The Warriors suffered their second consecutive loss on Saturday in Utah, dropping to .500 (8-8) on the season. In the wake of that blowout, head coach Steve Kerr left the door open to the possibility of making changes to his struggling starting lineup, writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
“It’s going to take us 20 games to figure out where we really want to be with our rotation,” Kerr said. “We’re at 16 now, and I think getting a pretty good look at everything. We just had two bad losses in a row, so we have to assess everything. No doubt.”
Kerr has suggested that Golden State’s starting five – Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins, Kelly Oubre, and James Wiseman – has the highest upside of any of the team’s lineups, but the results haven’t been there so far. That unit has played 161 minutes together, while no other five-man group has played more than 37. In those 161 minutes, the Warriors’ net rating is -20.3.
The team will have a good opportunity to turn things around this week, with home games against the 4-11 Timberwolves on tap for Monday and Wednesday.
Here’s more on the Warriors:
- Nearly one year after the Warriors and Timberwolves made a blockbuster trade involving D’Angelo Russell and Wiggins, Anthony Slater of The Athletic explains why he thinks Golden State has gotten the better end of that deal. As Slater outlines, neither Russell nor Wiggins has been a major difference-maker, but the Warriors were able to avoid the tax last season by dumping salary in that trade and are still owed a Wolves first-round pick that will likely land in the lottery.
- Within the same story, Slater says that – while the 2021 Timberwolves first-rounder owed to Golden State is top-three protected – the Warriors shouldn’t worry about Minnesota finishing with a bottom-three record. Even in that scenario, there’s still about a 60% chance that the Wolves’ pick will land in the No. 4-7 range and will change hands.
- The Warriors have discussed the possibility of sending rookie guard Nico Mannion, who is on a two-way contract, to the G League bubble at Walt Disney World next month, tweets Slater. “I haven’t played a full game since March 12,” Mannion said. “Going down there, getting into a flow, would be good for me.” The Santa Cruz Warriors are one of 18 teams participating in the revamped NBAGL season.
START
DAMIAN
LEE
PLEASE.
It’s Damion Lee! Also hi Gary
Thank you. How you doing… hope everything is well.
Couldn’t agree more..Oubre would be an ideal spark off the bench..Dubs need a better 3pt shooter to fill Klay’s void..Oubre misses too many open 3’s
This is what 3 and D means
3 means Wiggins shoot 40.7% from the three
D means Wiggins Defensive FG is 39.1%
Few stars have better 3 than D
Slater needs help if he thinks people shouldn’t worry about a 40% chance of loss.
Maybe I paraphrased him poorly, but I think his point is that there’s a chance the Timberwolves pick could move into the top three no matter where they finish in the lottery.
If they finish with a bottom-three record, the pick is still more likely than not to convey AND could end up being something like fourth or fifth overall, so it’s not like Warriors fans need to be rooting hard for Minnesota to move up in the standings.
If Wolves finish with the worst record
Wolves chance to keep the pick 42%
If second worst 40%
If third worst 38%
If fourth worst 36%
Wolves move up in the standings is a bit better for Warriors
Kerr is not a coach for a rebuild. They seem to be planning on a deal in the offseason.
Green is so atrocious. How long can media keep lying about fat man Green & his lousy play? One of the worst NBA contracts, and annoying players in the league. How did Lance Stephenson get more flak than Green? Seriously, the guy is a joke.
Thompson & Curry is all the Warriors have, a future in the draft, Wiseman, and Paschal potential.
Growing pains are soon to come if drastic rebuild moves aren’t made this offseason.
I agree Green looks toast (and probably one of the worst 25 Nba contracts)
I still dont have a clue what kind of coach Kerr is…I think we know after this year tho
Oubre doesnt fit the culture
I still think the West got a HUGE break having GSW not take Ball over Wiseman –
Ball -Curry-Klay lineups woulda been must see Tv and easy to construct around for cheap moving forward. I dont dislike Wiseman; and Ball was risky pre-draft, but I bet they are thinking they’d have rather gone Ball today seeing what they’ve seen
Didn’t Lamelo just get called out by his head coach for being turnover prone and subpar on the defensive end.
He sure Did Hopper, and thats what a good coach does!
Dont let the newspapers inflate the rooks head, instill hard work ethic/good traits young – You ride the GOOD players so they get better- Theres a reason why coaches dont call guys like Quinn Cook out in the media and do with Ball
Yes, and that sentiment is probably echoed infinitely from every head coach, to every NBA rookie until they wash out, are traded, or figure it out.
