May 16, 20231 Comment

What Comes Next?

By: Matt Anderson

The 2022-2023 Warriors did not defend their title. In fact, there were only a handful of moments this season where that even felt like a real possibility. Starting with The Punch, the vibes of this team felt completely off all year. The team played sloppily, displayed a surprising lack of urgency, and could rarely sustain any sort of positive momentum. I spent much of the season with feelings of distrust and frustration permeating my relationship with the one team I truly love.

The question now is what do the Warriors do next? The team has a truly ludicrous payroll and is about to face extremely stiff penalties under a new collective bargaining agreement. Owner Joe Lacob has said that he is not afraid to spend money on a title contending team. He has also stated that he wants to build a franchise like the San Antonio Spurs: one that is always in the conversation of elite franchises. That is where the "two timelines" plan came from.

But, one thing we learned the hard way this season is that the "two timelines" strategy is not working. I think there was an admission of that by trading James Wiseman. Jordan Poole, Jonathan Kuminga, and Moses Moody are or can be useful players, but it remains to be seen if their usefulness will line up with the core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green's ability to play at an elite level. So, Lacob has a choice: go for more titles with the Core Three or be content to be somewhere around the playoff/play-in bubble for the foreseeable future and keep developing young talent.

This should be an easy answer: the Warriors have a literal top 10 all time player in Steph, as well as two sure-fire Hall of Famers in Klay and Dray. Those three showed this year that there is still plenty of gas left in their collective tank. Combine that with last year's title, it is proof that with the right complimentary pieces, this team can be elite. The Warriors should go all-in for as many titles as they can get in the next three to four years. So, what needs to happen with the current roster to get this team back there? Let's go player by player.

First, There are four players that are untouchable right now: Steph, Klay, Dray, and Kevon Looney. Yes, the team needs to work out a new deal for Draymond this summer. But it should be priority one. Priority two should be getting an extension inked for Klay. Hopefully, these deals will be similar to what Andrew Wiggins took last year, which was less than the max. Every dollar they can save between Klay and Dray can be useful.

Speaking of Wiggins, he and Gary Payton II are in the next tier of players on this roster. We will call that tier the "Super Important, but Not Untouchable" tier. These guys are key to the team's success for the unglamorous things they do, especially on defense. Also, the team is super important to them, as Golden State is the place where they both unlocked their best selves. Wiggins and GP2 should be Warriors for at least the remainder of their deals, but the Front Office should not immediately hang up on any call asking about them. If moving them is the cost of getting a player who puts the team as an obvious title favorite, it should at least be considered.

Next, we have the 50/50 guys. These are JP, JK, Moody and Donte DiVincenzo. DDV is in this category because it's truly 50/50 on whether he will be back next year. He has a player option for next season, so he can opt out and become a free agent. If that happens, then the only chance the Warriors would have to retain his services are if no one else wants him and he comes back on a veteran's minimum. I just don't know if he played himself into a contract worth more than $4.725 million, so we can't say what he will do.

The other three are quite a different problem. The question for them is whether the team thinks they still have value on the floor, or if the value comes from who they can be move for. Poole is the fulcrum around which this group of three pivots. He clearly has talent; he averaged over 20 points per game. And, as Steph gets older, there is wisdom in having someone like the best version of JP to lighten Steph's load. But will this franchise ever see the best version of Poole again? The man undeniably works incredibly hard at his game. I have no doubt that whatever he wants, he can achieve. It is just entirely unclear what he wants. Did The Punch sour him on this franchise? Can he continue to coexist with Draymond? Does he want to be the team's Sixth Man, or does he want to be a number one option somewhere else? Does he want to commit to being at least a C+ defender? Only Jordan knows the answers to these questions, and those answers are crucial to what the Warriors do with him.

For JK and Moody, so much depends upon Poole because if the conclusion is that the team needs to move Poole, then they would and should be considered possible pieces to put in the deal. Both have shown enough at times to possibly entice a team looking to bring in a bunch of young, talented players. And given what we have seen from Kuminga and Moses, it would be fair to them to move them where they can play if the powers that be determine there is not a consistent, night-to-night role for them.

In short, Poole, Kuminga, and Moody are the three players the Warriors need to figure out to become contenders again. If there were a team with an older star that's looking to reboot itself around younger talent, these three could serve as enticing trade pieces. The problem is that Poole and Kuminga are probably at their lowest values right now after a dismal playoffs. The catch-22, however, is that if they start next season well enough to raise their stock, the Warriors probably would neither want nor need to trade them. It is a tricky situation that I do not envy this Front Office from trying to sort out.

The next tier consists of the players who are going to be on the roster whether we like it or not. That consists of two players: Patrick Baldwin, Jr. and Ryan Rollins. PBJ is actually intriguing, as a 6'9 wing who can theoretically shoot. I know Kerr is never a fan of young players, but I could see some positive minutes from him next year. The same cannot be said of Ryan Rollins. He was a second round flier that does not appear to have panned out. Oh well.

