SPECIAL EDITION: Talking about the Golden State Warriors || Guest Post!!!

Edition #55

Intro:

What’s up, you guys? We’re back here with another special edition! 

Sometime back, I collaborated with a former ESPN writer, Royce Webb. It was an amazing experience and something I will never forget. Today? I am collaborating with Jacob Sutton—an NBA writer whose Substack is excellent. Just like me, his substack (JSuttHoops) is streaking up and up and away!

The NFL season? It was over Sunday night. The NBA season? The hype. All of that is just getting started, and one team is definitely showing it. At least, this month.

The Golden State Warriors.

Their record is 6-2 and while some of their games have been close, it doesn’t matter! Because wins are wins, and if you want to make the playoffs? You’re going to need as many wins as you can get.

But, let’s get more into this. What’s going to happen? What do they do? Make sure to read the full article, as you’ll enjoy it very much. All of this? Only on Sports Square and if you’re reading this article, and you’re not subscribed to Sports Square yet? You’re missing out on a lot of things, and no one wants to miss out on stuff, so make sure to sub.

Talking about the Warriors || Smayan and Jacob

Smayan: 

First off, I’m going to say this… The Warriors are my favorite basketball team. I just wanted to inform you that I’m going to have absolutely no bias in anything I say. Now let’s continue.

The Warriors… They did absolutely nothing at the trade deadline. Is that right or wrong?

Wrong. 

The Warriors' outburst this month may be nice, but they’re definitely not good enough to do this consistently. Trading Kuminga or Moody? They’re the future of this team. Andrew Wiggins? Definitely not. Klay Thompson? Nope. It was reported that everyone was on the trade block other than Curry. Why? Because Curry is their guy. He’s the franchise player, and if you want to keep such a high-caliber player, you gotta win. So why not make a move? You could’ve gotten at least someone on the low-level good side. Jacob? What d’ya think?

Jacob: 

It’s a tough paradigm for sure. I think a lot of it traces back to what you said about Kuminga and Moody, especially the former. Since January 1st, Kuminga has been averaging over 20 PPG while throwing in an extra 5 rebounds and assists each, and is shooting 57% from the field. Plus, he’s taking really good shots for a youngin’, ranking in the 72nd percentile in overall shot quality, per ShotQuality.com. Those are borderline All-Star numbers, which makes it difficult to mortgage the guy for a supposed win-now piece. 

As for Wiggins, I think the main issue was a lack of market for his services, especially when it comes to grabbing a solid guy in return. The Warriors weren’t looking to dump his contract off for a guy like the Mavs’ Josh Green (sorry for the wayward shade, Green) and they sure as heck weren’t looking to acquire meaningless draft compensation. While they could’ve feasibly gone after Gordon Hayward, as the OKC Thunder did, I don’t know if the Warriors were willing to gamble that Hayward would be any better than Wiggins (by the playoffs at least). In a way, Wiggins is somewhat like the movies Hulk has appeared in, but in reverse order. He started out okay but somewhat disappointing (Avengers Endgame), was really really good for a while (Thor: Ragnarok), then sucked again (Incredible Hulk, like, the original). 

I still think a move should’ve been made somewhere throughout the roster, no matter how small. I would’ve liked to see a Dorian Finney-Smith or Royce O’Neal trade from the Nets – though that doesn’t make the Warriors much more of a title contender than they already are, which is to say not very much. It could also be a simple acceptance of the Warriors’ dynasty being dead, without any sort of conviction to break up the Steph/Klay/Dray trio. What are your thoughts, Smayan?

Smayan: 

It is dead. Stephen Curry is the one and only reason they’re currently alive, but he can’t do everything. Basketball isn’t a one-man sport, but right now… With how the Warriors are playing? It is.

We have to think about the GM change as well. Mike Dunleavy vs Bob Myers. Bob Myers made a lot of splashy moves. He knew how to win. The Warriors this year? At least before February? The communication is COMPLETELY off. Klay was… And so was Wiggins. The only bright sides were Podziemski and Curry. 

Their plus/minus has been top-10 since January, though in February they have kicked it up a notch.

It is still dumb though that they wouldn’t even try to grab another player.

But what else has changed? Why have the Warriors been so successful in February? I’ll add my thoughts right after Jacob tells us why!