Its why I call it the true “Rookie Wall”
Always getting beat, and turning the ball over is how NBA rookies end up overseas, or retiring early from pro-ball.
Ball would’ve been a good fit. Perfect time to season him this year too.
Yeah, warriors are kicking themselves a little. Wiseman is really good fortunately.
Ball can do 1 thing and that is to pass but othr parts of his game is not good. I would take Wiseman any day over Ball. Wiseman is only 19 with 3 games in college but his high IQ will make him a star very soon. Ball will be like his brother a solid NBA player but never a star.
Ball is a turnover machine who can’t shoot. I think the Warriors are fine with their selection.
Stilt Armstrong and Cap & Crunch just openly outing themselves as stats-only casuals, you hate to see it.
Imagine it being 2021 and people still thinking Draymond should be judged by stats and not his on-court coaching – LOL
You are clearly dumb if you don’t think Draymond Green has the highest IQ in the NBA by a long, long way – even Lebron said it. But then again, you probably think players who get triple doubles in losses are elite. Gross mentality, you are doing being a basketball fan wrong. Draymond Green is going into the HOF whether you like it or not, sorry! haha
Lets live in the Now if thats possible for you Marty
– I personally like the mind of Green and all his past personal triumphs but he’s toast today-
And Yes one of the worst 25 NBA contracts in the game as my assertive statement – Thats not too say he doesnt have value or intangibles that can still help the GSW today if we are looing past the contract
Quick 5 min google search ‘worst nba contracts’-
1st 2 articles “The Score” and NBA radio pop up
Green-
The score Ranked him 11th worst contract in league
NBA radio- 10th
I was being nice giving him “only” top 25 honors –
Both these articles were written in December as well and Green has looked worse since- Ill go with your takes tho instead of the industry Marty
Who the hell is the ‘The Score’? You obviously don’t know Google searches work.
@Marty: if you think Draymond should be judged by his coaching and not his stats, why doesn’t he just quit playing and coach full time? Because his stats–the record of what he actually does on a basketball court–are atrocious.
If ‘on-court coaching’ is so valuable, then slap a jersey on Gregg Popovich and ride his zero points per game to a championship.
You don’t watch the Warriors if you think Green is trash
Green has good defense and is basically a coach. Have you seen him interacting with Wiseman? He got ejected for yelling at him
You respond positively on the job when a supervisor makes it personal, loses control of their emotions, and unfairly blames you for their lack of being able to emotionally control themselves while giving simple instructions?
I don’t know anyone who would choose that as a learning environment going in.
Durant corrected Green for an on court mistake way less dramatically, and Green absolutely lost it. Like a spoiled little fat kid. (Cartman)
Calling this guy a teacher, and mentor to the youth is an insult to the youth’s intelligence, and every instructor who actually tries when they go to work.
Like the youth are too stupid to know Green is a spoiled little Cartman? Or know what that behavior looks like? Just dumb rookies there for abuse, right?
Wiseman has said that he enjoys learning from Draymond. Draymond has the experience to teach and knows what he needs to. With Draymond, Wiseman will grow to his full potential.
Will the warriors tank for another pick.
Nope, they’re easily coasting into the playoffs no matter what, the problem is Kerr refuses to understand that he can’t play the completely trash Oubre anymore, who especially stinks when on the court with Wiseman. Oubre is a cancer at this point but Kerr is also perpetually clueless and has a massive ego about his success, which he thinks is about himself, but its always about Steph. GSW’s best shooters outside of Steph are 9th and 14th in minutes, Kerr is hell bent of playing the absolutely terrible Poole and Oubre – this is why I keep saying they need Korver and JaVale.
Wiseman-Green-Wiggins-Curry are all great, Oubre is not. Either Paschall or Lee are far superior options, period.
You ended with a period, which means your argument is weak. Probably because Green, Wiggins & Wiseman are mediocre not great, though Wiseman could improve that greatly over time.
Early on, Westbrook and Green are having their worst seasons since they were rookies
That’s so not true about Green. How about watching some games before you talk out of your …..
Green is atrocious. I can’t have every NBA GM call you to say he makes about 20 million too much for his production.
