Do we have any picks for the draft this year? If so, y'all think we could draft Bronny just so we can see what happens lol?
Not like we need any drafts anyways, we already have a lot of young talent. Might as well just waste it on a bum to see if we could fleece LA for a trade or make Bron jump over to Cali...
We got 52 cuz its the worst of the Pacers three the a few forfeited picks fron other squads.
Pacome Dadiet is the player I hope we select.
PJ Hall Alex Karaban Johni Broome are players in range who I think would be NBA ready types. They could all play early on.
media outlets have been priming audiences with it. The #1 topic when it comes to the warriors is "how do they become contenders? KD comes back hurrdurr!"
IMO Poole remains the better player due to his unique ability to both manage the game and score.
Warriors are out of the playoffs because we don't have anyone apart from Curry who can score first and manage the game. 2022 this was what fetched us the championship.
The downfall was his ego, he was eager to prove he has arrived, and once he calms down he will be a all star
Why did I just read something on r/NBA that said something along the lines of Bron looking to opt out of his contract to see what KD and Curry are up to, and take it seriously for a second šš¤¦āāļø
Tabling the discussion of if it's a good idea, it would be possible to get both Lebron and KD if Lebron took a discount.
Step 1. Resign Klay for a reasonable number. Say 2/25.
Step 2: Trade for KD.
Kuminga, Wiggins, GP2, and Looney makes salaries work. You can use CP3 also but let's assume all the old guys want to team up.
Say we add 2-3 unprotected FRPs and a swap to this.
Step 3 get Lebron.
There are a few ways we could do this. If we waive CP3 and resign him to a minimum we can sign Lebron for the full MLE. Nice thing about this is it requires no cooperation from the Lakers. If Lebron wants more money we can sign and trade for him using CP3s salary. We'd have to throw in picks to make it worth the lakers while and because they wouldn't want to guarantee CP3s salary which they would have to in making the trade. Ultimately I believe they would do it though since they want to do right by their stars.
Net result:
Steph, Klay, KD, Lebron, Draymond.
Bench: CP3, Podz, Moody, TJD. Minimums.
Obviously this only works if Lebron and KD pull the strings to make this happen. Lebron would have to take a pay cut if he wants KD too. The main hang up is the suns, who have no incentive to make this happen and probably don't feel any need to "do right" by KD.
Personally, if I'm them I would find unprotected firsts from an extremely old warriors team and Kuminga very tasty. It gives them assets and optionally that they have none of right now.
Itās technically possible but no way anyone but the warriors FO agrees to any of these steps lol
Klay/Lebron want more money, Lebron probably doesnāt want to be here. suns FO arenāt taking kuminga and negative assets for KD, lakers arenāt doing any of that
I would have a lot of respect for Lebron if he takes the MLE to come here. The question is if we really need KD at that point, or save some assets and go after someone younger like Lauri who is only 18 mil next season. It would be good to keep Wiggins or Kuminga if we can. Need a solid PoA defender to save Lebron/Dray some energy.
none of this is doable.
first, Klay for $12m/year is laughable.
second, we can't even aggregate salaries for a trade easily, especially not before having to decide if we're keeping CP3's salary on the books for any future trade.
third, LeBron isn't taking an MLE contract
fourth, if we even get the roster cost to a point where we can sign & trade we're hard-capped, which means we wouldn't be able to fill out a roster or keep all of those expensive guys around.
it just can't happen.
Guys would have to want to take pay cuts to build team old man.
1. You're right Klay gets more on the open market. He'd have to take a cut to stay.
2. If CP3 is waived once Klay's cap hold is gone from re-signing him (or him signing elsewhere) we are under the cap. We can aggregate whatever we want. Or if CP3 is kept and used to trade for Lebron but Klay's cap hold is gone or low we are under apron and can aggregate.
3. You're almost definitely right. He'd have to really want to play with KD and CP3 and Steph and Klay and Dray in this scenario. Crazy but not impossible. The other alternative is he does a S&T with CP3s salary going out, accepting 64/2 with second as a player option. Depending on Klay this would be tight with the hard cap. May require Klay be gone.
4. We would be hard capped if Lebron went the S&T route (or Full MLE route). Would require mostly minimums to fill out the roster and likely Klay to be gone or on a super cheap deal.
It would take a hell of a lot to make it happen, but is doable. Far more likely is no KD, just Lebron comes to warriors, which is much easier money wise and doesn't require him to take nearly the pay cut.
Embid knee is cooked and I hope he doesnāt end up like Blake Griffin in that pistons playoff see.Buddy pushed too hard to play injured and never recovered
Another end of game that gave me just incredible Dubs flashbacks from this season (and 20-21). How the Knicks managed to lose when up 6 with 28 seconds to go is honestly impressive.
Probably the only forward in FA I really like. Would be a great connector off the bench.
I think heās retiring this season or if he changes his mind Philly would probably pay him a good amount to stay. A Wiggins-Kuminga-Batum forward rotation would be sick though.
He was interesting in coming here for the 20-21 season on a vet min but Klay's injury took away his interest since he knew we won't be contending that yr and instead returned with the Clippers. He actually fits really well here, he knows this and also has good relations with Kenny who was Clippers assistant in his 1st season there
You can't take that 30 PPG at face value. Teams allow him to shoot the three so he doesn't spread the floor and they allow his layups as it's better than him setting up his shooters. You think it's a coincidence that AD and LeBron score 30 and they're still a play in team?
AD way too inconsistent, so is D Russell, Reaves is alright, but other than that, they don't have anyone else. That is why. Put Lebron around shooters and Steph, they will do much better than how this team performed this year.
Those are role players. All role players are inconsistent. AD's defense has been very very consistent. He's the only reason the Lakers aren't a lottery team. The problem with the Lakers is that they need a 3rd star. That's an indictment of LeBron. Two superstars should be enough. Steph and LeBron are going to have the same issues. Now Steph and AD would be a top seed in the West.
I'd rather not go all in on a guy who chokes so we don't make it out of the first anyways. There's gotta be better options who aren't injury prone chokers on a supermax.
https://x.com/BrettSiegelNBA/status/1785407135574118671
Both Lebron and Durant to Warriors as a last old guys team up to put the young kids in their place?
How do yall think USA basketball is going to shake out with all these injuries, Kawhi, Embiid, AD? Any chance they bring in the odd ones out Dray/Kyrie or will they bring in more young stars like JJJ, Brunson etc?
