from 2 and 27.8% from 3 over four games and was still one of the more impressive rookies to take the floor. What Kuminga showed as a downhill driver, shot-creator, occasional shotmaker and versatile defender left more of an impression on me than him needing 18 shots to score 18 points consistently. While it has always been about consistency and sustainability with Kuminga, he's looking like a steal for the Golden State Warriors at No. 7.
https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/32040134/believe-hype-lessons-summer-leagues-remember-year-standouts
He actually starts with this:
***
"Not every top-five pick is physically ready to dominate summer league games, which doesn't mean that NBA success isn't right around the corner. "
***
Then gives Ingram and KAT as examples. Then continues by addressing Mobley:
***
"There should be little worry about Evan Mobley's 37.2 true shooting percentage and slight build at this stage of his career, as the glimpses he showed as a passer, ball handler and shooter should far outweigh any type of efficiency metrics. "
***
Then everything that Eric linked above.
I read that whole thing as:
"if you squint really hard, you can convince yourself that Mobley doesn't suck like he appeared"
Could be true, summer league is a really weird thing. I bet Wise would have stunk up the joint in summer league last year. Players whose strengths are reliant on team execution will struggle more than those that excel in simpler things like winning 1 on 1 battles & shooting.
Wiseman would have put up 20+ points and 1 assist per game easy.
Given the flashes he showed against real NBA players, I think he would have been pretty eye-popping against SL talent with his size and athleticism alone.
My brain hurts from this phrase, "which doesn't mean that NBA success isn't right around the corner. "
I can kind of see why he had to drop a double negative to make his point.
Which part of that can’t you avoid not misunderstanding?
It isn't not unclear
Man, that first block in Sacramento was eye popping. He’s a keeper.
Durant is a sensitive man and his feelings where hurt.
Your name reminded me of that legend instaboner from dream shake
Ah yes he was legend. Wonder what he is up to these days.
Up to? If he’s still “up” after all this time, he probably needs to see a doctor.
😔
I think KD being ambiguous about his intentions with the team made controversy inevitable. Had he have told the team to make the best of his last year with the warriors, then things probably would have been fine.
Ultimately, we all watched a breakup between KD and Dramond occur, so feelings were going to be hurt. Time does it's thing and like most people, it's in the past now.
I feel like if it were in the past, they wouldn't have brought it up 3 years later on an interview. I find it hard to believe Dray hasn't discussed this with KD already privately.
I may have made my point poorly. Sometimes, when a relationship ends, you realize that that you are simply incompatible no matter how much you wish it where otherwise. Until you realize that in those situations, you will imagine all the ways that you could have been different to salvage the relationship, but that that is besides the point, it wasn't gong to work long term.
All the hyper focus on Draymond and the front office misses the big picture at the end of the day to me. The goals of KD and Draymond/Warriors simply were not aligned. That is all that matters. They all could have handled the situation better but it seems pointless to get hung up on that at this point.
I just wish KD would say explicitly out lout that the Warriors, at the end of day, didn't offer what he was looking for basketball wise. Ultimately, he is the one who chose to breakup with the team, which is totally ok.
It wasn’t private… it was the first episode of Drays new podcast. It was marketing, pure and simple.
I think you misunderstood me. I'm saying there's no way these 2 haven't already discussed it privately before this happened on Dray's show. So to bring it up again publicly 3 years later makes it look like it's not in the past, esp. if they're now trying to blame the front office.
I almost skipped this whole thread because I'm pretty much over this story and ready to move on to anointing JFK as the single greatest wing in NBA history (quick before he plays in a real game). However, I read the whole thread anyway and learned 2 things:
1) I am definitely over this story
2) there are a lot of thoughtful posters here and I actually read some interesting and thoughtful takes on the whole thing. I hope the ratio of thoughtful posters to ... the other kind stays this way (or even goes higher?) as it is currently a pleasure to read most of y'alls posts.