Love that Ainge is finally getting called out for his BS by other orgs in public. Dude can’t help himself and it’s about time somebody pushes back on his ridiculous demands whenever someone wants to do a trade with him.
I don't really care about Lacob's sour grapes. Ainge has a reputation, and he probably isn't lying about his asks when MDJ calls. Why should anyone get annoyed with that? It might be a bad strategy, but I can't fault someone for taking advantage of a good deal considering that's how we got Andrew and JK. If we want Ainge to deal before he is forced to, we either need LM to refuse to sign an extension, wait till Ainge needs to commit, or put up with his ask.
Fwiw I'm sure Jacob will justify speaking about this as a way to show the organization isn't sweating, so I don't really put any stock into it.
He definitely is reflecting what I said the other night…that they’re definitely showing that this deal not happening is no skin off of their teeth…shrug it off and move on. Love the mentality.
I don’t hold it too much against Ainge either…but he’s burning his bridges no matter what. Sending a msg to him that not everyone will bow to his every need in a lopsided trade will effectively make him come down off of his pedestal in future deals. Disagree if you want, but these things have ripple effects.
What happens when he badly wants a player from another team in the future? Going into negotiations, other GM’s will be aware of his nonsense offers and act accordingly. Karma is real.
It doesn't matter what is said in public; if teams walk away from Ainge's proposals, that says it all. If teams agree to his terms, that's up to them but no crying later.
I think the thing that sucks is that it's in his best interest to get LM off the team so they can poop for coop... hopefully he realizes that and gets a deal done
“While adding a player of Markkanen's caliber certainly would give the Warriors a better shot at helping Curry win a fifth NBA title next season, Lacob revealed his thinking in assessing big trades...“
Why doesn’t anyone ever talk about Lauri’s plethora of sustained injuries!? It’s always about his “caliber” or him being an “all star”…but the reality is, the best ability is availability, and he hasn’t proven that he can last a season.
Markkanen was an All Star once, two season ago, which is very good of course but the same can be said of Wiggins. We are not talking about one of the best players in the league.
"Why doesn’t anyone ever talk about Lauri’s plethora of sustained injuries!?"
Partly it's because no one's really sure how much he's been held out by the Jazz for tanking purposes and how much have been true injuries. But sure, it's a worry.
As for being done with this, Lauri is still the second best player who might change teams this offseason. And the Dubs are not good enough to be better than last year. And Steph will be 37 by the end of next year. So, while Ainge probably does suck to negotiate with, the Warriors should have some level of desperation. They're at best in the play-in with the current roster. So keep the roster as is because you don't overpay period. I get it, but never overpaying hasn't worked. Not pushing chips in is a move in itself.
That from his age 31-36 seasons Steph will have played like an MVP when not hurt and yet only made the playoffs twice is an absolute shame. Especially because when they did make the playoffs, they won the title one of the two times. And during those times the Dubs had assets like a surprise late first rounder perform worthy of a rookie max, a #2 pick, a #7 pick, a #14 pick, a #19 pick. None of those will have been used to help win titles now except Poole by his performance. And yet, by the time they think about trading any of those assets for help now, they're distressed. By the time they traded Poole, they had to add a pick to get an expiring. The #2 pick was worthless and was traded for a guy they could have just paid the prior offseason. The #7 pick isn't enough to not let PG walk for nothing or isn't offered for PG at all, but still has been benched in 3 straight playoff/playin runs. The #14 is now trade fodder for Warriors fans. The #19 pick is a hit but almost certainly not with superstar upside.
Picks are great. Young players are great. But Steph Curry is a legend. And the Warriors have squandered multiple years of his late prime already.
The Warriors have done better with Steph's prime than the vast majority of teams have done with the vast majority of superstars that ever played the game. Curry has four rings; only a handful of all-time superstars can say that.
Jerry West had one. Oscar Robertson had one. Charles Barkley had zero. Wilt had two. Bird and Dr J three each. And so on. That's how it usually goes. So were the years of their prime wasted? No way.
Steph has missed the playoffs 3x in the last 6 years. Now, one of those years he was hurt. But players of his caliber missing the playoffs is extremely rare. Titles aren't everything.
It’s more than just a worry. Much of it was him actually being injured. You don’t bench a player for 7 straight seasons do you? It’s a large concern. Dubz would effectively be putting all of their eggs and future eggs into one broken basket, just waiting for the bottom to drop out. He wants 3 or 4 1st rounders on top of 3 players? He can kick rocks
I’m personally going with the very gifted Podz (who can turn out better than Lauri even this year despite being shorter) and JK as huge potential to turn into something great.
And if everything you say about JK turns out to be true, that he’s just a one or two trick pony, then include him in a trade next off season
No one is squandering Steph’s remaining years, and Lacob just told you that that notion is simply ridiculous.
I love Podz as a prospect. I think he's got some chance to eventually be a Brunson or a SGA if every little thing goes right. But better than Lauri this year?!
I don't think people realize how good Lauri has been offensively. Lauri the last two years scored 26 pts/36 on .636 TS%. Steph Curry since his first MVP has scored 29 pts/36 at .640 TS%. Kevin Durant since leaving OKC is 28 pts/36 at .643. Lauri has been that level of scorer. And oh yeah, their best years relative to the league? For KD, 25-28. For Steph, 26-29. Lauri is currently 27. Offensively, LM is a top 10 guy in the league and probably top 20 player overall. If JK or Podz hit their absolute upside, they maybe sniff that territory.
If I thought Podz was likely to hit that SGA upside, I wouldn't. But that's super unlikely. And if the Clips had a Steph Curry on the roster when they made the PG trade? Well they probably would have won a title for all that it was a huge boon for OKC.
I disagree with “at best a play-in team”. You can argue about the likelihood, but Wiggins returning to ‘22 form alone could propel above that. Couple that with growth from the youth and the off-season improvements and I see a team that could beat last year’s WCF champs.
Yea I don't get that either. We were 3 games back of the 6th seed, 5 games back for the 4th seed.
It's not much to expect for Draymond to avoid getting suspended twice, to close out some of the games that we should've won, and have a decent version of Wiggs back. That alone could get us close to 50 wins.
That's not even mentioning whatever we're going to get instead of Klay's net -7.5 on-off.
Yea, as if the young talent won’t keep getting better. We should only judge them from their first couple of seasons in the nba…especially JK, because of all of that vast college experience, he should be all nba by now 🤦🏼
The Warriors two best players remain well over 30. They could easily get worse quickly to offset that growth. At the same time, teams like the Rockets, Grizz, and Spurs are getting better. The only playoff team that's likely to be worse is the Clips. Sure, there are universes where enough things go right that the Dubs are the 5 or 6 seed as currently constructed. But I wouldn't bet on it.
