Chris Mannix and Howard Beck of Sports Illustrated debate how long the Warriors should hold onto their young talent. Both writers believe that former lottery picks James Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody have the potential to be quality players down the road, but none are contributing much right now, and the bench has been a disaster after letting several players walk in free agency.
Mannix and Beck are confident that Jordan Poole will turn things around after a slow start, but if the bench continues to struggle into 2023, they’d start seriously considering making changes. SI’s duo believe the front office owes it to Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson to maximize their chances of winning another title.
Here are a few more notes from the Pacific:
- Warriors head coach Steve Kerr recently made an adjustment to the rotation that seems to have stabilized the non-Curry minutes, with Green and Andrew Wiggins playing alongside three reserves in Poole, Donte DiVincenzo and Anthony Lamb. Anthony Slater of The Athletic examines the potential impact of the switch. “What am I doing?” Green said. “Number one, just trying to slow the unit down. That unit should not play as fast as the first unit. It should be more methodical. It should be more sets. It should be more patterned movements as opposed to random movements and random offense. I think, for me, it’s just trying to slow that unit down and then, number two, most importantly, make sure that unit is defending.”
- Anthony Davis has been absolutely dominant for the Lakers over the past four games, averaging 35.5 PPG, 18.3 RPG, 2.0 APG, 2.3 SPG and 2.5 BPG while shooting 62.3% from the floor and 92.0% from the charity stripe. Kyle Goon of The Southern California News Group wonders if Davis’ stellar two-way play will make the front office more willing to deal away the team’s two available future first-round picks (2027 and 2029) to build around the 29-year-old, since Goon thinks that’s a more compelling reason to go all-in when compared to giving LeBron James the best chance to reach the playoffs at the end of his career.
- Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue is preaching patience to reserves John Wall and Robert Covington, according to Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. Wall has been frustrated by having to sit out back-to-backs because he feels fully healthy, but Lue noted that the veteran sat out all of last season, so the team is being cautious. As for Covington, he’s averaging his fewest minutes (13.8) since his rookie season back in ’13/14. “It’s a long season and we have so much talent and so much depth that I know it’s going to be times when people going to play and some people not,” Covington said. “I knew what was coming and knew what to expect at times. I’m not the type of person that’s going to complain about too much, I’m going to sit up there and call and be there ready when my number’s called.”
- Clippers stars Kawhi Leonard (ankle) and Paul George (hamstring) have been ruled out for Friday’s contest against the Nuggets, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. There’s no timetable for either player to return.
The Warriors are only 3 games out of 1st, have won 3 straight, and have 63 games left. No need to panic. Iggy is coming back. Klay is finding himself. They might be able to find a vet when buyouts happen. The Warriors are just fine.
I agree.
Would someone please update us as to how these lost from last year bench players are currently doing? GP2 has yet to play. Porter Jr, Lee, JTA Bjelica overseas? How much have all of the above helped their current teams? The reason I ask is it keeps getting mentioned as in the article above but these writers never add how the players they’ve lost are doing.
Lee is doing good off the bench for the Suns. JTA was replaced by Lamb and been putting up about the same with lamb scoring more. JTA has been hurt for LA lately.
Porter has only played 8 games and stats are worse
Porter has been injured most of the year. the warriors protected him a lot last year by keeping on the floor with limited minutes. Kind of what they are doing with Iggy saving him for the playoffs.
Said it before. GSW are 1-9 on the road and even the lonely win against the rockets was a microwave lucky game from Klay to get the W. That is not a title winning stat.
Any GM worth his salt would be entertaining the idea of moving one or even two out of 4 strong prospects they have to get a needle moving vet.
You have a historical dynasty with 2 of the greatest shooters of all time with a strong core, do you stick with what you have as the window slowly closes as these young prospects develop. Or do you make some sacrifices to push for another chip? It’s not hitting the panic button or anything like that, it’s trying to make moves to better their chances while the window slowly closes, it’s being realistic.
GSW had some horrible stretches last year and won the title. It’s still November, and some guys still need to find their form snd return from injury. Give them until Jan. They’ve earned it
5 road games in 7 days (with Scott Foster delivering a 46-15 fta margin for the Magic) happened.
Hard to think there’s a “needle moving vet” available that would be worth trading Wiseman for, much less 2 of them.
In reality they just need poole to get back to himself and then pick up a decent PF/C. I.e whiteside, cousins, dwight, millsap
Either that or trade for gary trent jr and thad young for poole
I kinda agree, Poole is a likely trade candidate based on his form. But he’ll need to up his value before he becomes eligible. Him one of the other youngs in Kumminga, Moody or wiseman and a pick or two could net a AS level player. Maybe even try for Gobert if the Pups experiment blows up. (Unlikely though)
But I think the commitment they just made to Poole may cause them to dig their heels a bit on letting him go.
Be a little unfair, having Curry, Klay, Wiggins, Draymond and another top guy. But fair play to them if they do!
You’re a daisy if you do……
Poole is a very unlikely trade candidate due to his extension, which puts him in poison pill status.