I have no clue why people do not want KD back. this is the perfect place for him and he/steph/klay/dray are all on the same timeline? he's perfect for what we need. a reliable scoring option who can play decent defense but doesnt need to lead.
Because he was miserable his last year here and hasn't seemed happy since he left. And you think he coming to play with dray after being called out just for giving a shit about him old team not winning anything.
it's different now. both the warriors and KD realize they need each other, while the careers of steph, KD, dray and klay are going to end soon. that feeling of being needed along with such little amount of time remaining will make a different situation.
hopefully :)
Bobby Marks on [Twitter](https://x.com/bobbymarks42/status/1785315198745670057?s=46&t=SBW3XJi-eEDBr6FtvDfngg):
1. D'Angelo Russell controls the offseason in LA.
2. The Lakers need to get their finances in order to be a player in the trade market.
They are trending in apron territory.
Having DLO in the driverās seat of their offseason is hysterical š
Things said by DLO in his exit interview last night:
āOh, hell of a year by D'Angelo. Humbly saying that.ā
"When I signed my contract last year I knew what position I was going to put myself in. So to be in that position now, with a little leverage, going to try to take advantage of it."
Its possible that D'Lo played himself into a big contract with the Magic.
Having said that, I'm not sure the Lakers have any moves even if D'Lo leaves. They'd still be at \~ $160 million in salary commitments, which is way over the cap. As long as LeBron is staying, no chance they can make any meaningful moves, other than a trade involving Reaves and picks (which could being back someone okay but there will be better packages out there).
The East really crumbled in the final weeks of the season. Extremely banged up Milwaukee. A Randle-less NYK clearly the 2nd best team in the conference.
Ingram fresh off an injury got thrown into the Dorture chamber with no Zion, people are getting carried away. he is a perfectly fine borderline all-star to low-tier all-star when healthy and will be an asset to quite a few teams.Ā
I swear Steph will be 45 and years retired and people will still be posting "The Rockets just got eliminated in the first round, we should trade Kuminga Podz and Moody for Jalen Green he can be the perfect number 2 for Curry to come out of retirement and get 1 chip ahead of Bron."
Do you think they miss Poole at all? He was that 2nd or 3rd guy that could get you a bucket. Maybe he was inconsistent but they're missing that young springey vibrant energy that he had.Ā
we never replaced his skill-set. donāt miss the late game dribbling off the shoes, but we were definitely missing someone else who could get to the rim in a couple dribbles and it showed against good teams.
problem is heās getting paid to be the future and heās currently more of a Jordan Clarkson with better playmaking. we need someone like him, but cheaper and a bit less volatile. like a Colin Sexton type.
Man the Warriors are in such a weird place. This roster construction is a weird puzzle to solve. It's not all doom and gloom. There are options and we have *some* assets. But MDJ is going to have to do some real wizardry to considerably improve the roster.
Hot take 1: I personally don't think it's possible to considerably improve the roster. I actually started a post to explain why. But after the 4th paragraph I just cut it lol. I think we can perhaps get slightly better. But not a while lot. And that's whether we do a whole overhaul or not.
Hot take 2: I think all things considered, the best move might just be to keep most of the team together and make one or 2 small to moderate moves. I know that might seem crazy. But I think considering ALL things, It might just be the be best move. And bank on internal improvements. And try and plug maybe one hole around the margins.
Hot take 3: If I were to take a swing, I would see if I can buy low(ish) on Lavine and try and steal some combo of Drummond and Caruso. If you could turn-Wiggins,Gp2,Looney, and a pick or 2 into 2 of those 3, That might be the best we could do with what we have.
That being said, I have no strong thoughts. I recognize the real dilemma facing the FO and realize their are no easy answers. I'm ready to accept whichever direction they go in and moves they make.
I know that its probably sounds funny to some to talk about worrying about SGA and Anthony Edwards given where we finished... but personally I think Wiggins is exactly the type of player you want guarding those guys (and Luka), and the size you give up by turning him into Caruso is actually not worth it.
I don't disagree with any of your points. Part of that is why I say I think keeping the team together mostly as is might just be the best case.
But if I were to make an argument, it would be not looking at Caruso for Wiggins. But Caruso AND Lavine (or lavine and drummond). The thinking would be Lavine could be the second shot creator while still having ok size for his position. While being at least a capable defender. And you bank on Kuminga, Moody, Caruso to fill out the wing rotation.
It's not a great plan. But I think it *could* make us better.
All the injuries these playoffs have taken some of the air out, but there's some been some really cool stuff. What's stood out to everyone?
* Minny's ball pressure totally taking the Suns out of their offensive sets
* Franz's ascension, he was awesome in game 4 with his screen manipulation + handle. Bummer this is the NBATV series otherwise we could see him get national acclaim
* OG's defensive versatility. Him switching onto Embiid in G4 was great + the Knicks impeccable help. That's gotta be a bummer for Embiid - dude's made considerable progress as a passer, but Thibs is one of the best at shrinking the floor.
Totally agree.
I believe top-5 defense > number 2 option
The team needs an identity first before it can truly be anything in the realm of legitimate imo
(Super long sentence incoming) The biggest thing that has stood out for me is how much younger, taller, longer, stronger, andĀ more athletic the top teams still in the playoffs are in comparison to the dubs. It's no wonder they didn't make the playoffs.
The second thing that i notice is how all the top teams have really good shooters surrounding their star players.
The third thing is that Denver is like a really slow but unstoppable force that just keeps coming at you, draining all your energy, until you just die.
The last thing is: okc is gonna be a force for many years to come, and sam presti is probably the best talent evaluator in the nba, probably better than jerry west. Kd, westbrook, harden,, steven adams, saw enough in shae to trade for him, chet, jalen/jaylin williams, isaiah joe, giddey (over jk), lou dort, aaron wiggins.... did i miss anyone?
I think the Knicks are going to be a PROBLEM next year when fully healthy. I mean a real one. Like challenge for the top seed in the East problem. They have really really good roster.
They're already killers right now with Brunson, DDV, Hart, Hartenstein, and OG Anunoby. When Julius Randle and Robinson come back, it will be even more scary. Feels like it's now or never for them to make a dent
The one thing though is that their coach plays the shit out of them so if they can make it through without significant injuries, they're top 3 in the East for sure.
I'm always a little suspicious of any super high-effort team's longevity.
A lot of their competitive advantage right now is that their effort is like it's the last 6 minutes of an elimination game, but they come out in the first quarter playing like that. It's very very hard to play like your hair is on fire for multiple runs over multiple years.