I largely agree with what you’re saying but don’t think they’ve squandered Steph’s prime. That concept is strange to me. But yes, some desperation is appropriate.
Fair - squandered is a word with connotations. Since KD left, they have not put Steph in the best position to succeed relative to his historical greatness, despite doing so amazingly in his early career.
I'm sure they wanted to but they were already paying crazy lux tax, there was no wiggle room and the league made it even harder.
And as much as we could have even tried to trade the farm of prospects and future picks, not sure who we could have gotten and we think the team will suck when curry leaves, as a business I don't think lacob wants a pos team when that happens
But it’s not for lack of trying, which I think is an important distinction. On paper, last year’s team should have been better. We were all excited going in.
I think drafting Wiseman was hubris and definitely constitutes lack of trying, same could be said for Kuminga over Wagner, which ironically would have been the better upside play too as it turns out.
Also, not trading any of these picks for outside help and instead trying to go two-timelines... though I acknowledge Lacob's complaint that it's more difficult to pull of trades than it seems, all the evidence points to them thinking they could pull off a two-timelines approach and failing miserably.
Not sure what salary filler they could’ve meaningfully used if they traded #2 (a fly key draft) and #7, but definitely missing on those two drafts hurts…
I still think the “the consensus was that Wiseman was top 3” is a super weak reason, because clearly no one was willing to trade up for him in a weird COVID draft.
But we can dream of a Halliburton/Wagner combo… and I bet Moody would get more playing time if we weren’t always so desperate to win games forcing Kerr to play other two way vets.
Digesting Joe Lacob's interview with Marcus Thompson and DA. Golly, I wonder which GMs this might be referring to?
[[
It's very, very hard to pull off trades because everyone wants to prove how, you know, these GMs, how smart they are. (laughs) It’s true, and they wanna impress their owners. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t. But here’s the problem. It’s just very—people, I think if I could share anything with many of the fans out there, and I read everything, you know, I read what people say, and the criticisms and the positive things—they don’t understand how hard it is and how illogical some of the parties on the other side are sometimes. Maybe we’re illogical too to some extent, but my point is it’s just really, really hard to pull these things off. And everyone writes all this stuff, and they have no idea what the other side’s asking for in some of these things.
<sarcasm font> I can't possibly imagine that he's referring to the GMs that his team has actively negotiated with this offseason... like the Clippers GM who decided to let PG13 walk instead of taking back *something* from the Warriors... or Danny "I only do trades that are lopsided" Ainge </sarcasm font>
I heard someone on the radio mention that Steve Kerr said there would be a competition for starters and that we had 3 spots open. What I didn't hear was who has an opening job nailed down. Curry, that's one. Can someone tell me the other?
And btw, who the hell cares about the opening lineup? Is Draymond gonna start and close even though he will be averaging around 27 minutes a game? Curry and JK, okay, that I get. Curry and Wiggins, I would say sure if it weren't for the fact that I think maybe he won't be around when the season tips off?
Point is, there is a benefit to being deep: you might not have the top players at each position, but you may have enough variety to match up well vs. different opponents. Strength in numbers isn't just an empty phrase. And can we stop caring about who starts, unless it's someone playing 30+ min per game. We have pawns in Chess that get used at the start of matches. The real match-ups come at the end of the game. Who's closing with me?
I think the last few champions have proven that depth is as or more important than who starts.
Conventional wisdom has been that you need to keep a tight rotation in the playoffs, but with the toll a deep run takes on the roster, physically and mentally, having a reliable second unit to hold the lead or provide different situational lineups really helps in terms of adjustments and keeping the entire team fresh to go the distance.
Draymond has been the guy who enables Curry to thrive for nine years now (with passing, screens, and help defense to cover Steph's defensive lapses). Kerr's not going to change that partnership unless Draymond's game falls off a cliff. So, if Curry starts, Dray starts.
Being the second best player doesn't necessarily mean one has to start. You can just as easily say that he should play 48 minutes because he's the second best player. But he only plays about 27 a game. I'm more concerned that our second best player has more in the tank to finish the game and one way of doing that is shortening the overall length of the game by not starting. The Warriors lost a lot of games late last year. Curry's play suffered as the year wore on, perhaps because of the volume of minutes Kerr was playing him? Just saying, with aging stars, # of minutes and when those minutes are played can impact games, and I want our aging stars to get to the last 6 minutes in the best shape. If that means playing Curry 31min p/gm during the regular season or Dray coming off the bench, it's all done with the intent of putting them in the best position to execute in the last 6 minutes.
Or we can just play the hell out of both of them and see how that works. No skin off my back. ;-)
My takeaways, with probably some confirmation bias:
1) Post Curry/Dray draft picks are off the table. We need these picks for the inevitable year or two of tanking to hopefully snag our next franchise player(s).
2) The deal for Markkanen from our side is either Kuminga or Moody+Podz, and 3 near term 1st round picks/swaps.
3) He claims they are using a sophisticated analytical model, presumably for building the rotation. Even if they are, is it really steering them in a direction that isn’t fairly obvious from statistics + eye test? This team needs (needed) better perimeter defenders, lineups with enough shooting threats to spread out opposing defenses, and a little more size to manage the paint.
The whole 'push your chips to the middle of the table' thing is so nuts. Doing that raises your chances at a championship, what, 5%?
If you're in a position like the Celtics, where you're clearly already knocking on the door of a title with the talent you have in-house, it makes sense to get one or two last pieces to get that extra boost.
If you're the Dubs, where, at best, you have a puncher's chance, mortgaging most of your future assets just because you think Steph is your only shot at a title in the next decade is perhaps a little desperate.
Disagree. If Draymond doesn’t get suspended we likely are the 5th or 6th seed. We’ve upgraded our ball handling and defense without dropping off too much with our shooting. I think we get 4 or 5 seed this year and surprise people.
The devil is obviously in the details on the Markkanen trade specifically, but I just really continue to distrust Lacob’s approach to the latter portion of this era.
Did you really have to sneak that personal insult in there?
Looking at past wins is result-oriented whereas an approach is about the process, and winning doesn't automatically validate processes when there's chance involved.
I don't think we've seen yet how Lacob's "we will never tank" approach will hold up post-Curry. imo, it's very possible that the Warriors are on a perennial play-in contender path until they tank for a generational lottery pick.
What is your definition of 'tank'? Purposely losing games? If so, Lacob will never do that. That is why they carefully selected the support players like Hield, Anderson, & Melton, to keep the team competitive with the subtraction of Klay. Of course it will be agonizing when Curry leaves, but there is no reason the team cannot survive bottoming out. There will be a ton of money available to sign players. Which ones, will be the test of the GM & Lacob. Sure they can make a mistake or two, but this team doesn't necessarily descend to the bottom of the heap. Within 10 years, we'll be back!
