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It's early in the morning and there are already so many good ideas for free agent targets, too many for me to track.

I want to try an experiment. I've opened up a vote at https://www.tricider.com/brainstorming/2nc9mkeOJNJ Here you can propose free agents and also vote up the proposals of others that you support. You don't need an account there (but if you want one, they are free).

I will add the top vote getters to our Free Agent Tracker if they aren't already there.

*for everyone's sanity, only reply as a normal comment, do NOT reply directly to this pin. I will delete all direct replies.*

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Warriors 2022-2023 9-man Playoff rotation. (2nd Rd Exit)

Curry, Klay, Wiggs, Dray, Loon

Poole, DDV, Moody & GP2 (tallest guy, 6'6")

Warriors 2023-2024 9-man Playoff rotation.

Curry, Klay, Wiggs, Dray, Loon (no change, one year older)

Chris Paul, Moody, GP2 and ?

If the bench is the problem as many claim, then improving the bench is the key to progressing further in the playoffs. Chris Paul, sports hate aside, is an upgrade on Jordan Poole's 'back up point guard' minutes and he is an upgrade on Poole's 'back up 2 guard minutes' because he would be pushing Curry into more off ball minutes when they share the floor. That is an improvement.

Size. It's obvious that the biggest jump the Dubs can make is adding size to the 4 man bench, something they lacked the prior year. The loss of DDV can be absorbed by Moody and GP2 (and Paul) who can replicate most aspects of DDV's game in their own minutes. I don't see a rookie getting real minutes in the playoffs, so we can scratch TJD off the list. So, this appears to be the biggest piece of the off-season puzzle. It's not making an improvement on a former player. It's filling an obvious and empty hole from the prior year. It's going from zero to something. And who this player is, this big, is in my mind, the bellwether of what direction the Dubs go in the playoffs, deeper or a quicker exit. Do we get a dynamic big that can add an element that we don't have currently, or will it end up being a placeholder big, a Kevin Love type, who will fill the backup role, but in a limited way?

Upgrades. Can the Warriors snag a guy on a vet min or via trade (JK, Moody, or GP2 headed out) that could be better than either GP2 or Moody in that 9 man unit? You're not going to beat Chris Paul as a bench player or whatever big the Warriors can land who will back up Dray and Loon in the front court. A dynamic poa and wing defender, a pump faking athlete who can hit some mid-range jumpers, who can put pressure on the rim and knock down some open 3s with a decent feel for the game would be nice. But those players are hard to come by and I can't imagine how the Warriors could find a guy like that. The Warriors finding a guy like that is like believing in Santa Claus.

Speaking of finding a guy like that, the Warriors could shop JK. Some GMs might still see potential in the former #7 pick and exchange a proven over the hill high IQ vet. Although warning to any potential JK buyers. Send a limo to pick him up at the airport. According to Curry, the kid is bus-averse.

Well, it looks like Chris Paul, Moody, GP2 and a roll of the dice on a vet big will fill out our 9-man playoff rotation. What's the confidence level out there with this group, and you get to pick a big (no Brook Lopez, c'mon people!)? I mean, we did it with Poole-GP2-OPJ-Beli. But has anyone ever believed that we would see "Chris Paul" and "Magical Season" used in the same sentence?

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Im not sure what data says, but wasn’t Poole’s “collapse” the difference maker? Paul improves the bench. JK and Moody continue improving, why trade (our best two up and coming youngens) for some risky, short term, old dude?

I really hope FO/kerr stands more or less pat and invests in integrating moody and jk more into the fold.

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We should use these last three spots to sign Bamba, Wagner and Speights.

Mo, Mo, Mo. How do you like it? How do you like it?

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Mo Mo's, mo problemos.

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Love it 😂

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Jun 30, 2023·edited Jun 30, 2023

Wait hold up, Russel Westbrook is a free agent . . . .

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And? I saw some headline saying that he wants to take his time... in my book, that's code for: I'm gonna get the vet min from somebody, so I'm going to wait to see who's got the best situation for me to get some minutes and try to stay relevant.

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We should contact both Lopez twins and offer them minimum deals and, more importantly, the chance to play together and compete for a ring.

Yeah, it’s two spots, but worth it for Brook.

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Brook is probably getting a MLE deal. He's not coming for a vet min. Robin... maybe.

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Jun 30, 2023·edited Jun 30, 2023

Give new meaning to the idea of the twin towers.

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Now, we wait . . . (or alternatively, as soon I log off, the biggest trade/signing of the season happens)

https://media.tenor.com/rec5dlPBK2cAAAAd/mr-bean-waiting.gif

TGIF tomorrow (thank god it's free agency)!

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Jun 30, 2023·edited Jun 30, 2023

Here's your fun fact for the day ...

remember Damian Jones, played for the Warriors, traded to Atlanta for Spellman, basically an afterthought on every team that's ever had him?

He's made more than $14 million in salary (including his upcoming, guaranteed year).