Green doesn’t win enough games for GS to justify his salary. His numbers prove it, Kevin Durant, proves it. When he comes out of games Kerr has no less than 3 subs entering the game because his fit is odd. Great bench warmer, could really help a young second unit, but he’s abrasive & unintelligent, so I’m sure he just irritates the youngin’s to death, rather than actually helping them develop.
Lillard went at Green everytime in isolation he could last time they played the blazers. Until Kerr took him out. Lakers saw it, did the same with Shroeder. I do watch basketball. More than I’d like to admit frankly…
You don’t watch NBA basketball, that’s for sure
It’s pretty safe to say GSW got the better of their trade with Minn. The two players are among the worst baby max contracts ever handed out. Somehow, GSW was able to sell DR as an upgrade, and get what can be a very valuable pick.
The harder question is whether the entire venture will prove worth it, starting with a desire to preserve Durant’s salary slot. They traded Iggy at the cost of their own lightly protected 2024 1st, just to then do a S&T with Durant maxing out DR. In a couple of years, other than the 200 mm in tax/payroll incurred for to keep a pedestrian talent like DR/Wiggins around, it might look like a wash.
Spot on as usual DXC. I think with D’Angelo Russell, it was karl-anthony towns who wanted to play with him. So the Wolves overpaid to get him. Both Wiggins and Russell have about the same Effectiveness perhaps Russell a little more so because he can create his own shot regularly. Wiggins can defend the wing marginally where as Russell probably can’t, even though they’re almost the same size maybe an inch or inch and a half apart.
How on earth is Draymond Green still a starter? Dude is terrible and has been for 2-3 seasons.
It’s the intangibles. Defensive coach on the floor. Veteran leadership, and he’s not afraid to get in your ear if you’re not making a proper rotations. He’s a pretty good point forward as well and allows Curry to be off the ball and use some screens to get open for a 3. When they concentrate on Curry too much green will find the other open guy for the Nifty look.
I’m biased but I believe he’s a valuable part of the Warriors past present and future. I don’t think they win anything if they don’t have green and his toughness and willingness to do the Dirty Work which allows the scorers to do their thing.
He has definitely done those things in the past, and still can be tasked with some of those duties.
The biggest problem for me is his weight, the constant arrogance, media plugging how smart his over weight behind is, and him no longer being the multi-positional defender was. He is making more than ever, and looks like he is in the life support hours of his career. I think that money on another player would make GSW a better team.
His offense other than dribbling & passing is non-existent, it couldn’t possibly get worse could it? Ben Simmmons is even taking deserved scrutiny for his lousy shooting at his salary, and his defense is pretty snappy!
I’ll give you that he can run the point a bit and that he brings intangibles to the table, but how much dirty work is he doing getting 4 points and 4 boards a game (and shooting horribly from anywhere on the floor)? Isn’t a lot of dirty work boxing out and grabbing rebounds?
Lot of its contract and opportunity cost.
No doubt he’s made his bread in the past but he’s a guy you want playing on a short Tucker 9 Mill or Mle 9 mill contract right now not mid 20’s and 4 yrs
I also wonder how long it will take GSW fans to turn sour on him if this play continues. Last year was excusable, a disappointment this year will turn the heat up on that fanbase. Somebody will have to fall on the sword
Minny is not finishing with worst record. They can still fight for 10th in West. Like Kerr said it’s been 16 gms. Chillax TWolves have gone thru too many changes. KAT has to stay healthy. They probably are a lottery team, at end of lottery. Kerr says 20 gms, I said 30 gms. Obrue is having a bad yr. Wiggins is coming along but not the star they need. Best case is to move Obrue. But they will get more for Wiggins. I think they move him by TD. Green is also having a bad yr. He needs to step up.
Out of all Warriors, Oubre has played the most minutes this season with Steph f’n Curry, and has 3 assists to him, and at least 3 times a game he routinely ignores a wide open Curry to do some dumb Oubre thing that doesn’t win you games.
The guy is an atrocity and even if he was good he wouldn’t be a fit on this team the way Kerr uses him.
Oubre and Wiseman have a combined net rating of like -22 when they are on court together, but that’s the only GSW pair with a negative like that, its literally the only move Kerr needs to make for GSW to go deep this year and he refuses to make it – do not play Oubre and Wiseman together, period. At any time. Oubre isnt even a long term option, he’s gone after this year, who cares if he gets benched for bricking like 8000 3’s in a row
GSW can and will win a lot of games this year, but Kerr openly wasting a red-hot Curry is just disgusting for the fans to see. Kerr needs to sit down and be told 100% of his GSW success is because of Steph Curry, he needs to say it out loud because his relentless disrespect of Curry his entire career has been the stupidest part of this dynasty. Kerr’s ego is the problem in GSW and always has been.
