Golden State Warriors Offseason Still Silent | Warriors Podcast

Golden State Warriors Offseason Still Silent | Warriors Podcast

Well, we’re still waiting.
You are Locked On Warriors, your daily Golden State Warriors podcast.
What are they going to say now?
Part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. What is good everyone? Welcome to Lockdown Wars. We are part of the lockdown podcast network. your team every day. We’re free and available wherever you get your audio podcast. You can check us out on YouTube. If you’re hanging out with us on YouTube right now, hit that subscribe button. Give us the thumbs up. It is free. And remember, we’re always available and never behind a payw wall. Today’s episode’s brought to you by Game Time. Now’s a great time to tell you to download the Game Time app, create an account, and use code locked on NBA, and you will get $20 off your first purchase. My name is Charlie Walter, formerly a 957 The game in the Bay Area. That’s flagship of the Golden State Warriors. Also covered the team on TV for CBS News Bay Area. Joining me today live in studio, Kylin Mills, formerly of Kown 4. You can catch her on the Big 10 Network. Uh formerly of NBC Sports Bay Area. She’s called Santa Clara Games, Stanford Games, St. Mary’s Games, all over the Bay Area and all over the world for that matter. Maybe not the world, but the the country uh United States or America. Happy 4th everyone. Let’s break down what’s on the show today. Still radio silence. We’ve heard nothing in terms of the Warriors signing anyone. Still need a big need a big desperately. Cavon Looney and New Orleans Pelican. We have not replaced him. What is the master plan and a Jonathan Kaminga update with a really good article from Anthony Slater that kind of details what is going on with the Warriors. Let’s kind of tie this thing together, Kylin. First of all, the Dubs want a young player plus a firstround pick in return for Jonathan Kaminga. Okay, so that’s great. Maybe they get that first round pick and and flip it for another player as a part of the master plan. But before we talk about any of this, the thing that I want to know is the Al Horford situation. It was as good as done. I mean, it’s been reported that he’s expected to be a Golden State Warrior. Now, it’s reported that the Nuggets are expected to pivot to make Al Horford somewhat of a priority. What is going on? Is he contemplating a retirement? Why is Al Horford still not been announced as a Warrior?
All of the reports that are out right now are that Al Horford is still seriously considering retirement. I think that’s maybe the biggest option on the table after the LA Lakers signed DeAndre Aton. There are reports that the Lakers are still interested in El Horford, but I think certainly with Eightton now on the books, that is not as big of a need for them. And now there’s, like you said, reports out there the Denver Nuggets may be throwing their name in the hat. Uh, but I think that it’s not a good indication for the Golden State Warriors if Al Horford is seriously considering retirement over one last run with a team that in theory or at least is trying to be championship contenders. Uh, I know a lot of people say, “Oh, there’s no way, da da da.” But when you look at the the Warriors going 23 and eight after adding Jimmy Butler and the fact that they were extremely close to making the Western Conference Finals and they might have had Steph Curry not got an injury, this is a Warriors team that even with some departures and yes, they need to make moves like they shouldn’t be that far off. I would think that opportunity would be extremely intriguing to to any player. Uh the Warriors have long been praised for their culture uh and for the environment that they’ve built there. Um, you would think that people want to play with Steph Curry, one of the greatest shooters of all time. And Al Horford’s game, I think everyone has agreed, lends itself perfectly to the Warriors prototype in terms of being an undersized center who can be a stretch five and shoot the basketball and space the floor. Uh, so by all accounts, this should be an appealing situation to an Al Horford, I would think, for one last rodeo before retirement. But the fact that he’s not, you know, or at least he’s not made a decision or that he’s still on the fence about it, I think is not a good indicator for the Warriors in terms of what has been the issue and them drawing free agents to the Golden State Warriors. Again, I think Steph Curry should be a massive draw. He’s supposed to be a great teammate by everything that we’ve heard. Obviously, he’s one of the greatest shooters, if not the greatest players of all time. It’s like what is the holdup? The fact that a player would rather just hang up the the shoes than give it one last goaround and make a couple million dollars in the process. I just there definitely are concerns. You look like you have thoughts.
Well, the hold up is he’s 39 years old. Uh that does matter when you’re
played a lot of games last season.