I was looking to see if Utah might waive him and we could bring him back on a min.

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I 10000% forgot him and thought I was misremembering the last name of Steph's brother in law. Good on him!

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"[Weitzman] Getting some draft picks and salary filler like Norman Powell and Marcus Morris from the Clippers isn't going to do — at least not until Morey has a separate deal for another star (Zach LaVine maybe?) ready to go."

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"[Stein] NBA matters are especially fluid this time of year -- as James Harden's opt-in in Philly just showed us -- and league sources say A) Indiana is a new team to watch in the pursuit of Denver's Bruce Brown and B) Indiana should NOT automatically be deemed Max Strus' landing spot."

Please, notLakers, go ahead and sign him.

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Wonder if he wants a shot to shine and not just play behind superstars

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I'm not sure what's going to happen tomorrow but I can almost guarantee that at least one fanbase will be checking their phones like https://media3.giphy.com/media/13871fiv9kBfkQ/giphy.gif?cid=ecf05e47q5z1tty5tbbl5tey6jr45xzwq01r5ynem5pziq9p&ep=v1_gifs_search&rid=giphy.gif&ct=g

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Wow, great summary of today's action so far. I thought most of this would go down tomorrow, but it looks like it's already time to fire up the F5 key!

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So Slater predicts the three remaining slots will go to a Guard, a Wing, and a Big:

"My sense of the Warriors’ overarching desire entering free agency would be to fill the final three spots this way: big man who can stretch the floor, extra guard who can score it at multiple levels and an additional wing. But the market will dictate what they can actually get done."

Do you guys agree? Not agree?

The wing AS wants sounds much more like a combo guard or #2 guard rather than the playmaking 3rd PG most of the people here seem to want (and the Dubs want since they tendered Ty). My gut tells me he's assuming Podz is gonna be the 3rd PG, and so he wants a 3rd SG.

Honestly, I think having Podz on the roster, and LQ on a 2-way should be enough playmaking, so I'd prefer the Dubs sign one of the #2 guards Slater has on his list rather than Ty, assuming they only sign one more guard to the 15-man.

Also, I think of JK, Moody, and GP2 as wings, so I feel like along with Klay and Wiggs, the wings are already pretty deep, so I think I'd prefer 2 bigs and a guard signing.

Some part of me just remembers all the times last year during the regular season it felt like a big was taking the Dubs apart (or maybe it's just too much Lakers' trauma), so I feel like, in addition to a stretch 4, the Dubs need a rim-protecting 5 bruiser like Len or someone in the Bogut/ZaZa mold.

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I wish they would quit dwelling on a shooting big and just get Robin and Howard to knock people around and grab boards when needed. And both have done fine work off the bench.

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Need that muscle to protect Curry and Paul, too. (Insert picture of Russell Westbrook facedown at mid-court here).

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John Gambadoro

@Gambo987

The Suns are not going to meet with Kyrie Irving. This is absurd!

@ChrisBHaynes

7h

NBA star Kyrie Irving intends to meet with the Phoenix Suns when the free agency period begins on June 30, league sources tell @NBAonTNT, @BleacherReport. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10081102-nba-intel-latest-on-kyrie-irving-free-agency-meetings-kyle-kuzmas-top-suitor-more

————————————————-

The quicker Chris Haynes and to an extent Shams and Woj fall off a proverbial cliff, the better the state of NBA reporting will be for it. This isn’t them having sources breaking news, this is them pushing propaganda pieces on behalf of their sources

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Jun 30, 2023·edited Jun 30, 2023

Not that Shams and Woj aren't ever wrong (sometimes badly wrong), but sometimes local reporters (Gambadoro) are fed stuff by teams.

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Same with TK i agree. I think theres levels to this and the Chris Haynes are the worst violators but read any recent Tim Kawakami article and its coming straight from Joe Lacob

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Haynes seems to alternate between great scoops and off-the-wall clickbait.

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And sometimes Woj/Shams are fed stuff by teams, agents, etc… everybody has an angle

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Yep, very difficult to tell as outsiders what's actually going on.

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Sacramento Kings forward Harrison Barnes – a key part of the franchise’s rise into Western Conference contention – has agreed on a new three-year, $54 million contract extension

https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1674570811611422722

I'm surprised Kings kept Barnes.

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Cheap.

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Wiggins deal is better, imo

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My interpretation is that the Barnes deal doesn't change what Draymond's free agency looks like, it's a reaction to what Draymond's free agency looks like. Sacramento moved on to a more realistic target.

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It takes away a threat of a team being able to pay over 30. So that’s helpful for the Warriors and unhelpful to Dray.

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The Dubs and Dray may already have agreed on a number, though

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Still stays connected on defense and Brown wants that emphasized going forward

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There goes their cap space to sign Dray$.

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Excellent.

I think this is the signal that Dray is not leaving. Plus, Barnes was my fav Warrior until Looney became LOOONNNNEEY

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No more 30 million leverage for Dray. 18-20 here we go!

