Golden State Warriors NEED SIZE, Looking For Center This Summer

Golden State Warriors NEED SIZE, Looking For Center This Summer

Better late than never. Steve Kerr has acknowledged that the Golden State Warriors need a center and it cannot be Draymond Green. Who could that centerpiece be? We’re discussing on today’s Locked On. You are Locked on Warriors. Stop trying to turn the page on us so fast. Your daily Golden State Warriors podcast. We got four championships. Part of the Locked On podcast network. Every team has a chance to steps on a team. Your team every day. What’s good everyone? Welcome to Locked On Warriors. It is part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. Ways that you can check out the show, YouTube. We stream live after the games during the offseason Monday through Friday and whenever news breaks. Also, take us on the go wherever you get your audio podcast. We are always there for you. Be sure to be a subscriber and a regular of this show. Today’s episode is brought to you by Monarch Money. Take control your finances with Monarch Money. Use code locked on NBA at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. My name is Charlie Walter. My credentials worked at 957 the game in the Bay Area. That’s the flagship station of your Golden State Warriors. Also saw a title run for CBS News Bay Area callers KPIX. All right, some things I want to get to on the show today. Kind of just break down where the Warriors stand is the off season is upon us. We’ve kind of uh I guess recap the season in a nutshell. What the Warriors need to do better, where they stand as an organization, where they can make some upgrades, and some of the roadblocks that stand in their way to making said upgrades. So, let’s just dive in right there with who we think’s going to be returning next year. I guess starting with the most important part being the financials of this all. It’s it’s huge when it comes to how the Warriors are going to tweak this thing over the summer. Uh going to soar past the the luxury tax, that’s for sure. 187.9 million. Uh the first apron of 195 million or the second apron of 207. That’s the most likely option. And and we know Joe Lacob from last summer has stated that he will pay the big bucks. he will go past this threshold and spend all the money that he needs to win uh that he needs to if it means winning. So, first of all, I guess the biggest thing is acknowledging where the Warriors stand in terms of the league as a whole. I mean, the Thunder just won 68 games this season. They’re in prime position to get even better. The reality is the Warriors, they either need to do some incredible fleecing this off season. They need home run moves that are just uh what do we call them? Buy low candidates that that break out for the dubs. That sort of thing. That’s really the only way to legitimately be up there with OKC entering next season because like the Thunder, they just have assets and they’re in a position right now to where they can get a lot better. And the Warriors, uh, it’s going to be hard, but injuries do happen and for Golden State, they’ve made their bed, and that is they are going to try to contend for these next couple of years as long as they can. So, let’s start with the bottom up of the roster. Uh, Ge Santos, Quinton Post, they’re both on team options. I would expect the Warriors to pay the Piper with the peanuts there. Both of them cheap. Both of them provide value in different ways. And I I do not think that both those second round draft picks would be um beneficial to letting go. So I I would expect both those players to be back. Trace Jackson Davis under contract. Not expecting him to go anywhere unless he is a part of a package that is a bigger deal for the Warriors. Uh when it comes to Gary Payton II and Cavon Looney, that’s an interesting dynamic this off season. Both their deals have expired. Now, they could have thrown them in a deal at the deadline and brought back a player in return. They decided against that and they showed their value in multiple games in the postseason. If their value is significantly lower than the $8 million they made this year, then it’s a possibility that we’re talking vet minimum type thing. If it’s higher or if it’s the same, don’t be surprised if maybe one of these two are out the door. But until one of these two or both for that matter are no longer Warriors, you just have to assume that they’re Steve Kerr’s guys and that they’re going to suit up in a uniform next year. I I I thought there was no chance Gary Payton would be back when Steve Kerr and company mentioned positional size being of importance this off season, even though Payton plays around the rim and plays a lot bigger than his size. But of course, at the uh the postseason, end of season, post press conference, Steve Kerr alluded to the fact that they they want to bring back Gary Payeyton if possible. So, we’ll see if they’re on this team. It’s most likely that the Warriors got a good deal there. Buddy Heield is under contract. based on his relationship with Cerr, with Jimmy Butler and with Steph Curry, I would be surprised, very surprised