OT: Montrezl Harrell tears his ACL in offseason workouts, likely out for the season. Ugh. Probably wasn’t an integral part of Philly’s plans, but man, that franchise feels cursed. Get well soon, Trez!
So somehow youtube got the idea that I am interested in a dude named Kai Sotto joining the Dubs bc I clicked on a vid saying it was happening, and now I get a new clone vid in my feed ever day or two that I don't watch. Never heard of him, looks like he's wearing cinder block shoes in the first vid's highlights. Someone or somebot really wants me to pay attention. DDG says he is 7'3", got a few minutes in SL and went undrafted for the second straight year. Nobody has mentioned him on this board as far as I can remember, so: is this a prank? A weird robo-shill job? Have others seen this YT-force-feeds-unknown-hooper-hype-to-me thingy?
this is probably the deadest part of the year for the NBA. Only real sickos around at this stage, so bb content creators have to mine niche audiences. Kai fits a number of those focus groups.
A sobering assessment of Kai's trajectory, which illustrates the risks that can derail a good prospect who hasn't done anything wrong per se:
I know the name Kai Sotto and that he was mentioned as a potential Warriors target (or an example of Myers ineptitude for not drafting him or something), but I don't remember if it was from articles magically fed to me from the universe, or from here. Regardless of where I got them, I'm pretty sure at this point his prospects to ever join an NBA roster are quite slim. Good luck big fella.
I've been getting that too. He's a Filipino and apparently a year ago there was some podcast hype that he was going to sign with the Dubs, and now it's coming around again. I saw a bunch of podcasts claiming that he is signing with us: Swish Central, Golden State Warriors News, Hoops Co, Bully Ball, Dub Nation TV. I watched a couple and they were pure speculation, people indulging their fan imagination. My BS meter was pinned in the red. I've never seen anything from a reliable source even mention the possibility.
I'm pretty excited for TJD's rim protection and I agree it'll be a factor immediately. I'll be curious to see how quickly he picks up Warriors offensive and defensive team concepts, like split cuts, high tag, relocation screens, and what-was-it-called that defensive concept about overloading the strong side post on D, blocking the box? Excited for the first time he's gutsy enough to score off a fake handoff.
I replied to the original comment but I'll reiterate here: Looney is about as good as a low-volume passer can be. Led the league in AST/TOV for most of the last season and posted similar numbers before that. If TJD is a LoonDawg in passing that's awesome.
Great analysis, thanks for sharing. The caution on short roll passing reminds me to temper my expectations a bit. Looney seems like a solid comp but even Looney wasn't Looney right away (edit: i.e. even if TJD becomes Loon 2.0, it might likewise take a bit to get there).
Open question - when did Looney become a "guy" to you? At what point did "Looney" become "Loon" and when did he become "LoonDog/Moses MaLoon?"
Still blows my mind that he pulled **18.8 fvcking rebounds per 36 minutes** during last year’s 13-game playoff run. And stole the soul of one of Sacramento’s two Franchise Players.
Aug 3, 2023·edited Aug 3, 2023Liked by Eric Apricot
He was a guy when he stayed in front of James Harden on the perimeter. He became Moses MaLoon when he started gobbling up absurd amounts of offensive rebounds.
Getting past old rivalries is different for coaches and players than for us fans. Surely some players make themselves so odious that other players and coaches can't get past it, but CP3 isn't THAT bad. He does stuff that we fans don't like to see. But he doesn't try to hurt anyone, hasn't punched anyone, hasn't been involved in domestic violence or sexual assault that we know of. On the other side, he does help out younger players and makes his teammates better. He plays hard on both ends of the court. He has no rings but his teams have won a lot, and he's a major reason for that. So the Dubs coaches and players might not love him but they will at least come to appreciate him.
Plus, it’s their job. It’s probably akin from going to work at Pepsi after a bunch of years working at Coca Cola, Ford to Chevy, Miller to Budweiser, etc. I went from working over 15 years at one company to working at its most bitter rival. It’s weird for a few weeks, then it’s just work.