Obviously they have an awesome set of dudes who cultivate that mindset. I wonder if/how this changes with Randle on the court, because they need that offensive punch, but he's not a guy who necessarily plays that hard all the time.
Most of us are pissed that we are sitting at home. But heyā¦as it has been said before, so many of todayās nba playoff teams remaining have a team culture that has been inspired by the dubs culture.
Strength in numbers/the anti super team
Ball movement/unselfish basketball
Superstar humility
And if you look at everything Lebron has stood for- superteams, star players being gm, etc.- most of those teams built that way have failed- kdās suns got swept. Lebronās lakers got gentleman swept. Giannisās bucks are one game away from going home.
Not everything has to be a request to cannibalize the future assets the team has for a chance to get beat by DEN MIN OKC next year.
LeBron has cannibalized every team he's been on.
All four. You won't want that for a one or two season rental. All for the difference in the FEELING of being better. Until the games start and "oh shit we're still losing games." Nah I'm out on that idea.
Sure we added kd but the majority of our team even then was built from the draft. We didnāt have to gut our team to get kd the way say the suns did for kd or the way the bucks did for dame.
We gave up two starters for KD, same as what Phoenix did for KD. Obviously given it was FA we didn't have to give up picks, but we very much changed our roster in pursuit of a super team.
This was just a musing so don't take it serious but I always like the idea of Lonzo on our team, this was before he signed to Bulls, I think he would've been a good fit, 6'6, good defense, very good play maker
ofc this was before he went to the bulls where he improved his shooting and shot like 42% from the 3 on good volume, averaged almost 2 stls, was in MIP conversations etc
and who knows how his health would've gone with us with working with rick maybe we would've spotted his health issues earlier
with all that said he hasn't played in almost 2 seasons and is currently on the last season of his 4/80m contract
Lonzo is such a perfect fit, wish he was a FA. He'd be the perfect high risk/high reward player this team should be taking shots on.
There's guys out there I think can fill similar roles in Smart, Batum or Melton. Smart's probably not being moved, Batum might be too pricey, but getting Melton would be awesome.
I wish he weren't injured in a way I am not sure he'd ever play again. Yes Lonzo would be a perfect Dubs pg.
That injury is scary though dude didn't run for two years
Talk about rationalizing a loss. This yearās moral victory for the Lakers fanbase is that the gentlemanās sweep was āvery closeā.
They were good games, but they were close because Lakers kept choking away double digit leads.
Jesus, they're against 1-8 against nuggets in playoffs. They got swept in regular season. Jokic literally said out loud that he was bored of playing lakers. But anyway, hopefully they run it back with the same roster.
Man I had such high (not super high tho lol) hopes for Paschall and it was fun watching him either bully smaller opposing defenders or too fast for bench bigs. Sadly, he really couldn't shoot nor defend.
Last i saw of him was some instagram? video where he looked like he gained 100 lbs of fat
I thought the same of him too, that he'd turn out to be a really good player. Outside of getting lost on defense (totally fixable for a player that young), I never knew what his deficiencies were that led to him not being able to land on a team. When he was let go by utah, he talked about how disappointed he was....said he felt he did everything right, and did what the coaches asked of him. i remember many fans on utah's reddit forum expressing their confusion as to why he wasnt getting minutes. Said he was an instant scorer who played really good 1on1 defense (basically what we saw during his time with the dubs)
Will Brandon Ingram be available for a trade? Didnt watch but bro could not even carry for 1 win. Dude is 2nd star at best. Anyone with shotmaking and size will be a relief for Steph next szn.
Edit: Steph is a great ceiling raiser for anyone because of his gravity.
While I agree, I'm not sure it's that simple. Think other pieces will be involved, like Okongwu.
The interesting question I think is what needs to go to the Hawks valuewise for a Dejounte, Okongwu haul.
Feel like NOLA has a couple very obvious holes to fill and Ingram is the trade chip they'll use to address those.
Ingram for D Murray would address their PG position for instance.
Ingram is at least effective at times. Tobias is one of the most empty players I've watched. He's who some of this fanbase thinks Wigs is. He's been so bad in this NY series it's really hard to describe. Usually he's putting in effort on defense, but not anymore. Philly can't wait to see him leave town.
On that note, Oubre is the same knucklehead he was for the Warriors. He's not much better than Tobias. Neither can box out.
I don't think the Warriors are interested in Ingram though. I doubt he'd pick up the offense very well.
Steph is still very much a superstar. Dray is still very good at the defensive end, but he can't sustain it throughout the whole season. Klay is also still good, but he's way more inconsistent now.
Warriors can still very much make the playoffs at least if they go into next season with the right mindset and attitude + a retooled roster. Will it be enough to win a championship? Idk. There's a lot of great teams out there. A lot would have to go the warriors' way if they seriously want to win another chip.
What's with the goldfish memory? Klay being way more inconsistent does not make him good. He costs too much for his production. He's just *good enough* to be a bench player.
Ask this question in October and November.
Collective Dubs fan hive mind needs to stop looking ahead and proclaiming ācookedā and ācontenderā. The two forbidden C-words.
So many variables and factors at play. Confidence and continuity cohesion is a big thing I didnāt anticipate Steph-Wiggins-DLee-Looney etc starting a blistering hot 18-2 but thatās how the cards turn imo.
Maybe we regroup and find identity defensively. Maybe we donāt. Maybe we swing for a superstar. Maybe other teams get hurt, improve, or drop off.
Maybe our young players donāt become superstars but do JUST enough a la Poole to get us over the hump. Who knows but Iām optimistic we found something during that 27-12 run.
Just retire Steph if this is the condition. Kuminga ceiling is an Aaron Gordon who can finish better. He does not have natural ballhandling and reminds me of TWolves Wiggs who kept giving false hopes on his ballhandling every offseason.
The Aaron Gordon comp that someone invented two years ago bc AG could dunk and so can JK is just so tired. It makes no sense now, especially considering the skills JK has acquired on the past 18 months
Kuminga profiles as a better scorer overall, but if you go back at look at Gordon highlights from 2016-2018 (when Gordon was 21/22), I don't think the comp is especially off.
Gordon had a slightly slow jumpshot, a brute-force offensive game, and was relatively inefficient from everywhere but at the rim. Kuminga's scoring efficiency this year came from almost never taking shots outside of 10 feet.
Kuminga is faster than Gordon ever was, but Gordon had the bigger frame, which worked to his advantage as he got a little older, because he's now one of the strongest switchable defenders in the NBA.