if they got rid of his shooting and spacing, considering his 9 million is is team friendly. Like 9 million to pack a punch and go for 33 and 24 in the playoffs. Not a ton of $9 million players are doing that in the NBA. So, I would imagine that he’s going to be back and clearly he would like to be in this organization. I I I can say this is the most happiest I’ve ever been in uh playing basketball and uh tell the guys man the season went by so fast and cuz it was so much how much fun I had so much it was it was a lot of joy you know be around Steve and his group you know being around the players you know this training staff and they all made me feel welcome and I feel like it went so went by so fast and like most seasons I teams I’m going to go on it feels like it was very long you know like when I’m getting out here. But this organization I didn’t never felt one day like yo like I got wait for summer and like I’m really mad I have to like go enjoy summer because basketball was so fun. Me and basketball was so fun. Preparing every day for a playoff game was fun and uh I really enjoy being here. Man, protect that man at all costs. Keep him in the bay. I would expect Buddy Buckets to be back. And remember, he was a part of the uh the Klay Thompson sign and trade last season. And that is the most likely route to the Warriors getting legitimate role players. Uh rotation help this off season. Free agency, there’s huge names. I mean, LeBron James, Kyrie, Harden, Chris Middleton, Miles Turner, James Harden. Forget about all of them for now. Forget about all of them. That is not how the Warriors are going to get better. The cap outlook will not allow the Warriors to make any splashy moves in free agency. The biggest moves are going to come in some form of a trade and most likely some form of a sign and trade. Really, there’s only four avenues for the Warriors to get better right now. One is the Jonathan Kaminga sign and trade. He is their most important asset. They have not ruled out the fact that he could return next season. Steve Kerr said if he does return, they’re giving him the keys. It’s going to be him. It’s going to be Butler, Draymond, Steph Curry from day one. They’re going to make it work. Jimmy Butler would work with him in the off season. I don’t expect that to happen. I think Kaminga is probably worth a little bit more than he’s being paid. And uh the the sign and trade seems like the the best avenue for every party here. The other step two to getting better, the uh the taxpayer midlevel exemption. Step three, vet minimums. Step four, you trade other players like Pods, Moody, Draymond, or you just bank on insane internal development. You tweak a thing here and there. You bring back Moody, Pods, that starting lineup the Warriors had. You add in a center, maybe you get someone that’s uh a defensive presence. You you find your Steven Adams or whoever it may be and unrestricted free agency and you go from there. But, uh, that’s what I want to get into. The centerpiece for the Warriors, the vet minimums specifically for Golden State and the taxpayer midlevel exemptions. They’ll be in play and they’re going to be important. Like, they have to hit on one of these. They have to. You look at Milwaukee last year, they were paying Gary Trent Jr. $2 million and he had a pretty good year. That’s the type of deal that the Warriors need to make this off season. a success is not landing Paul George or Lowry Markin in or any of those moves that they were in contention for last summer. It’s been made clear bolstering depth just having a more complete consistent reliable rotation is the move. Um and we saw it case in point against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Steph Curry goes out and there was just not enough playmaking. not enough, maybe talent isn’t the right word, but not enough developed talent. They could play together and they could just steal one game in four to keep that series alive. So, that’s what the Warriors are going to be doing this off season. The bigger team, Steve Kerr, has acknowledged that positional size is huge. Having a center is huge. Who could that center be? We’re going to discuss coming up on Locked on Warriors. All right, everyone. Take control of your finances. It’s Monarch Money. You ever check your bank account and wonder where did all my money go? Between dining out, online shopping, entertainment, it’s easy to lose track. And that is where Monarch Money comes into play. It’s your personal CFO and gives you full visibility and control over your finances. Not just a budgeting app, it’s a complete financial command center. You can track all your accounts, investments, and spending in one place. So, you stop managing your money and you just start building your wealth. You get surprising insights like how much you’re using on certain services allin-one convenience where you can track the spending and plan long-term goals on one app and you can collaborate with your partner to make sure you can share the account there. So take care of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code locked onmbba