The problem is, there are a lot of other teams of other teams who are just fine as well. No doubt the Warriors are a very good team, but concern is warranted.
The parity so far is amazing – 15 teams within 3 games of .500 either way, and only 1 true tanking team.
What can iguodala do?
How are we going to get Poole going??? What’s it going to take for him to play with joy, smiles, fire and energy, swag and confidence like last year? Why isnt he proactively involved and talking with his teammates on the court? I dont see him actively cheering, high fiving, yelling, guiding others, and getting called out by veterans and vice versa. His poor play is more mental than physical. He needs to STOP being a baby and understand that the whole Warriors organization supports him and believes in him with $127M contract. Whatever Green and Poole said to each other about the peck order and contract needs to be trashed and be forgotten. Let’s just win another title !!!!!
He wasn’t being forced to play with guys off the street that the moron Kerr decides to give 30 MPG to, who did absolutely nothing to deserve it. Lottery picks work their butts off to get there, only to have some absolute scrub Kerr wants to act is an NBA player STEAL their minutes from them.
Kerr’s minutes usage in a portion of the year he’s supposed be developing guys, has been just pathetic. He is so bad at this. You don’t have Kuminga, Moody, Baldwin and Rollins and go:
“Ohhh lets grab 2 extremely bad players for 2-way deals and then develop them instead! Ah yeah, a guy we signed to a 2-way deal on opening night is more important to develop now! Screw you, Moses Moody, have fun trying to get into a groove with the sporadic PT I’m going to give you. All your and Kuminga’s minutes are going to this absolute scrub who can’t play defense to save himself.”
Anthony Lamb is the worst defensive player in the NBA, yet GSW’s head coach is committed to screwing up the second timeline because he wants to pat himself on the back for getting a 6-9 record with a guy off the street getting 30 minutes. What a moron. So dumb. Why not win all the games instead? Nope, we have Steve “My fave year was the one we went 15-50 I had no stress!” Kerr. Yeah because you are a loser who shouldnt be here. This is what the heart of a LOSER looks like. I wish MJ hit him harder.
If you know so much maybe try and get an interview? Could it be you’ve bought into unwarranted hype? Jordan Poole – one dimensional. Jonathan Kuminga – amazing athlete, currently extremely raw. Wiseman – hasn’t played enough basketball. Moses Moody – decent. None of these players are any better or much worse than other young players selected in their respective drafts.
The ‘two timelines’ thing is a nice idea, but look how it worked for the Spurs. A lot of luck is needed for this to line up.
@jbl I agree with your takes here. I watch every game so Im very in tune to whats real and whats not. I watched Jordan Poole make 2 NBA Finals buzzer beaters – the hype is warranted. He’s not a 2-way defensive guy but doesnt have to be if the other 4 on court are plus defenders – Lamb is the worst defender I have ever seen, even worse than Chiozza last year.
When Klay slumps the stupid trade rumors come up, and it looks like you are trying to do the same with Poole. Just not happening to either one.
What do buzzer beaters have to do with playing ball. Do you even know that every yr the Warriors won a chip. Their D was a big reason why. PollutedPoole don’t play D. It’s why he got smacked by DirtyDre ……
Warriors have played 38 Finals gms. And they are top 3 rated defensively. Poole is overrated cause basketball is a 2Way sport. Now go buzz beat that ……
link to statmuse.com
Lamb is nowhere near ” the worst defensive player in the NBA”.
According to EPM, he’s below average, at -0.7, 233 out of 380 players that have played in at least 8 games (essentially tied with other PFs like Wendell Carter Jr, Maxi Kleber, Noah Vonleh and SG’s like Rozier, Trent Jr, and Herb Jones.
In comparison, Wiseman is at -3.6, #380
Stats dont matter when it comes to defense, if you watch the games, you see a guy running haphazardly, missing passes, missing his spots and most importantly, the other team goes on 9-10 shooting runs when he’s out there. You are wrong in every sense – Lamb simply not a real NBA player, he’d probably be good in Euro leagues. You are also comping regular NBA players with a 2way guy who isnt a regular starter- dont do that.
If you dont watch GSW games, dont comment in future. Stats-only types who dont watch games dont matter to me.
Have you considered getting some therapy for your obvious NPD?
FYI, I watch GSW. Unlike you, however, I live in reality.
Stats are useful for comparing players because they remove bias to a significant degree. Lamb is 6th in ppg for the Warriors at 6.4 ppg shooting 53%/41% and 6th in rpg at 3.8. Not great, but also not bad for a guy avging 20.1 min/gm.
You watch what gms. The highlights and buzzer beaters. Poole don’t play D. Have you seen that. Do you understand basketball is a 2Way sport.
It’s a long season. Developing their young players with mins. Is the best way to add depth. Growing pains will lead to a playoff run. Signing a guy like Howard. Would have helped their D. And he can mentor Wiseman. Whiteside is still out there.
Wiseman is the key. He plays well just rebounding and rim protection (25-30 mins) It will stabilize their team. Young players need time and mins. Relax ….