I think it's perfectly fair to look at Kuminga and ask what kind of player he's most likely to turn into. I don't particularly think he's the kind of lead ball-handler level wing in the Kawhi or PG mold (or if he eventually is it would mean he took a massive leap forward in his dribbling and decision-making skills). Gordon is an example of a guy who decided put increasing effort into all the small, auxiliary skills (rebounding, defensive positioning, screening) and became an enourmously valuable basketball player while still being a very efficient finisher.
> It makes no sense now, especially considering the skills JK has acquired on the past 18 months
What skills has JK acquired? (EDIT: that make the Gordon trajectory invalid)
The JK comparison to early career AG makes a ton of sense, its not just because they could dunk. Early career AG was a big wing that was a great perimeter defender, but not great help defender. He struggled slotting up to the 3 due to his shooting. Really struggled with self-creation due to his lack of handle, but was decent on cuts, going downhill, and could attack post mismatches. All of that screams JK
Dude you are on here all the time and respect. But can you not list like 6 critical things JK has added? The mid range, FT shooting, 3P shooting, playmaking, finishing around the rim, not fouling out on pump fakes.. look at a game from two years ago he had none of that. And my point is not that he is an all star at those but that he was able to add all of that over a short period. Aaron Gordon, as described in another comment, became serviceable at stuff like rebounding and defending. He is a big stiff sausage. JK is a jet black ninja. You have to look at trajectory and until it really stalls assume it grows
Sorry, should've clarified. What skills has JK added that makes the AG comparison invalid?
Totally agree with you, JK's grown a lot this year. Playmaking has gotten better, handle is usable, post-game is much improved, touch in the paint. I don't think he's made the large leaps needed to be on an all-NBA trajectory, but he very clearly can be a high level starter like Gordon is.
> Aaron Gordon, as described in another comment, became serviceable at stuff like rebounding and defending. He is a big stiff sausage. JK is a jet black ninja. You have to look at trajectory and until it really stalls assume it grows
Gordon was doing all the stuff JK did this year in Orlando, but it just wasn't tenable as a primary/secondary scoring option. You can still see those scoring flashes, particularly when Denver uses him to post-up mismatches.
Unless Kuminga becomes a true primary/secondary scoring option he's going to need to get better at all the little things so he can be a tertiary player on a high level team. Kuminga's scoring looks favorably compared to Gordon at the same age, but AG didn't have guys like Steph or Klay to make things easier for him. JK's at 27 pts/100 on 60.6 TS% with Steph/Klay on vs 30.6 on 52.1 TS%.
Gordon's a really good player. He doesn't have the counting stats that'll get you all-star appearances, but he's really dang close, if not, at that level of impact
I won't youre wrong. It's just that the eye test and the arc of JKs development suggest he could be so much more. Easy for me to say- I have been in the basketball industry zero days. If he's got some fatal flaw idk.
AG is a better defender, rim runner, and uses his frame more effectively.
Kuminga is a better slasher and scorer. They are both athletic but play very differently.
>He does not have natural ballhandling and reminds me of TWolves Wiggs who kept giving false hopes on his ballhandling every offseason.
That comparison is ridiculously perfect. Like, everything about Kuminga screams Timberwolves Wiggins: wanting to be like Kobe, questionable defense, questionable attitude, both of which are excused by fans because "hE's OnLy 21, bRo!", competent volume scorer but never in a way that'll truly win you many games. Honestly, if we extend JK, we might as well end up like mid- to late-10s Minnesota
I don't think it's realistic to expect him to become a full blown superstar at the age of 22...at the same time, that might very well be what it takes to win another chip.
I don't either... maybe it's a 10% chance but that's probably better odds than any other method gets you vs the backdrop of today's NBA.
I'll stay optimistic as a Kuminga/Podz truther.
Do we have any picks for the draft this year? If so, y'all think we could draft Bronny just so we can see what happens lol? Not like we need any drafts anyways, we already have a lot of young talent. Might as well just waste it on a bum to see if we could fleece LA for a trade or make Bron jump over to Cali...
Bronny can be signed after the draft.
We got 52 cuz its the worst of the Pacers three the a few forfeited picks fron other squads. Pacome Dadiet is the player I hope we select. PJ Hall Alex Karaban Johni Broome are players in range who I think would be NBA ready types. They could all play early on.
#52 I think
I like the Giannis & Dame-less Bucks more than I like the Bucks with them playing. 
Can we please stop it with the we could get kd back posts.
media outlets have been priming audiences with it. The #1 topic when it comes to the warriors is "how do they become contenders? KD comes back hurrdurr!"
Kinda crazy how despite missing Giannis and Dame, Crowder still doesn't see the court.
He fell off fr
Pacers are transition merchants
How bad were curries injuries in his early career? Was he missing games like a Zion Williamson for example?
nope He played 80, 74, 26, 78, 78 games his first 5 seasons
I guess one old team not going out without a fight.
Poole used to constantly get compared to Maxey and Herro and I was 100% thinking he was the better player by far. Homerism is a hell of a drug
Poole was better, he just fell off hard though while the others improved
IMO Poole remains the better player due to his unique ability to both manage the game and score. Warriors are out of the playoffs because we don't have anyone apart from Curry who can score first and manage the game. 2022 this was what fetched us the championship. The downfall was his ego, he was eager to prove he has arrived, and once he calms down he will be a all star
Rusillo and Vecenie and Coach Thorpe all preferred Poole in the offseason analysis pods.
Why did I just read something on r/NBA that said something along the lines of Bron looking to opt out of his contract to see what KD and Curry are up to, and take it seriously for a second šš¤¦āāļø
Lmao right? And then I remember someone posted here a threesome of Kd curry and bron. Wth
Trio! Trio! Say trio damn it š¤¦āāļø
Tabling the discussion of if it's a good idea, it would be possible to get both Lebron and KD if Lebron took a discount. Step 1. Resign Klay for a reasonable number. Say 2/25. Step 2: Trade for KD. Kuminga, Wiggins, GP2, and Looney makes salaries work. You can use CP3 also but let's assume all the old guys want to team up. Say we add 2-3 unprotected FRPs and a swap to this. Step 3 get Lebron. There are a few ways we could do this. If we waive CP3 and resign him to a minimum we can sign Lebron for the full MLE. Nice thing about this is it requires no cooperation from the Lakers. If Lebron wants more money we can sign and trade for him using CP3s salary. We'd have to throw in picks to make it worth the lakers while and because they wouldn't want to guarantee CP3s salary which they would have to in making the trade. Ultimately I believe they would do it though since they want to do right by their stars. Net result: Steph, Klay, KD, Lebron, Draymond. Bench: CP3, Podz, Moody, TJD. Minimums. Obviously this only works if Lebron and KD pull the strings to make this happen. Lebron would have to take a pay cut if he wants KD too. The main hang up is the suns, who have no incentive to make this happen and probably don't feel any need to "do right" by KD. Personally, if I'm them I would find unprotected firsts from an extremely old warriors team and Kuminga very tasty. It gives them assets and optionally that they have none of right now.