at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. That is monarchmoney.com code lockedmbba for half off your first year. Let’s get back to it. All right. So, the bigger team for the Golden State Warriors, Steve Kerr has acknowledged that getting a center is of utmost important this off season. Positional size is big, too. If those players that are positionally bigger can play basketball, that’s kind of important. Why not? I mean, I don’t want to start next season with Draymond as our starting five. I think it’s doable for the last 30 games like we did this year, but I think you see the toll it takes on him. He’s talked about it, too. And it’s why we started out this past season starting Trace and Draymond. It’s important if those guys with positional size are good basketball players. So, you can’t just add size for size sake. Um, and the pieces have to fit together. And we have a really unique puzzle. gonna be really really difficult to find a center that checks all the boxes. Warriors were so good with specialty players this season that specialized in something. Buddy the shooter, Cavon Looney, just the gritty rim protector, kind of do it all, sets hard screens. Gary Payton, the defensive mastermind that may or may not have lost a step from his best days back in 2022, but still gets after it defensively. JK the wrecking ball that can get down the lane that has elite athleticism, play above the rim. Draymond the defensive specialist, Jimmy Butler, the high IQ. A lot of guys that aren’t two-way players necessarily on this team, specifically with the role players. And it’s going to be hard to find a center realistically that checks all the boxes for the Warriors. Someone that can shoot, someone that can run the floor, someone that can defend. There aren’t many of those guys in the league. And there are very few that are likely on the move. If you take away the financials out of this and take away the the possibility of it actually happening, like if we just want to spitball right now on some names, the name to me that would make the most sense, and granted, let’s just sugarcoat it by saying I don’t think this is going to happen. I don’t even think it’s going to be a name that’s tossed around and that is even a potential option, but just this mold of a player would be so well with the Warriors. Uh let’s call him a mystery player. This guy averaged a double double for six straight seasons. He’s an outstanding rebounder. He could step out and hit the deep shot. Averages like what 17 and 13. He’s young enough at 29 years of age, but he’s also a seasoned vet to the point where you put him on a team. He has a couple years left on his contract. It kind of uh intertwines with overlaps with Curry, Butler, Draymond’s contracts, and he’s a younger piece to the puzzle. I guess you could say that player is Damonte Sabonis. Likely an impossibility, like I said. However, however, what’s the uh the win horse? Kings are a mess. They’re down bad. They were on this program earlier in the season after they whooped the Warriors talking the trash saying I we had Allan Styles on the show and I had to cut him off because he said, “I feel bad for Warriors fans. I feel bad for Kings fans right now. They’re a mess. They’re a mess. They they just moved the Chicago Bulls over West Coast and said, “Hey, let’s let’s run this D Rozan Lavine thing that didn’t work in Chicago. Let’s let’s try it in California’s capital. Why not?” And it didn’t seem to work whatsoever. But they have one more year of Demar D Rozan. It’s about $25 million. Jonathan Kaminga, he could be a replacement. That makes sense. He could be intriguing. It’s a franchise that’s in a position right now to where you give him the keys, you allow him to do his thing. He can potentially develop there. They could also use a point guard after fumbling Hallebertton and Fox the last few years. And Brandon Pimsky could be a valuable trade asset to include in a deal where he’s only a couple million dollars. Him Kaminga, how do you make the money work? Now, there are cracks in this proposition. First, would the Kings even trade him? That’s very important. Two, Draymond Green stomped on him years back. Would that be an issue? And three, ironically here, I think the only way you could make it happen is Draymond Green would almost have to be out of the equation for this to work because of the financial issues. And that’s why if if you think the Warriors should just go after these big money players this off season, it just doesn’t work this way financially. It is hard to envision a world where you can pay two guys $60 million. You could pay Draymond Green nearly $30 million and then you can add in a player like Sabonis who makes 43 million. Just too many variables here to think that uh this ever becomes a talking point this off seasonason. But I love the fit. Like I do think Matt George of Locked on Kings brought it up the other day in like the uh the group Twitter message and said, “Hey, would hypotheticals here if I threw Sabonis on the market, would anyone want him?” And there were a bunch of teams saying, “Nah, we’re good. We’re good.” And I thought about it for a second. So