One thing I'd like a reporter to ask Klay is how he feels about all the college conference realignment BS that looks like it is going to leave Washington State out in the cold. He's their most successful basketball (sports?) export ever, I'm sure he has some feelings about it.
Can ask GP2 as well since Oregon State is in the same boat. Not that he's their most successful basketball export (that would be his dad), but he's their most prominent player currently in the league as the only other NBA Beaver is Drew Eubanks.
Lakers, @Lakers, @Kings, Kings, Spurs. First game on the 7th of October.
No trips to Japan on the schedule, which is good because every time the Warriors do preseason halfway across the world they seem to start the season slower than you'd expect.
Thanks, and eek two more months of summer dog days without NBA ball. So spoiled am I. With the USWNT looking so bad, I'm going to have to find new hobbies besides sports fandom for a while. Maybe work down my voluminous home-repair todo list.
Well you could catch some baseball action - yes the USWNT is looking second rate compared to teams like Japan, england and many other teams. Their in-game strategy is downright insipid and the players seem both slower and less skilled then many of their opponents. The post-game commentary after the portugal hame was fiery.
Well I don't know how you feel about international basketball, but the FIBA World Cup is going from August 25th to September 10th. Should have a bit of Warrior representation with Santos (Brazil), Quinones (Dominican Republic), and Joseph (Canada).
No Saric or Kuminga because their countries didn't qualify. Wiggins might play Olympics for Canada but isn't playing in this. Curry might play Olympics as well (god I fucking hope so), perhaps Draymond as well depending on what he looks like in a year. Perhaps Podziemski will eventually join the Polish team.
It’s a great commentary l appreciated the willingness and insight to critique the conventional wisdom that he’s a great passer. I am mixed about whether he will contribute. My take is hat good defenders need to have an offensive skill set in at least one area or there is too much pressure on the others. He only rarely would play without looney or Draymond and that leaves only three strong offensive players max. (My dream was that looney would work in midrange all summer and return as a threat. -maybe?) I would love McGee especially for injury or rest days. Or biyombo possibly
I had an ir-rashional good feeling once. Some Calamine lotion cleared it right up.
You called me? Its pronounced Arash by the way lols
OT: Montrezl Harrell tears his ACL in offseason workouts, likely out for the season. Ugh. Probably wasn’t an integral part of Philly’s plans, but man, that franchise feels cursed. Get well soon, Trez!
Horrible.
Well, he can use some of his 3 lbs. of personal use marijuana to control the pain.
So somehow youtube got the idea that I am interested in a dude named Kai Sotto joining the Dubs bc I clicked on a vid saying it was happening, and now I get a new clone vid in my feed ever day or two that I don't watch. Never heard of him, looks like he's wearing cinder block shoes in the first vid's highlights. Someone or somebot really wants me to pay attention. DDG says he is 7'3", got a few minutes in SL and went undrafted for the second straight year. Nobody has mentioned him on this board as far as I can remember, so: is this a prank? A weird robo-shill job? Have others seen this YT-force-feeds-unknown-hooper-hype-to-me thingy?
this is probably the deadest part of the year for the NBA. Only real sickos around at this stage, so bb content creators have to mine niche audiences. Kai fits a number of those focus groups.
A sobering assessment of Kai's trajectory, which illustrates the risks that can derail a good prospect who hasn't done anything wrong per se:
https://youtu.be/LO0o0PPY8tc
Thanks all, serves me right for playing with Alphabet's weapons of mass distraction.
I'm gonna guess: it gets a lot of engagement from the die hard Filipino fans so the algorithm sees it and the content creators jump on it.
I am Filipino and these last two years my dad keeps saying the Warrior should sign him hah
I know the name Kai Sotto and that he was mentioned as a potential Warriors target (or an example of Myers ineptitude for not drafting him or something), but I don't remember if it was from articles magically fed to me from the universe, or from here. Regardless of where I got them, I'm pretty sure at this point his prospects to ever join an NBA roster are quite slim. Good luck big fella.