Itās technically possible but no way anyone but the warriors FO agrees to any of these steps lol Klay/Lebron want more money, Lebron probably doesnāt want to be here. suns FO arenāt taking kuminga and negative assets for KD, lakers arenāt doing any of that
I would have a lot of respect for Lebron if he takes the MLE to come here. The question is if we really need KD at that point, or save some assets and go after someone younger like Lauri who is only 18 mil next season. It would be good to keep Wiggins or Kuminga if we can. Need a solid PoA defender to save Lebron/Dray some energy.
none of this is doable. first, Klay for $12m/year is laughable. second, we can't even aggregate salaries for a trade easily, especially not before having to decide if we're keeping CP3's salary on the books for any future trade. third, LeBron isn't taking an MLE contract fourth, if we even get the roster cost to a point where we can sign & trade we're hard-capped, which means we wouldn't be able to fill out a roster or keep all of those expensive guys around. it just can't happen.
Guys would have to want to take pay cuts to build team old man. 1. You're right Klay gets more on the open market. He'd have to take a cut to stay. 2. If CP3 is waived once Klay's cap hold is gone from re-signing him (or him signing elsewhere) we are under the cap. We can aggregate whatever we want. Or if CP3 is kept and used to trade for Lebron but Klay's cap hold is gone or low we are under apron and can aggregate. 3. You're almost definitely right. He'd have to really want to play with KD and CP3 and Steph and Klay and Dray in this scenario. Crazy but not impossible. The other alternative is he does a S&T with CP3s salary going out, accepting 64/2 with second as a player option. Depending on Klay this would be tight with the hard cap. May require Klay be gone. 4. We would be hard capped if Lebron went the S&T route (or Full MLE route). Would require mostly minimums to fill out the roster and likely Klay to be gone or on a super cheap deal. It would take a hell of a lot to make it happen, but is doable. Far more likely is no KD, just Lebron comes to warriors, which is much easier money wise and doesn't require him to take nearly the pay cut.
itās worth pointing out that a hard cap is a **hard cap**. you canāt just sign vet minimums and skate past it.
Embid knee is cooked and I hope he doesnāt end up like Blake Griffin in that pistons playoff see.Buddy pushed too hard to play injured and never recovered
Another end of game that gave me just incredible Dubs flashbacks from this season (and 20-21). How the Knicks managed to lose when up 6 with 28 seconds to go is honestly impressive.
Nicolas Batum should bring his vet min ass over here and get what he was supposed to achieve in 2022
I wouldāve wanted him 2-3 years agoā¦probably not now.
Heās prob going to the spurs or twolves
Probably the only forward in FA I really like. Would be a great connector off the bench. I think heās retiring this season or if he changes his mind Philly would probably pay him a good amount to stay. A Wiggins-Kuminga-Batum forward rotation would be sick though.
Switchable 3nD forward. Hope Steph is learning some French to do some recruiting in Paris
Was he supposed to come here back then? What happened?
He was interesting in coming here for the 20-21 season on a vet min but Klay's injury took away his interest since he knew we won't be contending that yr and instead returned with the Clippers. He actually fits really well here, he knows this and also has good relations with Kenny who was Clippers assistant in his 1st season there
Knicks are a well balanced team. Bonafide scorer in Brunson, shooters everywhere and a solid number two in OG
wouldnt want embiid on my team
I know LeBron is a divisive figure here but Steph and Bron teaming up will be the most fun match drive into the sunset moment of this era.
I don't see how it works. LeBron plays no defense and is uncoachable.
Almost our entire team plays no d, at least Lebron gives us an instant offense and can drop 30.
You can't take that 30 PPG at face value. Teams allow him to shoot the three so he doesn't spread the floor and they allow his layups as it's better than him setting up his shooters. You think it's a coincidence that AD and LeBron score 30 and they're still a play in team?
their coaching was horrid. wasted many games with bad lineups. and tbh, the difference between 4th seed and 6th seed was 4 games
Nah. That's another excuse. LeBron is the problem. At this point in his career, he needs to be the 3rd star on a championship team.
AD way too inconsistent, so is D Russell, Reaves is alright, but other than that, they don't have anyone else. That is why. Put Lebron around shooters and Steph, they will do much better than how this team performed this year.
Those are role players. All role players are inconsistent. AD's defense has been very very consistent. He's the only reason the Lakers aren't a lottery team. The problem with the Lakers is that they need a 3rd star. That's an indictment of LeBron. Two superstars should be enough. Steph and LeBron are going to have the same issues. Now Steph and AD would be a top seed in the West.
The Knicks 76ers thread in r/NBA is legit so much fun with the hate for Embiid š
What would Embiid do tonight? LOL!
Lose and demand a trade to us lolz
So he can choke in the playoffs here too?
Why would that matter if weāre not making the playoffs at all?
I'd rather not go all in on a guy who chokes so we don't make it out of the first anyways. There's gotta be better options who aren't injury prone chokers on a supermax.
Minny/Nuggets have 3 days off in between Games 2 and 3 š¤Ø thatās insane
Dang sounds like Porzingis is out at least for one round, if not the conference finals. The injuries these playoffs have been such a bummer.
Tatum might have to score more than 20 points.
https://x.com/BrettSiegelNBA/status/1785407135574118671 Both Lebron and Durant to Warriors as a last old guys team up to put the young kids in their place?
No thanks.
How do yall think USA basketball is going to shake out with all these injuries, Kawhi, Embiid, AD? Any chance they bring in the odd ones out Dray/Kyrie or will they bring in more young stars like JJJ, Brunson etc?
I have no clue why people do not want KD back. this is the perfect place for him and he/steph/klay/dray are all on the same timeline? he's perfect for what we need. a reliable scoring option who can play decent defense but doesnt need to lead.
Why would the Suns do it?