honestly, he’d probably be a pretty good fit for the Warriors. Sabonis, Jimmy Curry, Buddy plays almost every game. Rarely hurt. However, like I said, until there’s real smoke. We’ll put this one to rest. Uh not expecting this one to come up as an option. All right, so now that I wasted two minutes on a dream hypothetical that’s not going to happen, let’s get into some names that have been brought up and that could be somewhat realistic. Is it is very clear the Warriors are looking for size. Let’s start with two big men. Stephen Adams and Brooke Lopez, both unrestricted free agents. Lopez makes a lot of sense. You know, the the the Stanford grad coming back to the Bay Area. He stretches the floor, shoots 37% from three on volume. He’ll hit a couple a game. He’s extremely old. That’s terrifying. The last thing you need with your already 36 36 37 core is to add in another 37 year old. However, durability has not been an issue. Lopez played in 80 games this past season. 79 the year before, 78 prior to that. So, he’s someone that plays a lot. Steven Adams is another name that I want to bring up. And I know a lot of Warriors fans really like Stephen Adams, mainly because he’s a cool dude. Um, now again, I I mentioned the Sabonis thing with Draymond. The Steven Adams thing with Draymond was a while ago, but man, that looked painful. Uh, but recency bias comes into play here. Haven’t seen him in really the last two playoff runs. Couple years ago for Memphis, just dominated the glass in this past season for Houston. and once again dominated the glass. Not really an offensive threat at this point, although he did go off one game against the Warriors, but typically it’s a few mop-up buckets here and there. That is not what is giving Steven Adams the the big bucks. And by big bucks, I just mean NBA money is big bucks. Cheaper option, but he is able to defend at a high level. He can affect the game on the glass. He’s huge and we know the Warriors want to play with pace and in a perfect world they want to move up and down the floor. Stephen Adams doesn’t really seem like he would fit in this scenario. However, Houston kind of wanted to do the same thing and he provided a very very big role off the bench for the Rockets this season. So, if given the choice, leave your thoughts. I I’d go with Lopez. If either of those two are enticing for you, leave them in the comments. Chat as well, but definitely the comments for sure. And let some other Golden State Warriors fans banter back and forth whether those two would be of intrigue at all for the Warriors this upcoming season. A dream fit Miles Turner for so many reasons, but it’s a dream. Pacers would be fools fools to not have him as a part of their future. I don’t think we need to talk much about Miles Turner. He was a intriguing piece early in the season before the deadline when the Pacers were looking like a playin team at best during the Eastern Conference Finals for the second straight year. I just don’t see how they break it up and and don’t find a way to bring back Miles Turner, although he is a free agent. One that’s a little more realistic, but again is a good player is Jared Allen of the Cleveland Cavaliers. The big roadblock here is that the Cavs won 60 games and they would have to decide to trade him until, you know, he’s on the block. Until they’re fielding offers for him, it’s a big old nothing burger. But you think about it, they already have Mobly. Allen’s about $30 million, give or take. That could be on par with Kaminga’s salary when you think about it. Plus, what do the Cavs have? They have great guards in uh Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland. What do they not have? A wing? I mean, a better wing, a wing that has high upside. So, could a playmaking wing like Jonathan Kaminga be on their wish list? Would you need to throw in draft capital? How would you be able to make that work? Is it intriguing to you? Would you even want Jared Allen as the team starting center if he was available? again. Let me know in the comments. Uh Mark Williams of the Hornets, always have liked his game. I just don’t think it seems that likely. I I don’t know how you make the trade work. I mean, the Hornets were willing to trade him at the deadline before the the physical came into play. And again, this market, the the whole Carlos Koreah thing a couple years ago, I don’t know if we want to be dealing with, you know, physicals that went arai. So, who knows there? But he was on the move and and they were willing to trade him and he is good. Like I like Mark Williams game a lot. John Collins is a name that I’ve seen thrown around. No, it doesn’t make sense. There’s just unless Draymond’s not on the team, it doesn’t make any sense to me. He He’s not a true center. I won’t entertain it. I I don’t think John Collins makes this team much better. If if there’s a exodus of a lot of players, we’re talking we need six new roster rotations for players that went out the door in trades for whatever, then you know, maybe you entertain it. But where the roster is expected to be heading into the summer and some of the players that are supposed