There's a difference between a blanket personal distrust of Lacob, and distrusting his approach, and specifically to a scenario that he wasn't faced with during the championships.
The Lakers’ inactivity has not been due to a lack of trying. They struck out with Klay Thompson, were unable to land other impact free agents like Jonas Valančiūnas and DeMar DeRozan, and have failed thus far to find common ground in trade talks with Portland, Brooklyn, Utah, Toronto and Orlando. Now, according to league and team sources, the Lakers are expected to remain patient in their quest to improve their roster.
One of the reasons the Lakers have been unable to make any signings and had to explore trades is that four roster holdovers who were given second-year player options last summer — D’Angelo Russell, Christian Wood, Jaxson Hayes and Cam Reddish — opted in due to their performances last season and the tight free-agent market. The latter three players, in particular, and the presence of developmental projects like Jalen Hood-Schifino, Maxwell Lewis and Bronny James, have created a rough backend to the Lakers’ roster. The team has several players who appear unlikely to contribute meaningfully next season and wouldn’t be in the rotations of most playoff teams.
As things stand, the Lakers have a full roster of 15 players with guaranteed contracts. They’re also roughly $45,000 under the second apron of nearly $189 million. That combination means they can’t sign any players in free agency or add any additional players (or salary) in any trades. They have two first-round picks to trade (2029 and 2031), as well as multiple first-round swaps and second-round picks.
The most straightforward way the Lakers can add talent is to make a consolidation trade. They can either send out more players than they receive in a deal or salary-dump Reddish, Wood and/or Hayes, along with a second-round pick or two, onto a team with roster and financial flexibility. If the Lakers traded two minimum players (Wood, Hayes and Reddish would qualify), they’d have enough room under the second apron to sign a player to the $5.2 million taxpayer midlevel exception. They could also add a player in a trade or sign player(s) to minimum contracts.
Since the failed Russell Westbrook move in 2021, which still has countless ripple effects in and around the Lakers, Los Angeles has been cautious in trade negotiations. There’s an understanding they can always wait until the trade deadline to move the player they need to deal (for example, Westbrook in 2022-23 and Russell in 2023-24). The Lakers artfully navigated the 2023 trade deadline, but weren’t as fortunate in 2024, with rival suitors reluctant to take on Russell’s contract in trades — despite his surging play at the time — without additional draft compensation.
I like seeing Lakers misery and would have loathed seeing 11 in purple and gold, but I think you can make the argument that getting a 2031 Lakers pick and DLo for Klay would have been better for the long-term future of the Dubs. I'm still happy we live in this reality and not that one.
I really wonder what a trio of Steph, JK and LM can do if we pull it off without giving up JK. That’s going to be pretty tough to guard the way JK can get down hill
If Kuminga is actually ready to be a true play initiator/facilitator, then I'm cool with giving up Podz. If that's the case, you can get a lot of size out there on the floor. But if Kuminga's going to have a hard time consistently beating his man off the dribble, and seeing where the doubles are coming from and consistently making the right pass, then it's not going to work all that well.
Part of me is thinking how good a thing it could be for the Dubs to have this crazy logjam at the wing. Not just 6 or 7 solid rotation guys but to actually start with 10 or 11 seems like a real opportunity. Potential. That’s what this team is about. TJD, Podz, Melton, Moody, Wiggins, JK, Gui, heck even GP2 could all improve on what they can deliver from last year. Really the only solid knowns are Steph, Draymond, Anderson and Hield. That leaves only Waters and Looney on the deep bench (probably with Gui). Plus the 2-ways.
It’s summer. Let me fantasize, hope, dream, what the best version of THIS Warriors team could be for just a few minutes. I think it could be very good.
This is a team that seems like it could take the approach of having most players play harder in fewer minutes and just overwhelm the other team with waves of fresh legs during the regular season. I get that it’s challenging to do in practice, and that injuries to 1-2 players at any point in time may make it not as relevant, but I think there were a few teams that did this last year to various extents and it had a positive impact.
Lindsey Harding — the G League coach of the year — has agreed on a deal to become an assistant with the Los Angeles Lakers. Harding leaves the Kings to rejoin JJ Redick, whom she spent time with on the Sixers staff and as a Duke All-American.
Some of these guys trend towards PG (Podz, Melton) and some trend towards Big (Anderson, Santos) but still: that’s a *lot* o’ mouths to feed. Anyone wanna hazard a guess as to which (if any) will not be on the team come opening night?
It's not perfect but I'd probably further subdivide this way. Not sure how Plowden and Waters match up defensively... I've grouped them with the "small wings".
----
Brandin Podziemski G 6-5 205
De'Anthony Melton G 6-2 200
----
Gary Payton II G 6-2 190
Buddy Hield G-F 6-4 220
Lindy Waters III G 6-6 215
Moses Moody G 6-6 205
Daeqwon Plowden 6-6 215
----
Andrew Wiggins F-G 6-7 197
Gui Santos F 6-8 209
Jonathan Kuminga F 6-8 210
----
Kyle Anderson F-G 6-9 230
---
I feel like those weights (from bballref) aren't up-to-date... Podz is only 5 lbs lighter than JK? EDIT: there's also Beekman, oh well.
That's how I approach it most of the time. That describes most players fairly well. But you still need the old fashioned 5 position labels for stats, lineups, etc.
All right, with Plowden getting the 2-way (yay), the Warriors have a bit of a roster crunch because they have 14 Players that bring the too close to the 1st apron (which they are hard capped under as a result of the melton signing) to sign another player to the 15th spot even if they wanted to and they still have Post. Right now only Gui and the 3 2-ways Plowden, Beekman, and Spenser are not guaranteed so the most likley solution here is that one of these 4 gets waived to clear a spot for post. I think it would be weird to waive Gui after all we did to keep him up to this point and given the other options so I consider that a low probability outcome. Eric has pointed out that Beekman came with a promise of a 2-way and it would likely be bad business to go back on that promise and we obviously didn't just offer Plowden only to waive him again. So I think, sooner or later we will se Spenser waived and that spot filled by post.
However, It occured to me that we have all observed that have too mamny players that can play and (I am not the first to speculate about this) even if the LM thing doesn't happen they may try to consolidate a bit and recoup some salary room. So I had a little fun on a spreadsheet trying to figure out who was likely to go. I found it interesting because there are unknowns at literally every spot. However I eliminated the ones that don't matter. Like, we don't know how Steph and Dray will play but I am not putting them in the unknown category. And, I mean you never know about any player even if you discount possible health issues, but we are on the extremes.
WIggs: if we get '24 Wiggs, ugh. If we get '22 Wiggs (or even close) we are going to be a lot better than people think
GP2: mostly considered obsolete but remember what he can do when healthy. Seems like it's hard for him to stary that way, but if he did, he's worth the money.