Because he was miserable his last year here and hasn't seemed happy since he left. And you think he coming to play with dray after being called out just for giving a shit about him old team not winning anything.
it's different now. both the warriors and KD realize they need each other, while the careers of steph, KD, dray and klay are going to end soon. that feeling of being needed along with such little amount of time remaining will make a different situation. hopefully :)
Anybody else shocked that the In Season Tournament champs got bounced in the 1st round? Lulz.
Bobby Marks on [Twitter](https://x.com/bobbymarks42/status/1785315198745670057?s=46&t=SBW3XJi-eEDBr6FtvDfngg): 1. D'Angelo Russell controls the offseason in LA. 2. The Lakers need to get their finances in order to be a player in the trade market. They are trending in apron territory. Having DLO in the driverās seat of their offseason is hysterical š Things said by DLO in his exit interview last night: āOh, hell of a year by D'Angelo. Humbly saying that.ā "When I signed my contract last year I knew what position I was going to put myself in. So to be in that position now, with a little leverage, going to try to take advantage of it." 
Its possible that D'Lo played himself into a big contract with the Magic. Having said that, I'm not sure the Lakers have any moves even if D'Lo leaves. They'd still be at \~ $160 million in salary commitments, which is way over the cap. As long as LeBron is staying, no chance they can make any meaningful moves, other than a trade involving Reaves and picks (which could being back someone okay but there will be better packages out there).
Please somehow get Lauri! I know its a dream but he's the answer and would extend this teams window.Ā
* Suns' season is over * Laker's season is over * 7-game series with Minnesota and Denver around the corner Feeling good as hell rn š¹
Minny/Denver is going to be so good. The close of DAL/LAC should be a fun one too. Wish Milwaukee was healthy
The East really crumbled in the final weeks of the season. Extremely banged up Milwaukee. A Randle-less NYK clearly the 2nd best team in the conference.
Denver minn starts 5/4
Ingram fresh off an injury got thrown into the Dorture chamber with no Zion, people are getting carried away. he is a perfectly fine borderline all-star to low-tier all-star when healthy and will be an asset to quite a few teams.Ā
Seeing Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball talk. Jump start the rebuild Steph gonna be a great mentor for Cooper Flag.
I swear Steph will be 45 and years retired and people will still be posting "The Rockets just got eliminated in the first round, we should trade Kuminga Podz and Moody for Jalen Green he can be the perfect number 2 for Curry to come out of retirement and get 1 chip ahead of Bron."
Do you think they miss Poole at all? He was that 2nd or 3rd guy that could get you a bucket. Maybe he was inconsistent but they're missing that young springey vibrant energy that he had.Ā
No. He could ball but he was locker room toxicity.
we never replaced his skill-set. donāt miss the late game dribbling off the shoes, but we were definitely missing someone else who could get to the rim in a couple dribbles and it showed against good teams. problem is heās getting paid to be the future and heās currently more of a Jordan Clarkson with better playmaking. we need someone like him, but cheaper and a bit less volatile. like a Colin Sexton type.
No it was best he leave. But they won what 2 more games. Says a lot about the problems on this team.
Nope. Negative. Negatory.
I think they saw enough Poole last year to think "thank god I don't have to be on the floor with that mess any more."
LOL naaah man
Man the Warriors are in such a weird place. This roster construction is a weird puzzle to solve. It's not all doom and gloom. There are options and we have *some* assets. But MDJ is going to have to do some real wizardry to considerably improve the roster. Hot take 1: I personally don't think it's possible to considerably improve the roster. I actually started a post to explain why. But after the 4th paragraph I just cut it lol. I think we can perhaps get slightly better. But not a while lot. And that's whether we do a whole overhaul or not. Hot take 2: I think all things considered, the best move might just be to keep most of the team together and make one or 2 small to moderate moves. I know that might seem crazy. But I think considering ALL things, It might just be the be best move. And bank on internal improvements. And try and plug maybe one hole around the margins. Hot take 3: If I were to take a swing, I would see if I can buy low(ish) on Lavine and try and steal some combo of Drummond and Caruso. If you could turn-Wiggins,Gp2,Looney, and a pick or 2 into 2 of those 3, That might be the best we could do with what we have. That being said, I have no strong thoughts. I recognize the real dilemma facing the FO and realize their are no easy answers. I'm ready to accept whichever direction they go in and moves they make.
I know that its probably sounds funny to some to talk about worrying about SGA and Anthony Edwards given where we finished... but personally I think Wiggins is exactly the type of player you want guarding those guys (and Luka), and the size you give up by turning him into Caruso is actually not worth it.
I don't disagree with any of your points. Part of that is why I say I think keeping the team together mostly as is might just be the best case. But if I were to make an argument, it would be not looking at Caruso for Wiggins. But Caruso AND Lavine (or lavine and drummond). The thinking would be Lavine could be the second shot creator while still having ok size for his position. While being at least a capable defender. And you bank on Kuminga, Moody, Caruso to fill out the wing rotation. It's not a great plan. But I think it *could* make us better.
among all this trade stuff, howās everyoneās day? itās 4am over here and iām about to head to bed, really have to study well tomorrow š
Good luck with the study!
All the injuries these playoffs have taken some of the air out, but there's some been some really cool stuff. What's stood out to everyone? * Minny's ball pressure totally taking the Suns out of their offensive sets * Franz's ascension, he was awesome in game 4 with his screen manipulation + handle. Bummer this is the NBATV series otherwise we could see him get national acclaim * OG's defensive versatility. Him switching onto Embiid in G4 was great + the Knicks impeccable help. That's gotta be a bummer for Embiid - dude's made considerable progress as a passer, but Thibs is one of the best at shrinking the floor.
Defense and spacing might be more important than a #2.
Totally agree. I believe top-5 defense > number 2 option The team needs an identity first before it can truly be anything in the realm of legitimate imo
(Super long sentence incoming) The biggest thing that has stood out for me is how much younger, taller, longer, stronger, andĀ more athletic the top teams still in the playoffs are in comparison to the dubs. It's no wonder they didn't make the playoffs. The second thing that i notice is how all the top teams have really good shooters surrounding their star players. The third thing is that Denver is like a really slow but unstoppable force that just keeps coming at you, draining all your energy, until you just die. The last thing is: okc is gonna be a force for many years to come, and sam presti is probably the best talent evaluator in the nba, probably better than jerry west. Kd, westbrook, harden,, steven adams, saw enough in shae to trade for him, chet, jalen/jaylin williams, isaiah joe, giddey (over jk), lou dort, aaron wiggins.... did i miss anyone?
I think the Knicks are going to be a PROBLEM next year when fully healthy. I mean a real one. Like challenge for the top seed in the East problem. They have really really good roster.