to be retained, John Collins, just doesn’t make any sense to me. Interesting trade partner. Very interesting trade partner. the team that all but landed Cooper Flag. And at this point, they landed them. They they said they’re getting Cooper Flag. And they did it very unexpectedly. So, I would imagine the Mavericks will now clear the runway for Cooper Flag from day one. That means there could be some negotiations there for PJ Washington. But a 66 guy can stretch it, but a 66 guy not really what the Warriors need. They they need some true size. So, I’d be looking at a couple of other guys. They have Anthony Davis on their team, and God, I would love Anthony, a healthy Anthony Davis, but that’s obviously not happening. But how many bigs can they have? Seriously, Daniel Gaffford if they say no to Daniel Gaffford, how about Derek Lively? Again, how many bigs do you need? Gaffford specifically at 6’11. his contract matches up dollar-wise with Moses Moody. Now, would Dallas want Moses Moody? I don’t know. Would the Warriors want to give up Moses Moody? Joe Lacob seems to really like his draft picks. We heard that. But Moses Moody also got DNPs in the playoffs and was extremely inconsistent and you need a big man somehow someway. And when you look at what the Mavericks are missing, it’s guards, man. And it’s that shooting guard position like they could use Moses Moody behind Clay that the contracts match up there. They have the flexibility to make it happen considering they have a young Lively and they have an older Anthony Davis above him. Like at some point, how much size do you need? We’re spitballing here. But the hoarding size, the Wolves did it for a minute with all the sevenfooters they had and at a certain point they decided, you know what? Let’s give Carl Anthony Towns to New York. give up some of our size and bring back some uh combinations that we need in terms of in that case it was Devanchenzo and Julius Randall. But maybe that makes sense to go after a Daniel Gaffford. Again, with all these, please hop in the comments, make this interactive, let me know what you think about some of these players. But one thing is for certain, it’s that the Warriors cannot have Draymond Green as their biggest body. It works for stretches of the season. It works against certain teams, but he’s getting older. You get more bruises getting banged up against some of these players. And the recency bias shows us the the Julius Randall thing down low. I I mean, Draymond could keep up with him. Randle’s huge. And with Rudy Goar down there as well, the Warriors just need some size any way they can get it. Cavon Looney, a free agent. Do they move on from him? Is he one of the one of the rotation pieces that they bring in to kind of, you know, keep that stalwart in the middle there for Golden State? Sure, he can be, but they need more than just that. And they can’t be banking on Quinton Post internal development to get there. Again, he’s a nice piece as well. Can stretch it, but come on now. If if you’re banking on Looney and Post being your starting center going into next year with some of the capital that the Thunder have and the Thunder could be looking to go back to back when it’s all said and done, uh it’s just it’s not going to happen. You’re not going to compete with the best teams in the NBA. So, you got to make a deal with one of these teams that makes sense for both parties and not even really try to fleece another team. Just do what Minnesota did and find a team that that wants one of your pieces. Pajimky, Moody, whoever it may be, and uh get someone on your wish list, aka some size. So, that’s got to be top of the wish list. Also near the top of the checklist is a scoring punch from the guard or wing position. Where could they find that? Let’s discuss coming up next. All right, Steve Cerr this off seasonason. We know that he’s a big fan of players creating. We know he’s a big fan of cutting into the teeth of the defense and really from there passing the ball such a huge part of a Steve Kerr offense passing to open up opportunities for other players and you got to be able to knock down shots. But here’s Steve Kerr on what he’s looking for this off seasonason from not just the shooting guard or small forward position. Every position, everyone they are looking at this off season and that they’ve looked at in past offseasons has to somewhat fit this criteria. Doesn’t matter what position it is. Um we we need guys who who see the game um can make plays and can connect the game and create easier opportunities for their teammates. Guys know me. I’m a huge proponent of passing, of the ability to pass the ball. I think it unlocks everything. You watch some of the teams um doing well. You look at Indiana right now, um they’re passing from, you know, four or five different spots. They got three point guards, um that are, you know, constantly attacking and breaking down the defense and moving the ball. Um, so I’m always, that’s why Brandon, even in his shooting struggles, you know, I got asked several times during the series why I was staying with Brandon passing and playmaking and and running