Loon: No idea why Loon went from great to deep bench fom '23 to '24 and his decline seems the most static, but if he goes back to 12 reb/gm great D Loon ...
Melton - really just his back. if that's fixed he is solid
JK, Podz, TJD, Moody - How much can they improve. A little jump by anyone makes them a rotation player or starter, En masse they provide a ton of possibility (positive and negative, I guess)
Waters - actually looks pretty good in low minutes. Can he do that in a slightly expanded role?
So basically the only predictable players we have are Buddy and Slo-mo. And the If's all make it impossible to figure out choices. e.g.
If Melton is 100% does that make GP2 expendable (full disclosure : I love GP2 but I'm trying to be dispassionately analytical here)? What if GP2 comes back 100%? who does that make expendable?
What if Moody starts hitting 39& from 3 and JK stays exactly the same? might change the trade calculus a bit ... in either direction.
If JK makes another jump and Wiggs comes back can we find a way to use them both a lot? They are our best athletes. Or does that make JK an even more valuable trade chip at the deadline?
I usually think i have a handle on the possibilities but I am fascinated by how much variability there is even relative to the normal high level of pre season variability.
I actually think I am most rooting for Wiggs to get back to '22 form because I think that gives us our best chance at becoming relevant in the playoffs.
Like you, love GP2, but I believe the Dubs will unload him at the first opportunity if it can help them shed the 2-3 mil salary they need to fill the 15th roster spot. He is awesome, but Melton & Beekman on the 2-way should make him expendable. In addition, Melton and Beekman don't make for weird lineups (GP2 plays P6'2" PF on offense, more or less, which has nudged JK and others out of the lineup in the past).
I am not sure if I am buying Looney regressing. His Per 36 numbers since 2021-22 are hard to tell apart. I think he has mostly stayed the same, but the league at PF and C has passed him by on skill level, not to mention pure athleticism. He's still a winner and any team that has him on the end of the bench is better for it, whether a playoff team of a young losing team that needs a mentor.
I hope the same for Wiggins, too, but I believe he has been gone since his Poole buddy left town. In a punchless Universe, I think he would be doing a lot better. I may be wrong, but if I had to bet, I'd say Dray ruined the work environment for him. Wiggins wouldn't be the first. And I am sure he won't be the last.
And Moody? Trading him would be a mercy. He just deserves better. I love him, but I will cheer the day he is traded because he needs to be on the floor playing basketball, and it ain't cool having the nickname, "Stay Ready" Moody. That's just low.
Warriors don't need to fill the 15th spot. Still ,you are right about the lineups but when GP2 is at 100% he is 22 minutes of terror for the other teams (remember players literally throwing the ball to the nearest teammate when he would D them up?)
Loon. Guess we will see what happens, but I think most observers feel he regressed last season from the 2 before it whatever the stats say.
Wiggins, well you can blame it on Poole, but he also had some other big personal/family issues, so, again, I guess we'll see.
To be clear: there is no reporting of any guarantees to Beekman. That was sheer guesswork on my part, as I pointed out when I said it.
I do think Spencer is likely the odd man out simply because he is the least likely to be offered a two-way by another team, so GSW has a chance of stashing him in the G-League again. He is a fun player and a fun story, but he’s not yet for sure at an NBA level and at 28 is at an age where prospects don’t tend to make leaps.
Beekman is 22 and has excellent analytics even if people like me are prejudiced against his sub 6-2 height and questionable shooting.
Post is exactly the archetype GSW could use so it would be weird to give up on him so soon. Plus the sunk cost fallacy of using a 2nd round pick on him, which is illogical but real psychologically.
Post being taken with the #52 pick suggests they have him ahead of Beekman at minimum, so I don't think he's in any danger of losing his spot unless there's another "usurper" beyond Plowden.
I’m still hoping the sunk cost fallacy has a “sunk benefit fallacy” corollary whereby the Jazz send us Lauri for basically nothing, since he was just a throw-in in the Donovan Mitchell trade that was already a solid win for them. 😊
Well, even if no promises were made, I still think Beekman stays and Spenser gets released to make room for Post for basically all the reasons you said.
Assuming we are correct, I wonder how they choose the timing on that.
I hope Post plays at least one Summer League game and hopefully both remaining games.
Looks like it may be hard to move off of GP2 or Loon contracts before the season starts to create room for that 15th roster spot. But if they play okay and are uninjured before the trade deadline, they could both bring solid skills to a playoff team. A good start to the season for Wiggs could improve his value tremendously. Those are the 3 I am keeping my eye on. GUI? Don't even think about it! lol
Unsure if anyone has asked this before here, but would we as a people, trade Wiggins and GP2 for Ingram?
Love that Ainge is finally getting called out for his BS by other orgs in public. Dude can’t help himself and it’s about time somebody pushes back on his ridiculous demands whenever someone wants to do a trade with him.
I don't really care about Lacob's sour grapes. Ainge has a reputation, and he probably isn't lying about his asks when MDJ calls. Why should anyone get annoyed with that? It might be a bad strategy, but I can't fault someone for taking advantage of a good deal considering that's how we got Andrew and JK. If we want Ainge to deal before he is forced to, we either need LM to refuse to sign an extension, wait till Ainge needs to commit, or put up with his ask.
Fwiw I'm sure Jacob will justify speaking about this as a way to show the organization isn't sweating, so I don't really put any stock into it.
He definitely is reflecting what I said the other night…that they’re definitely showing that this deal not happening is no skin off of their teeth…shrug it off and move on. Love the mentality.
I don’t hold it too much against Ainge either…but he’s burning his bridges no matter what. Sending a msg to him that not everyone will bow to his every need in a lopsided trade will effectively make him come down off of his pedestal in future deals. Disagree if you want, but these things have ripple effects.
What happens when he badly wants a player from another team in the future? Going into negotiations, other GM’s will be aware of his nonsense offers and act accordingly. Karma is real.
It doesn't matter what is said in public; if teams walk away from Ainge's proposals, that says it all. If teams agree to his terms, that's up to them but no crying later.
I think the thing that sucks is that it's in his best interest to get LM off the team so they can poop for coop... hopefully he realizes that and gets a deal done
*skin off their nose
Yep. And now he’s stuck with a fringe all star player that plays 55 games a year but will be paid $40m annually.
Eventually players will be paid $1m per game. Ainge just wants to get there earlier.
NBCSBA:
“While adding a player of Markkanen's caliber certainly would give the Warriors a better shot at helping Curry win a fifth NBA title next season, Lacob revealed his thinking in assessing big trades...“
Why doesn’t anyone ever talk about Lauri’s plethora of sustained injuries!? It’s always about his “caliber” or him being an “all star”…but the reality is, the best ability is availability, and he hasn’t proven that he can last a season.
I'm very much done with this.
Here’s hoping Ainge extends him come August 6th.
