There was no way the Giants and most of the other teams in the MLB were going to offer him that much money. So while it is quite disappointing that he went the Dodgers (who already spend a ton of money on players), it's no surprise that he went to the highest bidder.
Inevitable… MLB is a weird spot, where the Dodgers can just sign everybody without blinking… and then be competitive every year, but not just overpower their opponents via payroll, cuz there’s enough randomness on BABIP, etc.
The fact that we blew another three point, last-possession lead to this team by botching the foul we should have committed last time... it's like something dreamt up by Torquemada. I'm almost impressed by the cruelty.
Or perhaps like Prometheus, who stole fire from Olympus that humans could have civilization, the W's, whose motion offense and shape-shifting defense unleashed a decade of hellfire on the league and altered the paradigm of the sport, have just been condemned to eternal torment and anguish.
Kerr and I agree that this team can win a title. But where we part ways is that there is A formula for winning it. He kept saying "We know THE formula." But there's more than ONE formula! And his belief that there is ONE formula? That's his problem right there. That's why he is stubbornly clinging to the same line-ups despite the obvious need to adjust. And so forth.
When Wiseman sat the bench most thought it was fine, but a minority of us thought this indicated that Kerr doesn't know what he's doing. Then throw in JK and Moody--all three of them second thoughts in favor of Jeremy Lamb. To some of us, it was more evidence Kerr did not know what he was doing. Still, a strong resistance to that idea was evident.
Wiseman was an inkblot test where each could see what they wanted, and even now he is still an inkblot test. Was he never gonna be good, or did Kerr massively mess up his development? It's an interesting question, but for the Dubs Wiseman's development no longer matters.
What does matter? We now have TJD, a player who already contributes to winning. But TJD languishes on the bench while the team loses games he could have positively affected. I think this is a CRUCIAL EXPERIMENT in the sense that it completely reveals which proposed answer is right. It is the case that seals the deal: Kerr is doing it wrong. He's doing it wrong starting the defensively challenged Klay over Moody. He's doing it wrong not even having JK in the planned rotation against a hyper-athletic team. He's doing it wrong subbing out Moody and leaving in Klay in crunch-time. And he's doing it wrong playing Podz (good move) but acting like the talented TJD is a spectator who mistakenly was given a Dubs uniform.
These things are happening so much that they are a pattern. It tells me Kerr is a good coach for a front-running team that already just needs a system upgrade, but he is not a good coach for the effort to keep the dynasty going by infusing it with new talent before the old core becomes unable to compete for titles. This second task is partly X's and O's, 'cause you need to elaborate your system to get the most out of the new talent and exploit new skills they have. But, at base, it is not really an X's and O's matter, its a "Can you tell the vet to whom you've grown close that they have to take a step back?" Kerr can't do it, and it will soon be too late to do it for this season, anyway.
SO, who should they get (at the end of the year when Kerr's contract is up)? I don't know. Whoever it is, it should be someone who will still run the motion offense and a switch-heavy defense, but who will put in the game the players who, with development opportunities, will be ready and able to contribute NOW (i.e., THIS YEAR), regardless of past accolades or the lack thereof. I don't think Steph will demand a trade--he was unhappy with Mark Jackson's firing, but they let him know the plan, he signed on, and a dynasty was born. I think if they show him the multiple times this year that Kerr's actions led to losses, he'll sign on, and more titles will follow. It helps that Kerr will not need to be fired. They could even promote him! Once Steph signs on, Dray's in. Klay may decide he won't accept coming off the bench and not being in closing line-ups. If so, he'll be gone. Wigs will have to decide if he's a professional basketball player or a "I'm good at this, I'll do it when I feel like it" player. And so on.
What fans and observers have to realize is that we are watching Steve Kerr morph into Mark Jackson, a coach who could take the team a long way, but no longer is able to do what the team needs him to do. This roster AS IS could win the title this year, in my estimation. Steph is still an All-Star at minimum, and arguably in the MVP discussion. Dray is still a defensive anchor, and his offense is near early-dynasty levels. And so on. But to make that happen you need someone who will make the tough calls. In my view, the management needed to get this team a real shot to realize that potential does not seem to be on the Warriors bench. Therefore, I reluctantly conclude, it is time for a change.
NBA Cup Game thread: https://dubnationhq.com/p/dnhq-rooting-guide-nba-cup-finals
The defense of the death lineup:
Klay: relentless on ball defender
Curry: passing lane menace
Iguodala: great communicator lock down on ball defender switchable to any position
Barnes: strong and long immovable in the 4 post switchable on the wing
Green: immovable in the post 5 good help D communicator
That lineup isn’t that small, they
OT: Shohei Ohtani to the Dodgers on a 10 year/$700 million deal. YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSHHHH, that's a lotta money!
Dodgers will still lose. What an embarrassing season.
Bad for the Giants. Not unexpected though.