through the catch and creating a rotation, moving. That’s the game. Otherwise, you end up with five guys standing around, just staring at each other. Even if all five guys can shoot, if they can’t pass, it doesn’t matter. You’re not breaking the defense down. Comment from one of the viewers. Godzilla the creator says he likes Jabari Smith as a big to bring in. He’s young. He’s 610. He could shoot. He could play some defense. We saw flashes of Jabari in that Rocket series. And not even singling out Jabari. I’m just talking that sort of player. Young, untapped potential, talent. That’s kind of where the Warriors need to strike gold in order to have a chance at this thing. Like they can be competitive. I believe that they could run this thing back. And I still think they’d be competitive for the most part if they just added in a a few talented players that could help him out. But in order to like truly get over the top, they need to make one of these moves like you’re talking about with a Jabari and he just pops. Or for example, when the Knicks went and got Jaylen Brunson and everyone’s like, Jaylen Brunson, he’s not going to get you over the top. There were like 15 talking heads saying he’s not even a top 10 point guard in the league. And now look at Brunson or the Pacers going out and getting Hallebertton and Seakum and just kind of putting together this team that everyone continuously slept on and now playoffs are here. They got three point guards essentially. they they um they distribute the basketball and they play as a team and next thing you know uh when you have Steph Curry on your team and also Jimmy Butler on your team as well, you you cobble together enough of those players that are consistent and that is how that that’s the path to the Warriors being relevant for these next couple years. It’s not going to be easy. Let’s get real. It’s not going to be easy. the window to win championships is it’s never fully closed until Steph Curry proves that he can’t play at a high level. And the way that he was playing second half of the season, if we get 85% of that next season and a healthy Steph, they’re going to be right in contention for playoff spot again, you know, and and then how far they can go depends on the rest of the rotation and how they uh how they bolster this thing. But let’s assume for the sake of the discussion that the Warriors use Kaminga and a signing trade to land this type of player. Not talking a big, I’m talking a shooting guard. I’m talking a wing. I’m talking someone that fits into the Steve Kerr mold potentially. And a couple of teams stand out. And mainly they stand out because there’s actually some smoke that they’re interested in JK. The first is Philadelphia. They could be interested. We’ve heard now, I don’t know what Philly would offer that intrigues the Warriors. I saw in one article they would go like KJ Martin’s contract and then a bunch of draft picks to make it work. And I I don’t really think the Warriors have a ton of picks right now. They’re, you know, starting in 2026, they’re doing all right when it comes to owning all their draft picks until 2030 or whatever it may be. So that’s not necessarily issue trying to trying to make the future look brighter. It’s trying to maximize on what the Dubs have right now. And that is a bunch of ex not a bunch, a few very expensive players that you just have to you have to perfectly craft this thing. Perfectly craft this thing. Philly has one player that’s a restricted free agent that would be an amazing fit. His name’s Quinton Grimes. However, a friend of mine’s a Sixers guy. I told him yesterday, “How about Kaminga for Quinton Grimes signing trade? He laughed in my face. Laughed in my face for a good 45 seconds. So, I bring it up on the show so Sixers fans that pop in can laugh in my face. But to me, it starts there. Unless you want to go maxi or something like that. Not going to happen. It’s Quinton Grimes or Sixers. You can forget about it. The other team we’ve heard a lot of smoke surrounding Jonathan Kaminga is the Brooklyn Nets. And that name that’s been tied to the Warriors is Cam Johnson. brings good shooting, brings positional size at 6’9. Two qualities that we have mentioned are very important to the Dubs. Very important. Cam Johnson 39% from three, nearly 90% from the line. Averaged 18 points per game last season. As I say in my fantasy baseball league when I get thrown offers, you know, to to send a a streaming pitcher for an injured Mike Trout or whatever it may be, I’ll noodle. I would noodle on this trade. If I were in the GM position, I would noodle. Whatever that means. Another team that’s been thrown around, the Chicago Bulls. They have some smoke around Jonathan Kaminga. I don’t want any of the Chicago Bulls except for one guy, Kobe White. 