I've been getting that too. He's a Filipino and apparently a year ago there was some podcast hype that he was going to sign with the Dubs, and now it's coming around again. I saw a bunch of podcasts claiming that he is signing with us: Swish Central, Golden State Warriors News, Hoops Co, Bully Ball, Dub Nation TV. I watched a couple and they were pure speculation, people indulging their fan imagination. My BS meter was pinned in the red. I've never seen anything from a reliable source even mention the possibility.
I'm pretty excited for TJD's rim protection and I agree it'll be a factor immediately. I'll be curious to see how quickly he picks up Warriors offensive and defensive team concepts, like split cuts, high tag, relocation screens, and what-was-it-called that defensive concept about overloading the strong side post on D, blocking the box? Excited for the first time he's gutsy enough to score off a fake handoff.
I replied to the original comment but I'll reiterate here: Looney is about as good as a low-volume passer can be. Led the league in AST/TOV for most of the last season and posted similar numbers before that. If TJD is a LoonDawg in passing that's awesome.
Oh shoot, I completely forgot this was going to happen! Appreciate the credit given on the scouting report!
got any more breakdowns coming?
👍🏼
I'm late: Underrated is quite enjoyable. 👍🏾
Are we there yet?
This is excellent. Thank you!
Great analysis, thanks for sharing. The caution on short roll passing reminds me to temper my expectations a bit. Looney seems like a solid comp but even Looney wasn't Looney right away (edit: i.e. even if TJD becomes Loon 2.0, it might likewise take a bit to get there).
Open question - when did Looney become a "guy" to you? At what point did "Looney" become "Loon" and when did he become "LoonDog/Moses MaLoon?"
Looney played 36 college games and was dealing with chronic injuries. TJD has played 132 college games and is presumably healthy.
I’d hope his ramp up is faster than Loondawg’s
Still blows my mind that he pulled **18.8 fvcking rebounds per 36 minutes** during last year’s 13-game playoff run. And stole the soul of one of Sacramento’s two Franchise Players.
Stealing Domas’ soul >>> stomping Domas’ chest.
He was a guy when he stayed in front of James Harden on the perimeter. He became Moses MaLoon when he started gobbling up absurd amounts of offensive rebounds.
This!
At this point, I dunno why isn't considered a part of the core cause he is.
Low key, he’s probably my #2 “most core” guy, behind Steph and slightly ahead of Kerr, Dray, Wiggs, and Klay (roughly in that order).
But who *doesn’t* consider him core?
My fever dream hope is that Looney becomes the Warriors Haslem. He seems like such a solid guy, and his dependability is one of my fave things.
Every Time Klay Thompson Made A Paper Airplane During A Press Conference | #BestOfNBA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fu7oIJVIWYA
Have we talked about this yet?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A2mR8dQ5Rk
Tobe Nwigwe and Steph: Lil Fish, Big Pond.
umm... is the lip sync off on purpose? The green screen work with the pond seems artificial on purpose, so maybe?
I love Tobe (and Fat), thanks for sharing
That was freaking amazing!
Steve Kerr on how he plans to integrate Chris Paul with the Warriors next season 👀 | NBA Today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ln5V_5PZRuU
Steve Kerr talks Team USA roster & CP3 addition + Luka Doncic's offseason | NBA Today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJZ7NbZK_MU
(Includes video content linked above)
Good video.
"We've all hated him, but now he's our guy and we love him." Nuts.
Getting past old rivalries is different for coaches and players than for us fans. Surely some players make themselves so odious that other players and coaches can't get past it, but CP3 isn't THAT bad. He does stuff that we fans don't like to see. But he doesn't try to hurt anyone, hasn't punched anyone, hasn't been involved in domestic violence or sexual assault that we know of. On the other side, he does help out younger players and makes his teammates better. He plays hard on both ends of the court. He has no rings but his teams have won a lot, and he's a major reason for that. So the Dubs coaches and players might not love him but they will at least come to appreciate him.