Poole to me is overrated. Should have moved him while his stock was high. Now with that salary I doubt he gets moved.
Poole is very moveable to another team. His contract size makes him in easy fit in a trade for a “star” player who is on the move.
Time will tell on Poole the player. He already has a ring. Now he has a fat guaranteed contract to match after being a minimum salary guy. We will see if he desires to be a great player, or if he just takes the money and packs it in.
Jordan Poole will never be traded. Draymond might be gone after this year, then what? Lose both because Poole shot badly for a month? Go away, let them play. GSW is winning the title this year no matter what you think.
Why will he never get traded? No one is saying ship him for scrubs.
He’s not even a top 20 guard in the league and may never be, hypothetically if say a Top 10 or so under 30 guard is on the table. Is it not just good tactics for them to pursue with Poole as the centrepiece?
No, because GSW has no other playmakers outside Curry, Poole’s ceiling is much higher than most players, and you are advocating trading a shooter when he’s in a shooting slump. He was a top 20 guard in the league last year and currently still is despite his numbers right now. Its a long season.
If it’s KD for Poole straight up, then yeah maybe, but moving Poole this season is pure insanity. GSW will win almost every game as soon as Anthony Lamb/2-way players leave the rotation – fact. Poole looks bad now because he’s in a shooting slump AND has to play with Lamb all the time, and neither of them are good defenders, so lead go byebye the second Lamb sets foot on the court, that’s the bottom line. Lamb gotta go.
But Poole isn’t a playmaker? He’s a shoot first 2 guard.
So just to poke the bear a little more…. If Beal, SGA, Lavine, Maxey, Fox, Haliburton, Murray etc become options you’d rather have Poole because he played at 18pts on 36% 3pt shooting last year? All are better players either scoring or facilitating and with Warriors they’d only play better, and there are a lot more others that are viable.
Poole is not a PG he is a SG which is a big difference. Right now Poole is a head case in he is not hitting the 3s like he was. Once he starts shooting 3s again he will be alright.
@ARC2 Poole is playing the point in the non-Curry rotation right now.
Now that Donte is back he is playing the PG more. Poole gets in trouble when he drives and stuck with no outside shooter. Reason Green been playing in the second unit last few games. Poole is not a PG assist man. They are grooming Rollins to be the future back up to Curry. Kerr found out it was a mistake using Poole as the PG.
@JW91 Poole is basically impossible to trade due to his poison pill contract. Its November, we shouldnt be talking about blowing up teams – especially when Poole is a shooting slump right now.
If they’re winning the title this year why are you so wound up all the time?
LOL Curtis !! Love it.
Because we should go 75-7 and 16-0 with this unit, but Kerr keeps playing a 2way guy we signed on opening night who refuses to play anything that looks like NBA-level defense.
Once Lamb/Jerome leaves the rotation, I wont have anything to complain about. Period.
I also have no other social media, so this is my only place to vent, make sense?
@ Barry:
Saying Poole is very movable is merely proving that you don’t know basketball.
It’s extremely difficult for any team trading for him to match salaries due to his extension next season, and GSW’s luxury tax burden (termed :poison pill). The situation was explained on Hoopsrumors a few days ago:
Poole’s outgoing trade value is just over $3.9 mil, but any team acquiring him has to include the extension and give back $26,4 mil.
link to hoopsrumors.com
No one is taking Poole. Especially because of his contract. Why would they accommodate the Warriors. He is Grossly overpaid . Wiggins should be making twice what Poole makes. The guy is overrated. He’s a rotation player at best. With no D. You think they rather have Payton instead about now. At 1/3 of what Poole makes . Lol
Clippers should aquire Jordan Poole for like batum
Batum….lol
Jesus.. Just let Wall play. He was forced to sit out last season, not like he’s injured or coming off an injury. You pay these guys millions to play when they can.
Poole is so overrated, this is more like the real Poole than last year.
It’s so early in the season, I wish everyone would shut up and let them play until March or so.
Great advice. Perhaps you should follow suit rather than subject us to your ridiculous essays on every article.
If you hate my posts, there is a mute button.
I will use it on you, now.
GSW is 7-9 and should be 16-0 but arent because Kerr played Jerome and Lamb in the regular rotation. They have led every game Curry has played in by 10+ but have lost all those games because Anthony Lamb saw serious minutes over Kuminga+Moody for no reason.
Maybe you should try reading the article. Maybe you would learn a thing or two about basketball…Probably not. You are a little to full of yourself to learn anything.
@ A’ssfan:
I thought you said you watch GSW. FYI, the Warriors are currently 9-10.
Give him a break nba is ok 2
Yesterday was thanksgiving and we know Marty is thankful for food
Probably was pulling a double shift cutting off nephews and nieces to get to the front of the food line
Says the genius who wants to destroy Kerr. The main reason Warriors have won….
Answer this.
How did Kerr come up with this offense. Since you watch so many gms.
Personally I think this is Marty ……