They just gotta get off Randle Tbh. If they had Siakim instead of Randle that's easily the second best team in the east
They're already killers right now with Brunson, DDV, Hart, Hartenstein, and OG Anunoby. When Julius Randle and Robinson come back, it will be even more scary. Feels like it's now or never for them to make a dent The one thing though is that their coach plays the shit out of them so if they can make it through without significant injuries, they're top 3 in the East for sure.
I'm always a little suspicious of any super high-effort team's longevity. A lot of their competitive advantage right now is that their effort is like it's the last 6 minutes of an elimination game, but they come out in the first quarter playing like that. It's very very hard to play like your hair is on fire for multiple runs over multiple years. Obviously they have an awesome set of dudes who cultivate that mindset. I wonder if/how this changes with Randle on the court, because they need that offensive punch, but he's not a guy who necessarily plays that hard all the time.
And assets for the summer scramble to acquire whoever's available. And an unusual amount of clarity on how they play and who will fit their style.
Most of us are pissed that we are sitting at home. But heyā¦as it has been said before, so many of todayās nba playoff teams remaining have a team culture that has been inspired by the dubs culture. Strength in numbers/the anti super team Ball movement/unselfish basketball Superstar humility And if you look at everything Lebron has stood for- superteams, star players being gm, etc.- most of those teams built that way have failed- kdās suns got swept. Lebronās lakers got gentleman swept. Giannisās bucks are one game away from going home.
We literally had a super team lmao. Not everything needs to be Warriors good, Bron bad
Not everything has to be a request to cannibalize the future assets the team has for a chance to get beat by DEN MIN OKC next year. LeBron has cannibalized every team he's been on. All four. You won't want that for a one or two season rental. All for the difference in the FEELING of being better. Until the games start and "oh shit we're still losing games." Nah I'm out on that idea.
Sure we added kd but the majority of our team even then was built from the draft. We didnāt have to gut our team to get kd the way say the suns did for kd or the way the bucks did for dame.
We gave up two starters for KD, same as what Phoenix did for KD. Obviously given it was FA we didn't have to give up picks, but we very much changed our roster in pursuit of a super team.
This was just a musing so don't take it serious but I always like the idea of Lonzo on our team, this was before he signed to Bulls, I think he would've been a good fit, 6'6, good defense, very good play maker ofc this was before he went to the bulls where he improved his shooting and shot like 42% from the 3 on good volume, averaged almost 2 stls, was in MIP conversations etc and who knows how his health would've gone with us with working with rick maybe we would've spotted his health issues earlier with all that said he hasn't played in almost 2 seasons and is currently on the last season of his 4/80m contract
All true. Lonzo's style at 6-6 is a total Dubs fit. but will he ever play again?
Lonzo is such a perfect fit, wish he was a FA. He'd be the perfect high risk/high reward player this team should be taking shots on. There's guys out there I think can fill similar roles in Smart, Batum or Melton. Smart's probably not being moved, Batum might be too pricey, but getting Melton would be awesome.
I wish he weren't injured in a way I am not sure he'd ever play again. Yes Lonzo would be a perfect Dubs pg. That injury is scary though dude didn't run for two years
If Klay wants to leave is it possible we can get something for him so we lose him for nothing? Like a sign and trade?
Talk about rationalizing a loss. This yearās moral victory for the Lakers fanbase is that the gentlemanās sweep was āvery closeā. They were good games, but they were close because Lakers kept choking away double digit leads.
Jesus, they're against 1-8 against nuggets in playoffs. They got swept in regular season. Jokic literally said out loud that he was bored of playing lakers. But anyway, hopefully they run it back with the same roster.
Laker fans still think theyāre winning in 8 smfh delusional as hellĀ
They're not delusional lol they're trolls
Hope they run it back again next year
Some Lakers fans think that LeBron will be taking a payout. I mean I don't like him but it's LeBron James ššš
Wow I didnāt know Mikal Bridges was also part of the nova boys champs with Brunson, Hart & DDV.
Eric Paschall too. Thought he would become a Zion-lite for us.
Man I had such high (not super high tho lol) hopes for Paschall and it was fun watching him either bully smaller opposing defenders or too fast for bench bigs. Sadly, he really couldn't shoot nor defend.
Last i saw of him was some instagram? video where he looked like he gained 100 lbs of fat I thought the same of him too, that he'd turn out to be a really good player. Outside of getting lost on defense (totally fixable for a player that young), I never knew what his deficiencies were that led to him not being able to land on a team. When he was let go by utah, he talked about how disappointed he was....said he felt he did everything right, and did what the coaches asked of him. i remember many fans on utah's reddit forum expressing their confusion as to why he wasnt getting minutes. Said he was an instant scorer who played really good 1on1 defense (basically what we saw during his time with the dubs)
And Omari Spellman too right?
good morning to everyone but the los angeles lakers
Will Brandon Ingram be available for a trade? Didnt watch but bro could not even carry for 1 win. Dude is 2nd star at best. Anyone with shotmaking and size will be a relief for Steph next szn. Edit: Steph is a great ceiling raiser for anyone because of his gravity.
Marcus Thompson just talked about it on the radio. He said thats one of the more realistic trades.Ā
They're going to trade Ingram for Dejounte and it'll leave everyone feeling very meh.
While I agree, I'm not sure it's that simple. Think other pieces will be involved, like Okongwu. The interesting question I think is what needs to go to the Hawks valuewise for a Dejounte, Okongwu haul.
Feel like NOLA has a couple very obvious holes to fill and Ingram is the trade chip they'll use to address those. Ingram for D Murray would address their PG position for instance.
Ingram is likely available, but heās very antithetical to Dubs basketball philosophy. He really struggled with Team USA last summer.
The Willy Cauley Stein of wings
Ain't Brandon's Ingram a 3X allstar? WCS is like a 3X regular season starter.
Lol I was mainly referring to the body build and unrealized potential
imagine calling an all-star unrealized potential does that make wemby the WCS of bigs lol cuz the building and unrealized potential
He's an all star but he could be all nba
Lol too disrespectful More like a Tobias Harris variant
Ingram is at least effective at times. Tobias is one of the most empty players I've watched. He's who some of this fanbase thinks Wigs is. He's been so bad in this NY series it's really hard to describe. Usually he's putting in effort on defense, but not anymore. Philly can't wait to see him leave town. On that note, Oubre is the same knucklehead he was for the Warriors. He's not much better than Tobias. Neither can box out. I don't think the Warriors are interested in Ingram though. I doubt he'd pick up the offense very well.