6’5, can play the shooting guard, can play the point guard, bring it up the floor. We already saw him dunk over Wemmenyama. He’s electric. He’s like one of those players that if you traded for somehow got him in your system and he popped that is how you turn a team that at best is probably like a five four seed second round exit into oh my god we’re back. We’re really good because Kobe White plays amazing next to Steph Curry and he is a star in the making. I don’t think the Bulls would include him quite frankly. I think they’d be dumb if they did. And I don’t really see anyone else on Chicago’s roster that excites me. I don’t want to hear any Giddy. I don’t want to hear any Veovich. I’d hang up the phone if if Kobe White was not attached to that. And the last name that gives me a a glimmer a glimmer of intrigue is Carris Levert. And it’s due to his positional size. It’s due to the fact that he can shoot the three. He’s a veteran. uh unrestricted free agent made 16 million a season ago. He could make sense. He could make a little bit of sense there. Are any of these names actually going to be in contention for the Warriors making any sort of move? I have no idea. They may go with a name that I did not say. Another big man that I’m intrigued by. I actually like his game and think he’s buried behind too many centers in Boston. That’s Nemius Keta. Uh, I think he’s he’s pretty solid and would be a fun flyer to take. It would just involve a trade and I don’t think the Celtics are necessarily going to trade him, but um I I don’t know. So, Levert is a bench piece only from Veggie Delight. First of all, love the Veggie Delight name. Secondly, yeah, I I mean, a bench piece only is not what the Warriors need right now. They they do need rotational depth, but if we’re talking a Jonathan Kaminga signing trade, which LeVert wouldn’t be, but when we are talking Jonathan Kaminga signing trade, your your best chance to being relevant is getting important players or a player in return in that deal. You have to use Kaminga. if he’s not coming back, you have to you got all that that game on tape from those last two, I guess it was just the one playoff series against Minnesota, and you have to use that to your advantage and find a team that is willing to basically say, “This guy’s our future. We think he’s awesome.” Xavier Tilman, we’re getting that. He’s an aggressive five. Steven Adams obviously comes in. Lonzo Ball, we hear Bam at a bio. Oh, I saw a fake rumor on the internet that Jimmy Butler’s trying to court bam out a bio to the Warriors. Boy, would he be a nice fit. Devin Booker of the Suns. We know Kerr loves him. He’d be a good They’re good fits all around. Question’s going to be um who is actually on the market. Who do the Warriors need to package together to get it done? like how does the league view players like Moody and Kaminga and Pajimky if those are your three most tradable assets here? So, I don’t know. And then we got Luke Cornet coming in that the Celtics not re may not resign him. I’d be looking for bigger and better if we’re talking center position. Like that’s why I go Allen and I brought up the name Sabonis and like it’s time that the Warriors get a legit center and not someone that you just plug in and can mop up some minutes and and play down low. I mean, that’s what you’ve been doing with Looney for a minute now. And I think that if you can use that JK piece to somehow get you a player that checks all the boxes, and that player that checked all the boxes that I mentioned was Sabonis, all of a sudden you got scoring. You’ve got someone that can put the ball in the basket when Curry’s off the bench. He can play inside out basketball. He grabs rebounds and takes care of some of those problems that you may run into if you see Houston in the playoffs. Unfortunately, I I don’t know if that perfect player is on the market. So, again, best way for the Warriors to get better this off seasonason, one is the old fleece job. Fleece a team and land yourself that Jabari Smith or whoever it may be that has not fully maximized their potential and comes into the system and just pops that Jaylen Brunson pop, that fifth year, sixth year pop that I told you about. And then the other way to really get better is I mean hit on these mid-level taxpayer exemption players. Last year the Warriors went with Melton. They went with Anderson. They went with Buddy Healed. Melton again could be another b minimum guy that is looking for a chance. He knows the system. He looked pretty good when he played. You’re going to be paying him nothing to where it’s not really going to break the bank by any means. but he’s also played a combined like 50 games in two or three seasons. He he is not reliable in that sense. And this is an old team that has injury concerns. We saw it multiple times in the playoffs, first with Butler, then with Steph Curry. The last thing you want is to rely on injuryrone players to break out as your method to getting back to relevancy. However, if he’s kind of your 15th guy and you have a few extra bucks to to throw at DeAnthony Melton, he was really good on the Grizzlies as a sixth man when you played them in the NBA playoffs. And he was really good when he was healthy for the Warriors. And granted, it it it wasn’t much. It was like six games that he played in for the Dubs. So, he can’t be the end- all beall. He can’t be the solution, but he he could be potentially a part of the solution. Uh, we got Lowry Markin in the