The Warriors continue trying to thread the needle between building toward a future without aging All-Star guard Stephen Curry and looking to win while he’s still performing at a high level. Curry, who turns 37 in March, is aware that his time as an All-NBA talent could be fairly finite, notes Tim Keown of ESPN.
“I want to do this for as long as I can,” Curry said. “But the clock’s ticking. We all know that.”
Keown notes that Golden State’s success very much hinges on Curry being able to knock down jumpers. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is conserving Curry’s minutes with an eye towards keeping him healthy late into the year, even though he’s aware it could ironically cost the team a shot at the postseason.
At 18-17, the No. 8-seeded Warriors are currently just one game clear of the No. 11 Kings and two ahead of the No. 12 Suns.
“For me, it’s more like this: We want to put ourselves in position to give him a chance in the playoffs,” Kerr said. “We did that when we won the title in ’22; we caught lightning in a bottle and the matchups worked our way and Steph does what Steph does. We want to give him that chance again. We want that at-bat.”
There’s more out of California:
- Steve Kerr said on Tuesday that injured Warriors guards Brandin Podziemski and Gary Payton II are traveling with Golden State on its current four-game road trip, with an eye towards returning to action at some point during the trip, reports Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link).
- The Kings rallied on Monday from a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit without All-Star De’Aaron Fox to pick up their fifth straight win, and are now 5-1 under interim head coach Doug Christie, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. “I just kept telling them to believe,” Christie said. “You can do this. You’ve got to believe you can do it. You need to get stops. You need to fly around. You need to have each other’s back.”
- Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt continues to inch closer to making his 2024/25 season debut. Head coach JJ Redick has revealed that the 6’8″ vet played 5-on-5 against the team’s coaches in a workout, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link). Redick added that Los Angeles wants Vanderbilt to participate in 5-of-5 scrimmages against players, either with the NBA team or the G League’s South Bay Lakers. Vanderbilt will be playing on a minutes restriction to start his season, according toMcMenamin (Twitter links), who adds that the Lakers will reassess Vanderbilt in a week.
Warriors front office and fans value curtain guys way way highly, same goes for L.A. neither are condending or winning squat with their current rosters yet can still make bank….sigh. Not that I think Chicago would but Wiggins for Vuch and run with Kuminga and moody. One of those three has to go to round out the roster and be more competitive. Lakers, Vanderbilt some 2nds for the vuch etc. Standing pat isn’t going to equal success. Been hearing the same white noise a few years now and some are still getting sucked in. Oh no, hope I didn’t hurt the warriors and laker nations fans feelings. I wonder if sac town can sneak through the back door and add Vuch….now that would be funny.
You have a fascination with Vuch. Why? The guy is old. You have a daddy thing. Going younger through the draft is better idea.
Vuch is not the answer for the warriors. Warriors have more problems than just not a big man. They have a scoring problem and a defensive problem. I think the warriors should be sellers and get younger players to compete next year.
WHAT?!? We’re not even to the deadline and you want the Warriors to punt on the season? This Warriors team that YOU ranted and raved about all offseason? All the chip talk you did and this is where we’re at?
I remember when Buddy was knocking down shots left and right and how confidently you and the dubs gaggle were talking. I also remember telling you that counting on Buddy Hield to be the savior was a long and undesirable road that leads to nowhere.
I am in shock rn.
Sounds like you are 100% disillusioned or got me mixed up with somebody else? Never said he was the savoir. Never claimed the warriors were a top 4 team in the west. Unlike a kings fan like you being in the play in is not a successful season. You need to stop grouping everyone as the enemy because they don’t praise your team.
When did I say anything like that? All I ever said was that they somehow pulled it together in ’22. I was cautiously optimistic they could do it again. I also said they had a great run and I appreciate what happened.