Markkanen was an All Star once, two season ago, which is very good of course but the same can be said of Wiggins. We are not talking about one of the best players in the league.
"Why doesn’t anyone ever talk about Lauri’s plethora of sustained injuries!?"
Partly it's because no one's really sure how much he's been held out by the Jazz for tanking purposes and how much have been true injuries. But sure, it's a worry.
As for being done with this, Lauri is still the second best player who might change teams this offseason. And the Dubs are not good enough to be better than last year. And Steph will be 37 by the end of next year. So, while Ainge probably does suck to negotiate with, the Warriors should have some level of desperation. They're at best in the play-in with the current roster. So keep the roster as is because you don't overpay period. I get it, but never overpaying hasn't worked. Not pushing chips in is a move in itself.
That from his age 31-36 seasons Steph will have played like an MVP when not hurt and yet only made the playoffs twice is an absolute shame. Especially because when they did make the playoffs, they won the title one of the two times. And during those times the Dubs had assets like a surprise late first rounder perform worthy of a rookie max, a #2 pick, a #7 pick, a #14 pick, a #19 pick. None of those will have been used to help win titles now except Poole by his performance. And yet, by the time they think about trading any of those assets for help now, they're distressed. By the time they traded Poole, they had to add a pick to get an expiring. The #2 pick was worthless and was traded for a guy they could have just paid the prior offseason. The #7 pick isn't enough to not let PG walk for nothing or isn't offered for PG at all, but still has been benched in 3 straight playoff/playin runs. The #14 is now trade fodder for Warriors fans. The #19 pick is a hit but almost certainly not with superstar upside.
Picks are great. Young players are great. But Steph Curry is a legend. And the Warriors have squandered multiple years of his late prime already.
The Warriors have done better with Steph's prime than the vast majority of teams have done with the vast majority of superstars that ever played the game. Curry has four rings; only a handful of all-time superstars can say that.
Jerry West had one. Oscar Robertson had one. Charles Barkley had zero. Wilt had two. Bird and Dr J three each. And so on. That's how it usually goes. So were the years of their prime wasted? No way.
Number of years missing the playoffs (career):
Chuck 3x (counting the year he retired)
West 0x (!)
Bird 1x (he was hurt)
Dr J 0x (!)
Wilt 1x
Steph has missed the playoffs 3x in the last 6 years. Now, one of those years he was hurt. But players of his caliber missing the playoffs is extremely rare. Titles aren't everything.
👏
It’s more than just a worry. Much of it was him actually being injured. You don’t bench a player for 7 straight seasons do you? It’s a large concern. Dubz would effectively be putting all of their eggs and future eggs into one broken basket, just waiting for the bottom to drop out. He wants 3 or 4 1st rounders on top of 3 players? He can kick rocks
I’m personally going with the very gifted Podz (who can turn out better than Lauri even this year despite being shorter) and JK as huge potential to turn into something great.
And if everything you say about JK turns out to be true, that he’s just a one or two trick pony, then include him in a trade next off season
No one is squandering Steph’s remaining years, and Lacob just told you that that notion is simply ridiculous.
I love Podz as a prospect. I think he's got some chance to eventually be a Brunson or a SGA if every little thing goes right. But better than Lauri this year?!
I don't think people realize how good Lauri has been offensively. Lauri the last two years scored 26 pts/36 on .636 TS%. Steph Curry since his first MVP has scored 29 pts/36 at .640 TS%. Kevin Durant since leaving OKC is 28 pts/36 at .643. Lauri has been that level of scorer. And oh yeah, their best years relative to the league? For KD, 25-28. For Steph, 26-29. Lauri is currently 27. Offensively, LM is a top 10 guy in the league and probably top 20 player overall. If JK or Podz hit their absolute upside, they maybe sniff that territory.
If I thought Podz was likely to hit that SGA upside, I wouldn't. But that's super unlikely. And if the Clips had a Steph Curry on the roster when they made the PG trade? Well they probably would have won a title for all that it was a huge boon for OKC.
I disagree with “at best a play-in team”. You can argue about the likelihood, but Wiggins returning to ‘22 form alone could propel above that. Couple that with growth from the youth and the off-season improvements and I see a team that could beat last year’s WCF champs.
Yea I don't get that either. We were 3 games back of the 6th seed, 5 games back for the 4th seed.
It's not much to expect for Draymond to avoid getting suspended twice, to close out some of the games that we should've won, and have a decent version of Wiggs back. That alone could get us close to 50 wins.
That's not even mentioning whatever we're going to get instead of Klay's net -7.5 on-off.
Yea, as if the young talent won’t keep getting better. We should only judge them from their first couple of seasons in the nba…especially JK, because of all of that vast college experience, he should be all nba by now 🤦🏼
The Warriors two best players remain well over 30. They could easily get worse quickly to offset that growth. At the same time, teams like the Rockets, Grizz, and Spurs are getting better. The only playoff team that's likely to be worse is the Clips. Sure, there are universes where enough things go right that the Dubs are the 5 or 6 seed as currently constructed. But I wouldn't bet on it.
I largely agree with what you’re saying but don’t think they’ve squandered Steph’s prime. That concept is strange to me. But yes, some desperation is appropriate.
Fair - squandered is a word with connotations. Since KD left, they have not put Steph in the best position to succeed relative to his historical greatness, despite doing so amazingly in his early career.
I'm sure they wanted to but they were already paying crazy lux tax, there was no wiggle room and the league made it even harder.
And as much as we could have even tried to trade the farm of prospects and future picks, not sure who we could have gotten and we think the team will suck when curry leaves, as a business I don't think lacob wants a pos team when that happens
But it’s not for lack of trying, which I think is an important distinction. On paper, last year’s team should have been better. We were all excited going in.
I think drafting Wiseman was hubris and definitely constitutes lack of trying, same could be said for Kuminga over Wagner, which ironically would have been the better upside play too as it turns out.
Also, not trading any of these picks for outside help and instead trying to go two-timelines... though I acknowledge Lacob's complaint that it's more difficult to pull of trades than it seems, all the evidence points to them thinking they could pull off a two-timelines approach and failing miserably.
Not sure what salary filler they could’ve meaningfully used if they traded #2 (a fly key draft) and #7, but definitely missing on those two drafts hurts…
I still think the “the consensus was that Wiseman was top 3” is a super weak reason, because clearly no one was willing to trade up for him in a weird COVID draft.
But we can dream of a Halliburton/Wagner combo… and I bet Moody would get more playing time if we weren’t always so desperate to win games forcing Kerr to play other two way vets.
Digesting Joe Lacob's interview with Marcus Thompson and DA. Golly, I wonder which GMs this might be referring to?