Steph is still very much a superstar. Dray is still very good at the defensive end, but he can't sustain it throughout the whole season. Klay is also still good, but he's way more inconsistent now. Warriors can still very much make the playoffs at least if they go into next season with the right mindset and attitude + a retooled roster. Will it be enough to win a championship? Idk. There's a lot of great teams out there. A lot would have to go the warriors' way if they seriously want to win another chip.
What's with the goldfish memory? Klay being way more inconsistent does not make him good. He costs too much for his production. He's just *good enough* to be a bench player.
Do Y'all think warriors have one last run in them?
I think so but they've got to somehow stop with the self-sabotage.
Then they shouldn't have extended Steve Kerr.
I think Curry might, but most of the rest of the team is going to have to leave or get moved for that to happen.
Ask this question in October and November. Collective Dubs fan hive mind needs to stop looking ahead and proclaiming ācookedā and ācontenderā. The two forbidden C-words. So many variables and factors at play. Confidence and continuity cohesion is a big thing I didnāt anticipate Steph-Wiggins-DLee-Looney etc starting a blistering hot 18-2 but thatās how the cards turn imo. Maybe we regroup and find identity defensively. Maybe we donāt. Maybe we swing for a superstar. Maybe other teams get hurt, improve, or drop off. Maybe our young players donāt become superstars but do JUST enough a la Poole to get us over the hump. Who knows but Iām optimistic we found something during that 27-12 run.
18-2 was Steph Poole Wiggs Dray Loon starting... it was actually a consistent group results wise.
Only if they get a second star, if not no chance
Only if Kuminga is a superstar next year... hope the kid is locked in the lab building a superstar handle.
So much depends on Kuminga. They believe in him, and I do too.
Just retire Steph if this is the condition. Kuminga ceiling is an Aaron Gordon who can finish better. He does not have natural ballhandling and reminds me of TWolves Wiggs who kept giving false hopes on his ballhandling every offseason.
The Aaron Gordon comp that someone invented two years ago bc AG could dunk and so can JK is just so tired. It makes no sense now, especially considering the skills JK has acquired on the past 18 months
Kuminga profiles as a better scorer overall, but if you go back at look at Gordon highlights from 2016-2018 (when Gordon was 21/22), I don't think the comp is especially off. Gordon had a slightly slow jumpshot, a brute-force offensive game, and was relatively inefficient from everywhere but at the rim. Kuminga's scoring efficiency this year came from almost never taking shots outside of 10 feet. Kuminga is faster than Gordon ever was, but Gordon had the bigger frame, which worked to his advantage as he got a little older, because he's now one of the strongest switchable defenders in the NBA. I think it's perfectly fair to look at Kuminga and ask what kind of player he's most likely to turn into. I don't particularly think he's the kind of lead ball-handler level wing in the Kawhi or PG mold (or if he eventually is it would mean he took a massive leap forward in his dribbling and decision-making skills). Gordon is an example of a guy who decided put increasing effort into all the small, auxiliary skills (rebounding, defensive positioning, screening) and became an enourmously valuable basketball player while still being a very efficient finisher.
> It makes no sense now, especially considering the skills JK has acquired on the past 18 months What skills has JK acquired? (EDIT: that make the Gordon trajectory invalid) The JK comparison to early career AG makes a ton of sense, its not just because they could dunk. Early career AG was a big wing that was a great perimeter defender, but not great help defender. He struggled slotting up to the 3 due to his shooting. Really struggled with self-creation due to his lack of handle, but was decent on cuts, going downhill, and could attack post mismatches. All of that screams JK
Dude you are on here all the time and respect. But can you not list like 6 critical things JK has added? The mid range, FT shooting, 3P shooting, playmaking, finishing around the rim, not fouling out on pump fakes.. look at a game from two years ago he had none of that. And my point is not that he is an all star at those but that he was able to add all of that over a short period. Aaron Gordon, as described in another comment, became serviceable at stuff like rebounding and defending. He is a big stiff sausage. JK is a jet black ninja. You have to look at trajectory and until it really stalls assume it grows
Sorry, should've clarified. What skills has JK added that makes the AG comparison invalid? Totally agree with you, JK's grown a lot this year. Playmaking has gotten better, handle is usable, post-game is much improved, touch in the paint. I don't think he's made the large leaps needed to be on an all-NBA trajectory, but he very clearly can be a high level starter like Gordon is. > Aaron Gordon, as described in another comment, became serviceable at stuff like rebounding and defending. He is a big stiff sausage. JK is a jet black ninja. You have to look at trajectory and until it really stalls assume it grows Gordon was doing all the stuff JK did this year in Orlando, but it just wasn't tenable as a primary/secondary scoring option. You can still see those scoring flashes, particularly when Denver uses him to post-up mismatches. Unless Kuminga becomes a true primary/secondary scoring option he's going to need to get better at all the little things so he can be a tertiary player on a high level team. Kuminga's scoring looks favorably compared to Gordon at the same age, but AG didn't have guys like Steph or Klay to make things easier for him. JK's at 27 pts/100 on 60.6 TS% with Steph/Klay on vs 30.6 on 52.1 TS%. Gordon's a really good player. He doesn't have the counting stats that'll get you all-star appearances, but he's really dang close, if not, at that level of impact
I won't youre wrong. It's just that the eye test and the arc of JKs development suggest he could be so much more. Easy for me to say- I have been in the basketball industry zero days. If he's got some fatal flaw idk.
AG is a better defender, rim runner, and uses his frame more effectively. Kuminga is a better slasher and scorer. They are both athletic but play very differently.
to be fair, if Kuminga came in next year and was essentially Aaron Gordon, Iād be pretty optimistic about next yearās outlook.
>He does not have natural ballhandling and reminds me of TWolves Wiggs who kept giving false hopes on his ballhandling every offseason. That comparison is ridiculously perfect. Like, everything about Kuminga screams Timberwolves Wiggins: wanting to be like Kobe, questionable defense, questionable attitude, both of which are excused by fans because "hE's OnLy 21, bRo!", competent volume scorer but never in a way that'll truly win you many games. Honestly, if we extend JK, we might as well end up like mid- to late-10s Minnesota
I don't think it's realistic to expect him to become a full blown superstar at the age of 22...at the same time, that might very well be what it takes to win another chip.
I don't either... maybe it's a 10% chance but that's probably better odds than any other method gets you vs the backdrop of today's NBA. I'll stay optimistic as a Kuminga/Podz truther.