At arc, really. You have young players already. Vuch can spread the floor, drag rim protection away. Open up someone like Kuminga game. Who is at his best slashing and or attacking the rim, no? Again, going with Kuminga or keeping wiggins? Sets great screens, very good rebounder. Will also make Steph more dangerous by dragging said rim protection out to the perimeter. Driving lanes baby. Oh yeah, can stroke it. Shoots his free throws very well. Has a nice little push floater and nice face up game on the block. I’ve explained this to you and Giants on multiple occasions now. At which point does this become not understanding the game over a not listening thing? Don’t make moves for all I care…fine by me.
Vucevic is better than looney and that green kid combined.
Problem is Wiggins is the warriors only defender besides Green. Problem is what does the bulls want for him. A few other teams driving up the price. The reason they been bad is because the lack of youth so they don’t want to trade a 1st round pick.
Vucevic is actually a better fit for the Warriors, than for the Lakers.
In that case, the Warriors are in the need for a rim-protector in the McGee mold (a quality that Vucevic does not have), or gamble on Jackson Davis to perform that role in the playoffs, gamble that could happen.
Wiggins is the least of the Warriors problems he has been their most consistent player besides Steph. Steph, Wiggins and Kuminga should be the guys they want to keep. Vucevic is also incredibly worse than Wiggins, mostly due to his lack of defense.
according to BReference
Wiggins Drating 113
Vucevic Drating 114
pretty negligible difference there. but go on.
Peoples Those Basketball Reference numbers are meaningless. Nobody uses them or knows how they work. I just looked at their defensive rating numbers for a bunch of good and bad defensive players. It’s pretty random.
the way the season is going for the warriors and they are playing like they don’t care if they win or lose it might be time to be a seller at trade time. Offer around their older players but Curry. Schroder is not fitting the team so flip him. Could get something for Watters or Anderson like 2nd round picks. Even trade Moody and Green for young players. Warriors need to get younger the old players are not playing well at all.
Starting to get the feeling that the Warriors are going to end up like a less pathetic version of the Lakers’ final years with Kobe. Steph’s not as badly injured, but he’s clearly lost a step and is missing a lot of time with his knees (lowest PPG in a non-injury-destroyed season since 2013, and his other metrics are slowly inching down). The young guys have promise, but they don’t have an identity besides watching/supporting Steph, and he’s not superhuman anymore. They might be a play-in team and/or make some higher seeds uncomfortable, but I don’t see them getting past the second round any longer, at best.
Steph’s an all-time great, tied with Magic for the best full-time PG ever in my book, but 36 is *old* for a PG. He can’t keep it up forever. Not with as much as his game depends on constant movement.
Code red.
I attended the last two games. The most empty seats I can remember since 2008. Plenty leaving at halftime.
The lack of size and talent doesn’t explain the glaring lack of effort. Players don’t believe.
That is what I seen the last 2 games nobody giving much effort out there. On one offensive rebound Green was just watching the ball bounce a few feet in front of him and made no effort for the rebound. I blame Kerr for not preparing the team and not lighting a fire under their feet. the team is missing Podz energy on the floor. What’s with Moody he was like the invisible man out there?
No perimeter defense or rim protection. They just can’t stop anyone.
Unfortunately the warrior announcers only complain about the offense being bad but its the defense that is even worse.
The Warriors roster sucks, they wont win again until they let go of Draymond Green who is a shell of his former self.
and what evidence are you basing that opinion on?
he’s shooting 37% from 3FG. His Drating of 109 is better than the last 2 seasons.
his 2FG% and FT% are well below career norms.
Peoples Nobody that knows basketball pays any attention to those BasketballReference numbers you keep on using. It’s like you make the opposite point when you use them.
If you believe Draymond is getting better I have a bridge to sell you.
People’sElbow, I love stats, but the naked eye says Draymond has lost a lot. He’s battled hard for 14 seasons. He used to be hyper-active defensively. Now, he picks his spots. It’s not the same.
Draymond’s value offensively is in amplifying Steph and Kuminga. When neither of those 2 are on the court. Draymond is now an offensive liability. Defenses ignore him.