chat. The Jazz get Draymond Green, they get Buddy Heel, they get Moses Moody, they get Brandon Pajimsky, they get Trace Jackson Davis, they get a 2026 first, a 2028 first, and a 2029 pick swap. I love all the detail that went into that, but I’m going to need the detail of who the Warriors would have left on their roster outside of Butler, Curry, and Lowry. we be getting a lot of Pat Spencer run post geese Santos um because Lowry makes a lot of money too. So that’s the issue with with going the expensive route because the Warriors could obviously do it like there are ways to to shed payroll and to to trade certain players that make $30 million. The issue becomes if you get rid of one 30 million guy and bring in someone that’s that’s 43. Again, this is a team sport. Indiana has showed us best. This is a team sport. Indiana has got Benedict Matherin averaging like 15 points per game and you sometimes forget that he’s on the team. They’re so deep. That’s what the Warriors need to be with their rotation to the point where if Steph Curry does go out for some load management games in the regular season, which is inevitable, he starts not playing backtobacks. you have that secondary player that can play along with Jimmy and it’s not Brandon Pajinsky because Draymond’s obviously the star player in terms of defense, in terms of his leadership, in terms of titles, whatever. Draymond brings nothing nothing offensively to the table at this point and frankly turns it over a lot of times to where you’re not as comfortable with the ball in his hands as you used to be. So, who who can be that player that they bring in? And maybe it’s internal. Maybe it is Kaminga. Maybe this entire thing is a moot point and all these players I mentioned are irrelevant because Kaminga is that dude. They saw enough from him in the final few weeks. I will say this, I think if Jonathan Kaminga is on this team next year, then Steve Cerr is not a part of this team next year, which I know he said he’s yeartoear in his end of season press conference, but uh I think he’s going to ride this thing out with Steph Curry for sure. And of course, the comments already saying the Warriors need a new coach. They don’t need a center. They don’t need size. Just get a new coach. That’ll fix all the problems. Not a Steve Cerr apologist, despite some of you thinking so. Quite the contrary. I I’ve ripped him many times this season. I asked when they were losing game after game in the winter if he even wanted to do this thing because he didn’t look like he was having fun up there and his team kind of stunk or below average. But I don’t really think getting rid of Kerr and bringing in Mike Brown or Terry Sts or whatever the plan here is is is the move that’s gonna make you a championship contender. Does he have his flaws? Certainly. Certainly has plenty of them. But, uh, I think the proof is in the pudding that the guy knows how to coach, won a playoff series, helped win a playoff series this year with a roster that had many flaws. And are they going to address these flaws? Because we knew it was a flawed roster last, I guess, two seasons ago. And what do they do after the Sarich experience doesn’t work out? They they decide to go with less size. They’re like, “Let’s let’s turn Klay Thompson into Kyle Anderson slow-mo.” when we’re trying to run an offense that, you know, gets up and down the floor and and feasts in transition and that gets it to the corner and makes a play. Let’s let’s go with Anderson. And we found out quickly that didn’t work. Buddy Heield turned out to be a pretty good $9 million player. And then Melton was the other one that they went for the uh mid-level exemption. So anyways, uh 41 minutes of content. Chuck Walter, this is Locked on Warriors. I’ll be here with you all off season. just uh digesting all this content and and trying to find things to talk about as the months get a little bit slower or I guess the topics these months get a little bit slower. But NBA draft coming up here soon, free agency shortly after that and the rumor mill is always hot in the NBA and we’re here to break it down on locked on dubs. Appreciate it everyone. Enjoy your day and peace.

Steve Kerr and the Golden State Warriors would like to end the days of Draymond Green playing center and have plans to look for a center this offseason. Who could the Warriors target? Plus, which players should return for the #Warriors next season and who should the Dubs be looking to upgrade. #GoldenStateWarriors #nba

Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!
CarGurus
Buy or sell your next car today with CarGurus at CarGurus.com to make sure your big deal is the best deal.

SKIMS
Shop SKIMS Mens at SKIMS.com/lockedonnba. Let them know we sent you! After you place your order, select “podcast” in the survey and select our show in the dropdown menu that follows.

Monarch Money
Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNBA at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year.

FanDuel
Right now, new customers can get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA.

FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)