[[
It's very, very hard to pull off trades because everyone wants to prove how, you know, these GMs, how smart they are. (laughs) It’s true, and they wanna impress their owners. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t. But here’s the problem. It’s just very—people, I think if I could share anything with many of the fans out there, and I read everything, you know, I read what people say, and the criticisms and the positive things—they don’t understand how hard it is and how illogical some of the parties on the other side are sometimes. Maybe we’re illogical too to some extent, but my point is it’s just really, really hard to pull these things off. And everyone writes all this stuff, and they have no idea what the other side’s asking for in some of these things.
]]
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/podcast/8-the-nba-show/episode-1606/
No filter Joe
Big thing here is, him coming out with this proves that the deal is dead in the water and sunk
At least now we can get on with our lives.
Kind of dumb for Lacob to say this in public, even if it's true. Bet Dunleavy isn't loving this.
Why take the risk of making it personal?
Nah, it’s because there is no deal anymore. It’s done, and that’s twice now this has happened this summer so he’s frustrated
The point is that you're probably going to have to deal with Ainge again, whether or not this trade is dead.
Add in to the mix what the Kangz had on the table…denied them too. When you get too greedy, you start to alienate yourself
It’ll bite him in the end
Ainge is the one that’s burning his bridges with other GM’s. Only taking lopsided deals in a trade has its consequences
<sarcasm font> I can't possibly imagine that he's referring to the GMs that his team has actively negotiated with this offseason... like the Clippers GM who decided to let PG13 walk instead of taking back *something* from the Warriors... or Danny "I only do trades that are lopsided" Ainge </sarcasm font>
> I read everything, you know, I read what people say
Joe Lacob reads and follows DNHQ's advice confirmed!
Took you long enough to figure that out. The hard part will be figuring out which of us is him.
he said he *reads* it, but not that he follows it lol
I heard someone on the radio mention that Steve Kerr said there would be a competition for starters and that we had 3 spots open. What I didn't hear was who has an opening job nailed down. Curry, that's one. Can someone tell me the other?
And btw, who the hell cares about the opening lineup? Is Draymond gonna start and close even though he will be averaging around 27 minutes a game? Curry and JK, okay, that I get. Curry and Wiggins, I would say sure if it weren't for the fact that I think maybe he won't be around when the season tips off?
Point is, there is a benefit to being deep: you might not have the top players at each position, but you may have enough variety to match up well vs. different opponents. Strength in numbers isn't just an empty phrase. And can we stop caring about who starts, unless it's someone playing 30+ min per game. We have pawns in Chess that get used at the start of matches. The real match-ups come at the end of the game. Who's closing with me?
I think the last few champions have proven that depth is as or more important than who starts.
Conventional wisdom has been that you need to keep a tight rotation in the playoffs, but with the toll a deep run takes on the roster, physically and mentally, having a reliable second unit to hold the lead or provide different situational lineups really helps in terms of adjustments and keeping the entire team fresh to go the distance.
Yea, I agree. I don’t think fans care much about who starts. But many many players do. And the media fans the flames of delicate egos a-burning.
Future contracts are based on what role a player has. Bench players usually get paid much less than starters.
Draymond has been the guy who enables Curry to thrive for nine years now (with passing, screens, and help defense to cover Steph's defensive lapses). Kerr's not going to change that partnership unless Draymond's game falls off a cliff. So, if Curry starts, Dray starts.
haha, no kidding.
> Can someone tell me the other?
Their second best player by far, Draymond Green.
Being the second best player doesn't necessarily mean one has to start. You can just as easily say that he should play 48 minutes because he's the second best player. But he only plays about 27 a game. I'm more concerned that our second best player has more in the tank to finish the game and one way of doing that is shortening the overall length of the game by not starting. The Warriors lost a lot of games late last year. Curry's play suffered as the year wore on, perhaps because of the volume of minutes Kerr was playing him? Just saying, with aging stars, # of minutes and when those minutes are played can impact games, and I want our aging stars to get to the last 6 minutes in the best shape. If that means playing Curry 31min p/gm during the regular season or Dray coming off the bench, it's all done with the intent of putting them in the best position to execute in the last 6 minutes.
Or we can just play the hell out of both of them and see how that works. No skin off my back. ;-)
Draymond will start. Book it.
Sure
100%
No doubt about it
Not sure if this was posted already, but Joe agrees with some of us here:
https://www.nbcsportsbayarea.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/joe-lacob-steph-curry-lauri-markkanen-trade/1756683/
My takeaways, with probably some confirmation bias:
1) Post Curry/Dray draft picks are off the table. We need these picks for the inevitable year or two of tanking to hopefully snag our next franchise player(s).
2) The deal for Markkanen from our side is either Kuminga or Moody+Podz, and 3 near term 1st round picks/swaps.
3) He claims they are using a sophisticated analytical model, presumably for building the rotation. Even if they are, is it really steering them in a direction that isn’t fairly obvious from statistics + eye test? This team needs (needed) better perimeter defenders, lineups with enough shooting threats to spread out opposing defenses, and a little more size to manage the paint.
Me like.
The whole 'push your chips to the middle of the table' thing is so nuts. Doing that raises your chances at a championship, what, 5%?
If you're in a position like the Celtics, where you're clearly already knocking on the door of a title with the talent you have in-house, it makes sense to get one or two last pieces to get that extra boost.
If you're the Dubs, where, at best, you have a puncher's chance, mortgaging most of your future assets just because you think Steph is your only shot at a title in the next decade is perhaps a little desperate.
Podcast link: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/podcast/8-the-nba-show/episode-1606/
With Andrew Wiggins in the starting five, Draymond and Steph one year older, Looney, Moody, GP2 and Kuminga we are NOT a contender
Not even close to contend for a ring
Disagree. If Draymond doesn’t get suspended we likely are the 5th or 6th seed. We’ve upgraded our ball handling and defense without dropping off too much with our shooting. I think we get 4 or 5 seed this year and surprise people.
Ugh, Joe.
The devil is obviously in the details on the Markkanen trade specifically, but I just really continue to distrust Lacob’s approach to the latter portion of this era.
Did you really have to sneak that personal insult in there?
Looking at past wins is result-oriented whereas an approach is about the process, and winning doesn't automatically validate processes when there's chance involved.
I don't think we've seen yet how Lacob's "we will never tank" approach will hold up post-Curry. imo, it's very possible that the Warriors are on a perennial play-in contender path until they tank for a generational lottery pick.
What is your definition of 'tank'? Purposely losing games? If so, Lacob will never do that. That is why they carefully selected the support players like Hield, Anderson, & Melton, to keep the team competitive with the subtraction of Klay. Of course it will be agonizing when Curry leaves, but there is no reason the team cannot survive bottoming out. There will be a ton of money available to sign players. Which ones, will be the test of the GM & Lacob. Sure they can make a mistake or two, but this team doesn't necessarily descend to the bottom of the heap. Within 10 years, we'll be back!