There was no way the Giants and most of the other teams in the MLB were going to offer him that much money. So while it is quite disappointing that he went the Dodgers (who already spend a ton of money on players), it's no surprise that he went to the highest bidder.
I'm not any particular team's fan, but that's cool that Ohtani gets a chance pretty early to play for a really different team.
Inevitable… MLB is a weird spot, where the Dodgers can just sign everybody without blinking… and then be competitive every year, but not just overpower their opponents via payroll, cuz there’s enough randomness on BABIP, etc.
bleh bleh bleh
The fact that we blew another three point, last-possession lead to this team by botching the foul we should have committed last time... it's like something dreamt up by Torquemada. I'm almost impressed by the cruelty.
Or perhaps like Prometheus, who stole fire from Olympus that humans could have civilization, the W's, whose motion offense and shape-shifting defense unleashed a decade of hellfire on the league and altered the paradigm of the sport, have just been condemned to eternal torment and anguish.
This season, I’m getting Sisyphus vibes.
The way our TO's are spreading, I'm catching Syphilis vibes
There's no question that Sisyphus could pound the rock.
"The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy."
–Steve Kerr
I feel like I just went to a European tent revival.
Kerr and I agree that this team can win a title. But where we part ways is that there is A formula for winning it. He kept saying "We know THE formula." But there's more than ONE formula! And his belief that there is ONE formula? That's his problem right there. That's why he is stubbornly clinging to the same line-ups despite the obvious need to adjust. And so forth.
When Wiseman sat the bench most thought it was fine, but a minority of us thought this indicated that Kerr doesn't know what he's doing. Then throw in JK and Moody--all three of them second thoughts in favor of Jeremy Lamb. To some of us, it was more evidence Kerr did not know what he was doing. Still, a strong resistance to that idea was evident.
Wiseman was an inkblot test where each could see what they wanted, and even now he is still an inkblot test. Was he never gonna be good, or did Kerr massively mess up his development? It's an interesting question, but for the Dubs Wiseman's development no longer matters.
What does matter? We now have TJD, a player who already contributes to winning. But TJD languishes on the bench while the team loses games he could have positively affected. I think this is a CRUCIAL EXPERIMENT in the sense that it completely reveals which proposed answer is right. It is the case that seals the deal: Kerr is doing it wrong. He's doing it wrong starting the defensively challenged Klay over Moody. He's doing it wrong not even having JK in the planned rotation against a hyper-athletic team. He's doing it wrong subbing out Moody and leaving in Klay in crunch-time. And he's doing it wrong playing Podz (good move) but acting like the talented TJD is a spectator who mistakenly was given a Dubs uniform.
These things are happening so much that they are a pattern. It tells me Kerr is a good coach for a front-running team that already just needs a system upgrade, but he is not a good coach for the effort to keep the dynasty going by infusing it with new talent before the old core becomes unable to compete for titles. This second task is partly X's and O's, 'cause you need to elaborate your system to get the most out of the new talent and exploit new skills they have. But, at base, it is not really an X's and O's matter, its a "Can you tell the vet to whom you've grown close that they have to take a step back?" Kerr can't do it, and it will soon be too late to do it for this season, anyway.
SO, who should they get (at the end of the year when Kerr's contract is up)? I don't know. Whoever it is, it should be someone who will still run the motion offense and a switch-heavy defense, but who will put in the game the players who, with development opportunities, will be ready and able to contribute NOW (i.e., THIS YEAR), regardless of past accolades or the lack thereof. I don't think Steph will demand a trade--he was unhappy with Mark Jackson's firing, but they let him know the plan, he signed on, and a dynasty was born. I think if they show him the multiple times this year that Kerr's actions led to losses, he'll sign on, and more titles will follow. It helps that Kerr will not need to be fired. They could even promote him! Once Steph signs on, Dray's in. Klay may decide he won't accept coming off the bench and not being in closing line-ups. If so, he'll be gone. Wigs will have to decide if he's a professional basketball player or a "I'm good at this, I'll do it when I feel like it" player. And so on.
What fans and observers have to realize is that we are watching Steve Kerr morph into Mark Jackson, a coach who could take the team a long way, but no longer is able to do what the team needs him to do. This roster AS IS could win the title this year, in my estimation. Steph is still an All-Star at minimum, and arguably in the MVP discussion. Dray is still a defensive anchor, and his offense is near early-dynasty levels. And so on. But to make that happen you need someone who will make the tough calls. In my view, the management needed to get this team a real shot to realize that potential does not seem to be on the Warriors bench. Therefore, I reluctantly conclude, it is time for a change.
Clearly Kerr hates players who have J in their initials.
🎵It's about time we realize it, we're all in this together
It's about time we find out it's all of us or none
It's about time we recognize it, these changes in the weather
It's about time, it's about changes, and it's about time🎵