Warriors forward Draymond Green is glad he didn’t have to deal with all the speculation regarding free agency in what would have been his walk year, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets. Green, who could have been one of the top free agents in a diluted market next summer, averted that issue by signing a four-year extension worth nearly $100MM in August. “I didn’t myself want to come into the season with all that,” he said. “Kind of becomes a headache.”
We have more on the Warriors:
- The D’Angelo Russell–Kevin Durant sign-and-trade was nerve-wracking and challenging due to time constraints, GM Bob Myers said in a radio interview with 95.7 The Game (hat tip to Josh Schrock of NBC Sports Bay Area). “So for that to happen, obviously one thing, Kevin has to leave,” Myers said. “Two, you got to get Brooklyn to cooperate and Kevin to cooperate in a four-hour window of time. You need D’Angelo to say, ‘Yeah, I’ll come.” He had other offers. A lot of times that’s like a three-team trade, they just don’t happen.”
- Forward Omari Spellman wasn’t immediately thrilled at the prospect of moving from the Hawks to the Warriors, Slater adds in another tweet. “That was extremely tough for me,” he said. “But on the flip side, an organization that has been, let’s be honest, the best team in the league for like the last four, five years decided to take a chance on me.” Golden State traded center Damian Jones and a second-round pick to acquire Spellman.
- Stephen Curry isn’t interested in any load management plans, Logan Murdock of NBCS Authentic tweets. Concerning his workload, Curry quipped, “48 minutes a game for all 82.”
Winning in 2020 will be even sweeter with all the haters out there saying they will not make the playoffs.
Who has said even once that the Warriors aren’t making the playoffs? No one. But anyone who isn’t insanely biased about this team can see plain as day that they won’t be nearly as good as they have been over the past five years.
The smartest thing the Warriors could do this season is play Steph Curry for 60 games (about 32 mpg) just like Toronto did with Kawhi.
They are a playoff team not a title contender. Draymond is still on the starting 5 of most unlikeable guys in the NBA.
Warriors are still better than the Rockets, and as far as I’m concerned, only the Lakers and Clippers will be better than them this season in the West.
I hate that remark from Spellman. I wouldn’t want a guy who doesn’t want to be on the best run team in the league.
We have entered the era of load management. More and more players will be load managed in order to maintain their productivity for the playoffs or for a longer career. This will likely lead to effects on contract signings as a load manged player should be discounted due to knowledge that he will be playing less than other players. Kawhi is a good case. He has received a max contract yet he will play around 75% of the games.
Perhaps contracts need to be split between regular and post seasons (more incentive based/revenue sharing). Basically, load management means paying more for less. Could this lead to a lockout by owners who will eventually get tired of paying full price for three-fourths of a product?