Plus, it’s their job. It’s probably akin from going to work at Pepsi after a bunch of years working at Coca Cola, Ford to Chevy, Miller to Budweiser, etc. I went from working over 15 years at one company to working at its most bitter rival. It’s weird for a few weeks, then it’s just work.
Same, TBH
One thing I'd like a reporter to ask Klay is how he feels about all the college conference realignment BS that looks like it is going to leave Washington State out in the cold. He's their most successful basketball (sports?) export ever, I'm sure he has some feelings about it.
Can ask GP2 as well since Oregon State is in the same boat. Not that he's their most successful basketball export (that would be his dad), but he's their most prominent player currently in the league as the only other NBA Beaver is Drew Eubanks.
Klay: "Win or lose, Cougs booze"
I haven't been following it much, but from what I last saw it seems like a lot of universities are going to be left out in the cold. Sad.
I’ll pretend to be Klay
“Whoaaaa”
Or … is that Ted of Bill and Ted?
I love Klay’s combo of being Ted off the court and (when he’s rolling) John Wick on the court.
Warrior preseason schedule is out:
https://www.nba.com/warriors/news/warriors-2023-preseason-schedule-20230802
Lakers, @Lakers, @Kings, Kings, Spurs. First game on the 7th of October.
No trips to Japan on the schedule, which is good because every time the Warriors do preseason halfway across the world they seem to start the season slower than you'd expect.
That Japan trip really started us off on the wrong foot. Very glad to not be doing that again.
Thanks, and eek two more months of summer dog days without NBA ball. So spoiled am I. With the USWNT looking so bad, I'm going to have to find new hobbies besides sports fandom for a while. Maybe work down my voluminous home-repair todo list.
Well you could catch some baseball action - yes the USWNT is looking second rate compared to teams like Japan, england and many other teams. Their in-game strategy is downright insipid and the players seem both slower and less skilled then many of their opponents. The post-game commentary after the portugal hame was fiery.
The USWNT has been completely outclassed in the midfield in two out of three games.
Since they can't bring Morgan Brian in to fix things this time, as they did in 2015, I don't think this is going to end well.
Well I don't know how you feel about international basketball, but the FIBA World Cup is going from August 25th to September 10th. Should have a bit of Warrior representation with Santos (Brazil), Quinones (Dominican Republic), and Joseph (Canada).
No Saric or Kuminga because their countries didn't qualify. Wiggins might play Olympics for Canada but isn't playing in this. Curry might play Olympics as well (god I fucking hope so), perhaps Draymond as well depending on what he looks like in a year. Perhaps Podziemski will eventually join the Polish team.
Ooh i hope Podziemski does end up playing for Poland so I can call him The Polish Hammer. Ive been saving that nickname for years
Hammer seems too blunt for a smaller guy like Podz. Perhaps The Polish Socket Wrench?
I was calling Omri Casspi “The Hebrew Hammer”. Like Casspi, it never really caught on.
It's been done
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dc-sports-bog/wp/2014/05/14/marcin-gortat-hasnt-always-been-the-polish-hammer/
when steph put Gortat in the blender:
https://youtu.be/8q2hcCE7raU
WUUUUUTTTTTTTTT!??!!!
Thanks for the deep dive Arash! Excited about our new big man. He seems to have the right skillset and attitude to flourish here.
It’s a great commentary l appreciated the willingness and insight to critique the conventional wisdom that he’s a great passer. I am mixed about whether he will contribute. My take is hat good defenders need to have an offensive skill set in at least one area or there is too much pressure on the others. He only rarely would play without looney or Draymond and that leaves only three strong offensive players max. (My dream was that looney would work in midrange all summer and return as a threat. -maybe?) I would love McGee especially for injury or rest days. Or biyombo possibly