Perennial play in contenders:
- Atlanta Hawks
- Chicago Bulls
- New Orleans Pelicans
- Charlotte Hornets
I forget someone?
PS Hope I'll never be in this group
Note to Ainge: You can have the team uniforms but keep your grubby mitts off our young talent!
There's a difference between a blanket personal distrust of Lacob, and distrusting his approach, and specifically to a scenario that he wasn't faced with during the championships.
Sounds like don't hold your breath for a LM trade
Can't get this to play.
The Lakers’ inactivity has not been due to a lack of trying. They struck out with Klay Thompson, were unable to land other impact free agents like Jonas Valančiūnas and DeMar DeRozan, and have failed thus far to find common ground in trade talks with Portland, Brooklyn, Utah, Toronto and Orlando. Now, according to league and team sources, the Lakers are expected to remain patient in their quest to improve their roster.
One of the reasons the Lakers have been unable to make any signings and had to explore trades is that four roster holdovers who were given second-year player options last summer — D’Angelo Russell, Christian Wood, Jaxson Hayes and Cam Reddish — opted in due to their performances last season and the tight free-agent market. The latter three players, in particular, and the presence of developmental projects like Jalen Hood-Schifino, Maxwell Lewis and Bronny James, have created a rough backend to the Lakers’ roster. The team has several players who appear unlikely to contribute meaningfully next season and wouldn’t be in the rotations of most playoff teams.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5639681/2024/07/16/lakers-rumors-roster-trade-free-agency/
The Lakers don’t have a first round pick in 2025 or 2027. Ouch.
Yeah they're really in a bind. I guess they got the Mickey Mouse championship out of it though
Heh heh heh
As things stand, the Lakers have a full roster of 15 players with guaranteed contracts. They’re also roughly $45,000 under the second apron of nearly $189 million. That combination means they can’t sign any players in free agency or add any additional players (or salary) in any trades. They have two first-round picks to trade (2029 and 2031), as well as multiple first-round swaps and second-round picks.
The most straightforward way the Lakers can add talent is to make a consolidation trade. They can either send out more players than they receive in a deal or salary-dump Reddish, Wood and/or Hayes, along with a second-round pick or two, onto a team with roster and financial flexibility. If the Lakers traded two minimum players (Wood, Hayes and Reddish would qualify), they’d have enough room under the second apron to sign a player to the $5.2 million taxpayer midlevel exception. They could also add a player in a trade or sign player(s) to minimum contracts.
Since the failed Russell Westbrook move in 2021, which still has countless ripple effects in and around the Lakers, Los Angeles has been cautious in trade negotiations. There’s an understanding they can always wait until the trade deadline to move the player they need to deal (for example, Westbrook in 2022-23 and Russell in 2023-24). The Lakers artfully navigated the 2023 trade deadline, but weren’t as fortunate in 2024, with rival suitors reluctant to take on Russell’s contract in trades — despite his surging play at the time — without additional draft compensation.
I like seeing Lakers misery and would have loathed seeing 11 in purple and gold, but I think you can make the argument that getting a 2031 Lakers pick and DLo for Klay would have been better for the long-term future of the Dubs. I'm still happy we live in this reality and not that one.
Mavericks say Kyrie Irving has undergone surgery to repair a broken left hand. He sustained the injury earlier this month while training.
https://x.com/shamscharania/status/1813364310833537433
I really wonder what a trio of Steph, JK and LM can do if we pull it off without giving up JK. That’s going to be pretty tough to guard the way JK can get down hill
Steph and the power forwards can be our team name.
That trio doesn't sound very promising defensively imo
Luckily we still have Dray
If Kuminga is actually ready to be a true play initiator/facilitator, then I'm cool with giving up Podz. If that's the case, you can get a lot of size out there on the floor. But if Kuminga's going to have a hard time consistently beating his man off the dribble, and seeing where the doubles are coming from and consistently making the right pass, then it's not going to work all that well.
Kuminga, GP2, Waters, 25/27 1st, 28 swap is my final offer
Good luck getting any valuable draft asset from the Spurs and enjoy a mid-late lottery pick in the 25 draft, Ainge!
Part of me is thinking how good a thing it could be for the Dubs to have this crazy logjam at the wing. Not just 6 or 7 solid rotation guys but to actually start with 10 or 11 seems like a real opportunity. Potential. That’s what this team is about. TJD, Podz, Melton, Moody, Wiggins, JK, Gui, heck even GP2 could all improve on what they can deliver from last year. Really the only solid knowns are Steph, Draymond, Anderson and Hield. That leaves only Waters and Looney on the deep bench (probably with Gui). Plus the 2-ways.
It’s summer. Let me fantasize, hope, dream, what the best version of THIS Warriors team could be for just a few minutes. I think it could be very good.
This is a team that seems like it could take the approach of having most players play harder in fewer minutes and just overwhelm the other team with waves of fresh legs during the regular season. I get that it’s challenging to do in practice, and that injuries to 1-2 players at any point in time may make it not as relevant, but I think there were a few teams that did this last year to various extents and it had a positive impact.
That’s what I’m talking about!
Strength in
Free agent F Sandro Mamukelashvili has agreed on a one-year, $2.2 million deal to return to the San Antonio Spurs
https://x.com/wojespn/status/1813346920720417043
Lindsey Harding — the G League coach of the year — has agreed on a deal to become an assistant with the Los Angeles Lakers. Harding leaves the Kings to rejoin JJ Redick, whom she spent time with on the Sixers staff and as a Duke All-American.
https://x.com/wojespn/status/1813341666713170414
Nice.
Wingz R Us…
Wiggins
Kuminga
Moody
Podz
Melton
Payton
Anderson
Hield
Waters
Plowden
Santos
Some of these guys trend towards PG (Podz, Melton) and some trend towards Big (Anderson, Santos) but still: that’s a *lot* o’ mouths to feed. Anyone wanna hazard a guess as to which (if any) will not be on the team come opening night?
(Edit: so many wingzz I forgot GP2!)
It's not perfect but I'd probably further subdivide this way. Not sure how Plowden and Waters match up defensively... I've grouped them with the "small wings".
----
Brandin Podziemski G 6-5 205
De'Anthony Melton G 6-2 200
----
Gary Payton II G 6-2 190
Buddy Hield G-F 6-4 220
Lindy Waters III G 6-6 215
Moses Moody G 6-6 205
Daeqwon Plowden 6-6 215
----
Andrew Wiggins F-G 6-7 197
Gui Santos F 6-8 209
Jonathan Kuminga F 6-8 210
----
Kyle Anderson F-G 6-9 230
---
I feel like those weights (from bballref) aren't up-to-date... Podz is only 5 lbs lighter than JK? EDIT: there's also Beekman, oh well.