The penultimate tier is the two-way guys: Ty Jerome and Lester Quinones. As of right now, it appears the Warriors will have at least three roster spots to fill. Depending on what happens with the 50/50 guys, I could see Jerome being the back up point guard. He's a smart player who could provide steady, mistake-free minutes for Kerr. Quinones was pretty great in the G-League this year, averaging 21.8 points on 45/35/78 shooting, 7 rebounds and nearly 5 assists. He could provide value in spot minutes if he can keep up that general efficiency.

The last groups is what I'll call the "Thank You For Your Service" group. That earnestly applies to the retiring Andre Iguodala. We could have used a healthy Iggy in the playoffs this year, or his roster spot during the regular season. It sarcastically applies to JaMychal Green and Anthony Lamb. JG was what he's always been, a great role player on paper who never actually lived up to the hype. The less we say about Anthony Lamb, the better. The Warriors can find plenty of players who can hit threes at a slightly above average clip and miss defensive assignments that have not been sued for rape.*

*As a firm believer in appeasing the basketball gods, one cannot help but wonder if the cursed feeling of this season has a little bit to do with the inexcusable choice by the Front Office to employ someone involved in such atrocious allegations.

In short, as many smarter people have already written, the Warriors have a lot of soul searching to do this offseason. And that centers almost entirely around two decisions: (1) what to do with Draymond's contract; and (2) what to do with Poole, Kuminga, and Moody. The cool thing about all of this is that we will all get to see those answers play out over the next twelve months.

March 5, 2023No Comments

Klay Thompson Isn’t Back – He’s Better.

It was November 18, 2022.

In a hard-fought 111-101 win over the New York Knicks, Klay Thompson chalked up 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting. This would be just the first time he had shot ≥50% from the floor in the 2022-2023 season.

Following a disheartening loss to conference rivals in Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns two nights prior, Draymond Green had called a team meeting to address some festering elephants in the room. And, as rumor has it, Klay’s selfish play was the main topic of discussion. Draymond is the only human outside of fellow Splash Brother Stephen Curry that could look Klay in the face and tell him he’s playing like a selfish asshole. Something clicked. Draymond’s harsh, but needed words sparked an efficient night from Klay that saw him being intentional in his shot selection, while allowing the game to come to him — two areas that had been absent in all of his prior games this season.

Fortunately, this was the beginning of something truly special. After a slow build of solid and selfless performances over the next five weeks, Klay showed out in vintage fashion, exploding for 54 points in a double over-time thriller versus Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks. If you watched this game, you remember his step-back three to put the Dubs up two points with 20 seconds left in the first OT. After the shot fell through the basket, Klay turned around and powered his fist through the air, smiting the demons and silencing the haters that had been clouding his headspace all season long.

That victory over the Hawks came on the second day of January — a month that proved to be dominant for Klay, as he posted 27ppg -- a new career high. Had you told this to one of the many fans that demanded a trade locked and his head on a stick earlier in the season, they would have scoffed at you. But this Klay was different. It was as though the weight of his injuries, personal struggles, and team-wide woes and frustrations had been valiantly lifted off of his shoulders — by no one other than himself. The month-long stretch breathed new life into Klay, re-establishing his self-confidence and enabling him to settle into a comfortable groove.

Then, in February, we saw a new version of Klay. Not the “Killa Klay” of old that everyone had been wishing for, but a refined offensive machine boasting fresh layers and developments to his game that were never present – even in previous champion runs. Isolation off-the-dribble threes, pump-fakes after penetration to draw contact (Klay shooting free-throws?!), cerebral passes to teammates in situations you may have expected him to live out his “shooters shoot” mentality, and consistent rebounding efforts by the 6'6" shooting guard have given the Dubs the edge they need in a season that has been frustratingly average.

Most importantly, Klay’s well-rounded performances could not have possibly come at a better time. With Steph Curry’s injury in early February, Klay has become a much-needed leader and playmaker for four consecutive weeks. In this span, his newfound offensive bag has been on full display, conveying a more mature and deliberate approach to the game. The best part is that these developments have come in addition to — not in place of — his prowess as the second-best shooter of all time. At 25.5ppg in February, Klay recorded his second-best scoring month, behind only January’s new career-high. Klay’s performance in 2023 has been remarkable -- and it’s the best version we have seen of the 6'6" sniper’s veteran career.

Steph and Andre Iguodala are set to make their return in today’s matchup @ the Los Angeles Lakers (30-34), and the Dubs are sitting at four games over .500 (34-30) for the first time this season, good for sole possession of 5th in the West. Poised to carry their momentum from a perfect 5-0 homestand to the upcoming road trip, Klay Thompson’s sensational play has perfectly positioned the Dubs to make a huge push to close out the regular season.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed, consider following @tannergardner_ and @WarriorsHuddle on Twitter.

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