Just watch some team will sign Oubre to a big contract this off season. You can bet on it he will be over payed. He is good on defense but sub par on offense. He gets lazy at times on the court. Kerr needs to play him with the second team. Play Lee on starting team.
You really need to chill bro. Green is not having a good year. Who cares if he’s coaching. They need him to play. Warriors coming in this yr are a work in progress. You are starting to be more fanatical than Hardenmvp. Even Wiseman best case scenario was going to take time. You should sit back. Watch them grow and see where they will need help. As it is right now. They ain’t getting out 1st rd. But growing as team. Green and Obrue playing better. Making a significant move by TD. They could be in mix. There’s nothing to get bent over yet. It’s 16 gms in. Give it 40 gms and there will be a Real picture. Then you will have a better view for a course of action. It’s a long season and it’s a virus season. Relax and let the chips fall. They could fall your way in second half. Nobody wins anything does anything in first half of season. Stay healthy stay the course. Things will get better, try to enjoy it.
Making the Finals again five more years isn’t looking very probable, right Morty?
Worst overpaid trio all Time Oubre Dray Wiggins period !
Haha How about Piston’s 3 highest is almost the same amount and has a 3-13 start. Wizards highest trio of Beal, Westbrook, and Bertans make way more and are 3-9 record. There is a lot of bad trios in the NBA.
Golden State’s luxury tax bill as it stands right now is $147 million, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks. To put that total in perspective, it helps to know that it’s nearly $36 million more than the rest of the top 10 which are real championship contenders … But you right there are other D & DC sucks and need to rebuild
Rockets 3 injury prone players make $12 million more than these 3 guys these years
Wall – wash up
Oladipo – quad
Gordon – round face
Contract totals = $220 million remaining
Rockets fans would like to trade all 3 now
I haven’t seen much of GSW this yr. Old news. IDK how well or bad Dray is playing but time for him to change his gm. No regrets for Dubs picking Wiseman. He’ll be fine. Maybe it’s time to trade Wigs or O. Not working out. Damn, a great shooting team previously like Dubs n they get these 2 who put up bricks. Like Raptors, they were a 2010’s team n maybe on the downside. Lakers were a 2000’s team n mostly tanked in the 10’s but are back. Dallas too. Lots of teams go up n down. But hey! Dubs 3 rings; Raps 1st ever. To the fans of these teams: enjoy.
Why would you want to trade Wiggins? That would be a dumb move.
Wiggins is putting up bricks? He’s shooting 40.7% from three.
I’ve been saying the Warriors need to change ge their rotation for like 10+ games now…
Steph
Damion Lee
Wiggins
Draymond
Looney
Mulder, Bazemore, Oubre, Pachall, Mannion, Wiseman, Wanamaker, Poole
They might actually do that. Bring Wiseman Off the Bench and also make Damion Lee a starter.
I think you maybe change it up with a couple of those guys based on matchups, but I think this is generally their most effective rotation
Wiseman is playing 21 mins. Obrue is not having a good yr. Green is not having a good yr. And Wiggins is having a gd yr, but you need more scoring from him. There is too much pressure for Steph to score this. It’s never been like that for him in his career. I get they all have to adjust. But their offense worked cause the personnel they had. I totally understand giving it 30 gms. To me it’s obvious Obrue and Wiggins are similar offensive players. Warriors big force has always been shooting. Both of them are more scorers. Wiggins at least is shooting descent, Obrue is not. They need to backup Wiseman with a vet center. Dre needs to pick it up. His stats are way down. Easier said than done, I guess.
Trade Wiggins n Looney for Love n McGee.
Trade Obrue for Gordon.
McGee let’s Wiseman grow and flourish. And he can hold it down when he plays like a 19 yr old. Love is better for this system and next to Wiseman. He’s from SF area he’ll love it here. Go back to 22 a gm easy in this offense. Gordon is a shooter scorer, much better for system. This team is better playoff team now. Next yr with Clay and a lottery pick. They will be a favorite again. Just saying
Love is not from anywhere close to SF, can’t play defense, and is over 30. Why would GS want to give up Wiggins for him?