Jacob:

In my mind, it’s twofold. One factor is Kuminga’s increasingly comfortability with his increase role, as I mentioned before. The other factor is something a little different: Andrew Wiggins looks like he’s getting back into a groove. In January, Wiggins was shooting a mediocre 34% from three and had a -4.6 plus/minus rating, which was well outside the top 350 players in the league. This month, he’s not only shooting 47% from downtown but has a whopping +11.7 in the plus/minus department — that’s better than anyone on the team who doesn’t have a last name that rhymes with McFlurry. Outside of that, let’s just get away from the analytics side of things: chemistry is a real thing. As much as I think Draymond’s antics are a little much, he brings a presence to this team that few other players in the league could ever dream of. Klay appears to have settled into a restricted role compared to his prime years, Brandin Podziemski looks like one of the glue-iest rookies in Warriors history — I could go down the list, but simply put, this team appears to be meshing much better than they did at the beginning of the season. Bounce pass heading your way, Smayan.

Smayan:

Thank you!

I think Jacob got into why they were doing super good. Now I’m going to tell you why they were super bad…

Chemistry

They were never able to communicate with each other. There was always something going wrong, and complaining was something that was happening every minute. No, not every minute. Every SECOND.

I think what happened was after Dejan Milojevic’s death earlier this year, they rejoiced. They came together. They put all those court spats aside, and it has a simple explanation.

Death is hard for people to take in. Especially if it is someone close to you or someone you know. I get it. I know it.

But, they bonded. They bonded together. This way sucks, and if there are some chemistry issues again, you don’t want this happening. On the bright side. Dejan? You might have just kept this season alive… Don’t you think, Jacob?

Jacob:

There’s definitely a fight factor related to Milojevic’s passing. The death of a coach can really change players’ trajectories. My mind immediately jumps to Roger Federer’s change of heart after his beloved coach, Peter Carter, died tragically in a car crash. Before then, Federer was known for smashing rackets and being a brat, despite his visible talent. After Carter’s death, he became the stoic yet passionate player we’ve come to know. The Warriors could very well have gained a greater sense of focus and purpose this season — whether or not they win anything of importance come playoff time, however, should be deemed irrelevant if that is indeed the case.

Smayan: 

Aaah. I understand that a bit better, especially with the comparison to Roger Federer.

Before we end the article, a report came out saying that the Warriors were targeting LeBron James. What do you think they would’ve given up? How do you think Steph & LeBron would play together? I’ll let Jacob get into this, but I’m going to talk about Bronny James. 

I had a conversation with my friends some time ago, where they said that Bronny James was overrated, and Bryce James was better. Usually, I wouldn’t agree to these things, but they did talk a lot of sense into me. Most people say that the only reason he will get an opportunity is because of his dad, and come to think of it, that is the truth. If you see his high-school stats, he averaged 5 pts a game! Here’s my argument…

He is an NBA-caliber player, specifically on defense.  If he gets a little more experience, though, I could see him carving out a nice niche in the league. But, for sure, he isn't the prospect LeBron was. Bryce is. His physicality. Play style. He plays more like his dad than Bronny does, for sure. 

Nugget here! Bronny needs an extra year in college, though that’s probably not going to happen. Why? Whose son is he guys? 

Now let’s hand it over to Jacob who will answer the questions you probably want to know.

Jacob:

I’ll answer the first question first — that is, what do the Warriors give up? There’s definitely multiple first-rounders involved, as well as a young guy such as Moses Moody or — though I would hate this — Podziemski. For salary reasons, I imagine one of Klay or Dray would have to be included, though Wiggins could be used as salary filler, too. Dray would be the most likely to stay considering his friendship with Bron, mind you. From a play standpoint, Steph and LeBron are a great fit. LeBron has shown continued longevity even in his ferocious drives to the basket and has been willing to take a distributor role as of late as well. As for Curry, well, there’s little to say. Move off the ball, shoot threes, the whole thing.

I think the Warriors/Lakers trade talks were merely exploratory. If he were to join Golden State, it would be in free agency, especially if they end up drafting Bronny along the way. 

Conclusion:

Smayan: Well, it was very nice working with you, Jacob. I had lots of fun and I hope you can join me again for another article!

Jacob: Definitely! I appreciate you reaching out for collaboration, I’m always down for a little bit of banter. Thanks so much for having me! 

Smayan: No problem! The pleasure is mine! If you guys liked Jacob’s writing, then you should definitely check out

He is an expert in NBA analysis, and I’m always waiting for his articles to arrive in my inbox. Make sure to subscribe to his newsletter as well, as you’ll be doing the same thing too!

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