Plus GP2
Whoops! Our wings go to 11!
It's been getting to the point that they should just call them big and small wings keeping the C and PG labels.
you're right
PGs, 2/3s (small wings), 3/4s (big wings), Cs
That's how I approach it most of the time. That describes most players fairly well. But you still need the old fashioned 5 position labels for stats, lineups, etc.
Moody is forsure being traded or Hield is basically not in the rotation.
If we trade one Moody, will we still have the other one on your list? Or are they a package deal?
All right, with Plowden getting the 2-way (yay), the Warriors have a bit of a roster crunch because they have 14 Players that bring the too close to the 1st apron (which they are hard capped under as a result of the melton signing) to sign another player to the 15th spot even if they wanted to and they still have Post. Right now only Gui and the 3 2-ways Plowden, Beekman, and Spenser are not guaranteed so the most likley solution here is that one of these 4 gets waived to clear a spot for post. I think it would be weird to waive Gui after all we did to keep him up to this point and given the other options so I consider that a low probability outcome. Eric has pointed out that Beekman came with a promise of a 2-way and it would likely be bad business to go back on that promise and we obviously didn't just offer Plowden only to waive him again. So I think, sooner or later we will se Spenser waived and that spot filled by post.
However, It occured to me that we have all observed that have too mamny players that can play and (I am not the first to speculate about this) even if the LM thing doesn't happen they may try to consolidate a bit and recoup some salary room. So I had a little fun on a spreadsheet trying to figure out who was likely to go. I found it interesting because there are unknowns at literally every spot. However I eliminated the ones that don't matter. Like, we don't know how Steph and Dray will play but I am not putting them in the unknown category. And, I mean you never know about any player even if you discount possible health issues, but we are on the extremes.
WIggs: if we get '24 Wiggs, ugh. If we get '22 Wiggs (or even close) we are going to be a lot better than people think
GP2: mostly considered obsolete but remember what he can do when healthy. Seems like it's hard for him to stary that way, but if he did, he's worth the money.
Loon: No idea why Loon went from great to deep bench fom '23 to '24 and his decline seems the most static, but if he goes back to 12 reb/gm great D Loon ...
Melton - really just his back. if that's fixed he is solid
JK, Podz, TJD, Moody - How much can they improve. A little jump by anyone makes them a rotation player or starter, En masse they provide a ton of possibility (positive and negative, I guess)
Waters - actually looks pretty good in low minutes. Can he do that in a slightly expanded role?
So basically the only predictable players we have are Buddy and Slo-mo. And the If's all make it impossible to figure out choices. e.g.
If Melton is 100% does that make GP2 expendable (full disclosure : I love GP2 but I'm trying to be dispassionately analytical here)? What if GP2 comes back 100%? who does that make expendable?
What if Moody starts hitting 39& from 3 and JK stays exactly the same? might change the trade calculus a bit ... in either direction.
If JK makes another jump and Wiggs comes back can we find a way to use them both a lot? They are our best athletes. Or does that make JK an even more valuable trade chip at the deadline?
I usually think i have a handle on the possibilities but I am fascinated by how much variability there is even relative to the normal high level of pre season variability.
I actually think I am most rooting for Wiggs to get back to '22 form because I think that gives us our best chance at becoming relevant in the playoffs.
Like you, love GP2, but I believe the Dubs will unload him at the first opportunity if it can help them shed the 2-3 mil salary they need to fill the 15th roster spot. He is awesome, but Melton & Beekman on the 2-way should make him expendable. In addition, Melton and Beekman don't make for weird lineups (GP2 plays P6'2" PF on offense, more or less, which has nudged JK and others out of the lineup in the past).
I am not sure if I am buying Looney regressing. His Per 36 numbers since 2021-22 are hard to tell apart. I think he has mostly stayed the same, but the league at PF and C has passed him by on skill level, not to mention pure athleticism. He's still a winner and any team that has him on the end of the bench is better for it, whether a playoff team of a young losing team that needs a mentor.
I hope the same for Wiggins, too, but I believe he has been gone since his Poole buddy left town. In a punchless Universe, I think he would be doing a lot better. I may be wrong, but if I had to bet, I'd say Dray ruined the work environment for him. Wiggins wouldn't be the first. And I am sure he won't be the last.
And Moody? Trading him would be a mercy. He just deserves better. I love him, but I will cheer the day he is traded because he needs to be on the floor playing basketball, and it ain't cool having the nickname, "Stay Ready" Moody. That's just low.
Warriors don't need to fill the 15th spot. Still ,you are right about the lineups but when GP2 is at 100% he is 22 minutes of terror for the other teams (remember players literally throwing the ball to the nearest teammate when he would D them up?)
Loon. Guess we will see what happens, but I think most observers feel he regressed last season from the 2 before it whatever the stats say.
Wiggins, well you can blame it on Poole, but he also had some other big personal/family issues, so, again, I guess we'll see.
Fully agree on Moody.
To be clear: there is no reporting of any guarantees to Beekman. That was sheer guesswork on my part, as I pointed out when I said it.
I do think Spencer is likely the odd man out simply because he is the least likely to be offered a two-way by another team, so GSW has a chance of stashing him in the G-League again. He is a fun player and a fun story, but he’s not yet for sure at an NBA level and at 28 is at an age where prospects don’t tend to make leaps.
Beekman is 22 and has excellent analytics even if people like me are prejudiced against his sub 6-2 height and questionable shooting.
Post is exactly the archetype GSW could use so it would be weird to give up on him so soon. Plus the sunk cost fallacy of using a 2nd round pick on him, which is illogical but real psychologically.
Post being taken with the #52 pick suggests they have him ahead of Beekman at minimum, so I don't think he's in any danger of losing his spot unless there's another "usurper" beyond Plowden.
I’m still hoping the sunk cost fallacy has a “sunk benefit fallacy” corollary whereby the Jazz send us Lauri for basically nothing, since he was just a throw-in in the Donovan Mitchell trade that was already a solid win for them. 😊
Well, even if no promises were made, I still think Beekman stays and Spenser gets released to make room for Post for basically all the reasons you said.
Assuming we are correct, I wonder how they choose the timing on that.
I hope Post plays at least one Summer League game and hopefully both remaining games.
USA Today reported that GSW picked up Waters’s 2.2m team option. https://okcthunderwire.usatoday.com/2024/07/02/lindy-waters-iii-pens-farewell-letter-to-okc-thunder-after-trade-to-warriors/
Looks like it may be hard to move off of GP2 or Loon contracts before the season starts to create room for that 15th roster spot. But if they play okay and are uninjured before the trade deadline, they could both bring solid skills to a playoff team. A good start to the season for Wiggs could improve his value tremendously. Those are the 3 I am keeping my eye on. GUI? Don't even think about it! lol