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You think the Kings were the only viable suitor besides us? Maybe 30M is too high but 20 sounds pretty low, nice as it would be for GSW. I suspect some teams could split the difference.

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Good for the warriors 😬

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Good deal for both parties involved. Good deal for Warriors FO negotiating with Draymond

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Is JK bigger than Wiggins? I know the Dubs play JK in the 4 more, but that's because he can't create his own shot like Wiggs and can't shoot the 3 like Wiggs. So he plays the 4 more than Wiggs, but is he actually bigger?

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He's 7'2", of course he is.

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They’re both listed at 6’7”, but Kuminga is 225 lbs vs. Wiggins’ 197.

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I went back and checked the NBA combine numbers for 2021 ... Kuminga apparently either did not attend or was not measured, so we can't determine this for sure, I think.

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Pretty sure Kuminga is at least an inch shorter than Wiggs (I don't mean hair). I'd be shocked if he's even 6'6" in socks.

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They look the same height to me https://theathletic.com/3340727/2022/06/01/warriors-wiggins-durant-kuminga/

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Might be deceiving. Wiggins hairline is higher than Kuminga's and also lower on his forehead than Kuminga's is on his. But, I could be wrong.

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Last year i was surprised how short Kuminga was (i thought he was a legit 6’8) and how tall PBJ seemed to be (defn doesnt look 6’10)

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He's really more guard sized. If he was skilled enough to be a guard, he'd kill people. But, I'm not sure about this idea that he's a big (which is what Kerr said).

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Yeah imo for this team hes a guard defensively and a PF offensively. Wish it was the other way around where we could bring him in a small ball lineup as a PF where he could matchup well with other PFs and spread the floor offensively

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/shrug

They do it with GP2.

That said, in 2022 they had OPJ as a big wing that rebounded well and shot the 3 that connected a whole lot of lineup possibilities.

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So by extending a QO to Ty, the Dubs have committed one of the three remaining 15-man roster spots, right?

At this point, it's up to Ty - if he finds a better offer elsewhere, he can leave, or he can take the vet min (2+yrs) the Dubs made in the QO.

Can the Dubs still cut him? eg. if a better option becomes available for the vet min, can they cut Ty?

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If Ty doesn't accept the QO, the team can withdraw the offer. Then he becomes an unrestricted free agent.

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But what if he does accept the QO? Is it at that point guaranteed?

Basically, have the Dubs already decided one of their remaining free agent slots already and filled it with Ty (assuming no other teams outbid the Dubs)?

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Jun 30, 2023·edited Jun 30, 2023

Edited. If he accepts the QO, other teams can make offers, which we can match within certain restrictions that Eric explained further up on the thread. (I was not familiar with those.) But if he and the Dubs come to terms, one variable is whether the deal is for a regular roster spot or a two-way (if he is even eligible for another two-way deal). If Ty signs a regular deal, it's guaranteed for a year. If it's a two-way, he can be waived at any time and become UFA. As I understand it the QOs extended to LQ and Nico are both two-way deals.

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I don't think Ty is eligible anymore for a 2-way, so this means Ty is pretty much guaranteed a spot on the 15-man.

Also, if he signs the QO, there's no "coming to terms" as I understand it. The terms are set in the QO. At anytime they could negotiate for something higher than the QO (e.g. non-bird raise), but the QO is probably just the minimum, and that's probably all he'd get elsewhere, so he'd most likely just accept the QO.

Since it sounds like it's guaranteed, Ty is pretty much on the 15-man at this point. I guess the Dubs filled one of their 3-remaining free agent slots?

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author

To be clear, GSW offered the QO and Ty is automatically a Restricted FA. GSW has the right to match any offer (though GSW match has to comply with cap rules). Ty can sign it or go get another offer.

Ty is not eligible for a two-way because he’s played four years.

If Ty gets an offer that is too large for GSW to match with the non-bird exception, he will leave. If it is within the exception, GSW will match or refuse to match. If Ty signs the QO, then he’s with GSW.

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Jun 30, 2023·edited Jun 30, 2023

I was asking if the QO has to be a guaranteed deal. Because if it is, it seems like the Dubs have basically just filled one of their 15-man slots.

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author
Jun 30, 2023·edited Jun 30, 2023Author

LC says:

For players coming off Two-Way contracts where the player is no longer eligible to sign another Two-Way contract, the qualifying offer is a standard NBA contract with the minimum salary based on years of service, with at least the Two-Way G-League amount guaranteed.

http://www.cbafaq.com/salarycap.htm#Q42

I believe the only scenarios where Ty does not come back are:

1. Ty gets an offer that GSW can’t match (this seems the most likely)

2. Ty gets an offer that GSW refuses to match (unlikely)

3. Ty signs the QO and GSW cuts him, paying him the guaranteed amount (G-League guarantee which is now $75K which is essentially $0 in the NBA). (Only if GSW desperately needs the roster spot.)

4. Ty refuses to sign any NBA contract and leaves the league. (Never)

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