Warriors-Kings postgame: Oubre shuts down future talk, maintains business posture; Wiseman “just needs to play”

Kerr believes team will make a run; Juan describes his dunk

Here are notes & quotes from Warriors-Kings postgame with Steve Kerr, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Kelly Oubre, and Nico Mannion.

By now, some of you have probably heard some headline or tweet like, “Oubre refuses to come off the bench.” Here’s the discussion we had on that on our (rather quiet, due to the loss) Discord late tonight after Oubre spoke — the video is clickable above but be sure to check our YouTube channel for more, such as news on the team getting vaccines, Wiseman talk, and even more Jordan Poole stuff left over (yeah, he’s been a hot topic):

Lori: “Man if I were Oubre, I'd be pissed at that reporter.”

Me: “He didn’t want to tip his hand. Andre Iguodala would’ve done the same thing, for example. I don’t think you can judge this until the day Oubre makes a decision and we will never really know his thought process that day a la Kevin Durant on July 4, 2016.

Players like Oubre and Iguodala hate to negotiate through the media. It’s the agent’s job and there’s a time for that. Oubre should’ve said ‘no comment’ on the bench question. I can only hope Draymond Green talks to him and says, look, here’s how Iguodala would’ve answered that. Because, now, Oubre has light the match on the media storm that will cause distractions in the locker room. Which is why KD did what he did back in the day, but I don’t even want to get into that.

But bottom line, Oubre did protect his negotiating position, although he set off a firestorm. #WarriorsTwitter is gonna have a meltdown …but not us here on this Discord.

Anyways, table it until the day Oubre has to decide. It will depend on how he’s feeling that day. We were worried Iguodala would take the SAC offer, remember? So we shouldn’t expend more energy on this than we did then.

Can you imagine if Klay Thompson himself were asked about this? What would Mr. I Ain’t Sacrificing Shit have said? Lol. But Big Media is gonna blow this up because certain reporters have multi-billion dollar machines to feed and certain slices of fandom want to drink their Kool-Aid.”

So anyways, that’s my editorial. On with the facts below…

KERR:

Warriors PR says trades are now official so we’re able to ask Kerr about them.

- Wiseman confidence: “that was a tough game for him and he’s 19 and it’s the NBA, this is the way it goes…why we gotta play him…get those minutes, feel the speed of the game…esp for big guys.”

- Wiseman needs? “Just experience, he just needs to play, it’s not about calling plays…at this level the game happens so fast, there’s so much to process…there’s a reason they struggle, look at Kevin Garnett…it’s just minutes and exposure…everybody’s just gotta stay patient.”

- recap: “we had no answer for Fox…disappointing…defense.”

- Juan: “every game is different. There was no Draymond…every guy just has to stay ready to play…if every time a guy had a good game that meant consistent minutes then I’d be playing 15 guys.”

- Wanamaker: “he’ll be closer to his family…there should be minutes for him…appreciated Brad’s professionalism…Quese, this is a really tough one, we really love Marquese…beloved in the locker room…but it’s the NBA, this is the business…Marquese understands…a lot of his teammates talked to him too.”

- Quese in SA? “You can ask Greg Popovich that question.”

- trade deadline, relief? “It clarifies things…it’s tough on all the guys…at least they can settle in…got another game tomorrow, I really believe this team is gonna make a run down the stretch…protocol, injuries, but I really believe in this group…get through the woods right now.”

- Wiseman improve? “I’m gonna repeat what I said earlier…speed of the game…but especially for a seven footer…everything will improve, it happens with all young guys…but particularly with guys with no college experience.”

- why belief? “We’ve been close for awhile, we were terrible defensively tonight but in general we’ve been pretty good defensively …getting James more minutes…Draymond and Steph…more home games, that bodes well…they’re competitive, they’re together.”

- Draymond tomorrow? “Idk”

- Nico shooting? “Well, he’s a good shooter…Orlando helped.”

JUAN:

- talked to Wiseman? “I try to find value anywhere I can…so many people out there criticize him…he’s at the pinnacle of his profession…why are you criticizing a 19 year old kid?…tell him to continue to smile…just enjoy it…you don’t know how long you’re gonna be playing basketball…it’s a game, you’re gonna have bad days sometimes…that kid is gonna be a monster.”

- starting vs bench? “I just know what’s expected of me…I know what I bring to the table…luckily tonight I made shots…who cares…sometimes when you come off the bench, you’re jumping into the flow of the game.”

- dunk: “that’s my first fast break, I’m still a kid…visualizing…that’s why people are tuning in, right?…I went with it.”

OUBRE:

- trade deadline: “Idk the right words so people don’t spin it…I’m just happy to be here.”

- comfortable? “I would love to…we got through one step…I’m here I’m a Warrior.”

- come off bench next season? “I can’t speak for the future, brother…I can offer a lot more than coming off the bench. At the end of the day, this is my life, I can’t tell the future.”

- talks (with Myers) about the future? “No.”

- recap? “They had more force than us…playing on our heels (Fox)…own the tempo…the energy…they had the upper hand.”

- Kerr belief in them: “algorithm to the great teams in this league…consistent effort each and every night…scouting report…player tendencies…slowly but surely it’s coming together.”

- take less money? “Bro, I’m not answering your questions no more, I’m sorry.”

NICO:

- recap? “Energy…guys hit shots…games that are tough to win…be more in sync…once guys get rolling it’s hard to turn that water off.”

Warriors PR: no more players at podium tonight, Bob Myers should be 10a or 11a tomorrow.