He did play a lot of games last season. Played 60 games, played 27 minutes per. So that’s what we’re kind of waiting on in regards to Al Horford. Um, the Warriors showed in 2022 that they can win a championship without really a dominant big. Although Kavon Looney was awesome. We’ve said it on a couple straight shows now. He was so good in the playoffs in 22 and they’re not going to have Lon. So, it’s down to Trace Jackson Davis and it’s down to uh Quinton Post as of right now is the only two bigs on the roster. You don’t love to hear that. I want to kind of respond to Al Horford maybe not wanting to be a Warrior or wanting to retire or whatever and and you said why wouldn’t he want to play with Steph Curry. Well, if we’re if we’re talking to Eric Pascal, I mean that was the big thing that came out in the last week or two if you haven’t heard. Pascal basically went to war with Warriors fans saying like
I can’t play with Steph Curry and everyone’s like who the hell are you Pascal? like you couldn’t play with anyone. Apparently, you were playing in Shanghai or something. So, don’t give me that. But, uh, the Warriors need a big. It is certain that they need one. Now, some say why didn’t they go out and get DeAndre Aton, someone that averages 14 and 10. I’m not mad about it personally. I’ll ask you, Kylin, if you’re upset that they missed out on DeAndre Aton wagon. Eightton’s now a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. Tons of talent, but the dude doesn’t like to play basketball. Like at a certain point, the Warriors do have their culture and one thing that goes into their culture is you got to buy in and that guy hasn’t bought in anywhere. I didn’t want to touch DeAndre Aton with a 10-ft pole. I know a lot of you in the comments or chat may disagree with me. You take size, you take talent. I don’t think DeAndre Aton was that move. The issue becomes if it’s not Al Horford, who is that move? Uh Walker Kesler, we’ll get into him in just a minute. That’s a tease. But in terms of no DeAndre Aton, are you mad? Are you sad? Or are you just glad that they did not uh make that signing?
I am disappointed. I would have liked to see the Warriors pursued DeAndre Aiden. And and here’s some of my reasoning. First of all, I think the numbers speak for themselves in terms of his ability to impact the game. Eightton has career averages of just about 16 and a half points and 10 and a half boards per game on 59% shooting. uh over the last seven seasons. This is a player who is at that age in his late 20s that the Warriors really I think should be targeting because to me this roster has been constructed the last few seasons with too many extremes. Guys who are 35 plus and then players who are in the 19 to 23 range. So you need some players that are still have enough in the tank and have some of that, you know, youthful energy under 30 years old but aren’t necessarily total newcomers to the game that are needing a ton of development which the Warriors have struggled with. Um, so I liked some of it for uh the thought of him for that reason. Um, and then the Warriors could have signed him on a mid-level exception because he was still making some of the money from the Portland Trailblazers because of the way he departed that organization. So, he actually wouldn’t have been, I think, as ex as expensive as a lot of people thought. They would have still had to move some pieces, don’t get me wrong. Like, I think the Warriors would have had to get creative in order to come up with an offer that would have drawn in DeAndre Aton. Uh, but I don’t think they necessarily need a stretch five. Like, to me, that wasn’t the biggest need. Like I like DeAndre for having a more traditional skill set because the Warriors have Quinton Post, like they have a sevenfooter who can shoot from beyond the ark. I like that they would potentially have bigs that have different skill sets that you can utilize in different ways because that’s the thing you’re going to see different types of matchups and opponents in the NBA. And it’s good to have options with your rotations versus bringing in an Al Horford. Now granted Quenton post is 7 feet but again uh a player who can shoot the ball from beyond the arc who is another stretch five but to me once again it’s two opposite ends of the spectrum and a 39year-old and then Quentyn Post now granted Quentyn Post is 24 but who’s only in his second year in the NBA and then Trace Jackson Davis same thing just still feels very new um and I just I don’t know that there are expectations that Trace Jackson Davis is going to make this huge jump and be a starter next season. Um, so to me it’s like there’s you like there needs to be some in between. I like Walker Kesler as a better and I know we’re going to talk about him as a better target, but like if the Warriors had gone after DeAndre, I wouldn’t have been mad about it. The issue is I think that DeAndre does make the Lakers better. The Lakers are the other I think major team uh that on the market was looking for a center. So now that leaves the Warriors with a gaping hole as you mentioned without Cavon Looney on this roster, they need somebody. and Quentyn Post and Trace Jackson Davis, in my opinion, are not ready to carry the load. Uh, so that’s why I think bringing in a Walker Kesler, a player who’s going to be a starter, is going to be a better move than Al Horford. I mean, is Al Horford going to be the starter? Is Quenton Post going to be the starter? I don’t think Trace Jackson Davis is going to be the starter. I just I don’t know. So, I think Walker Kesler is the best target out there.
I like Al Horford in terms of the intangibles that he brings. I think I think he’s still a good defender. I think he can still, you know, knock down his open shots and really stretch the floor, help space a little bit, but there is an issue with age and it’s not when it comes to playoff time. I mean, I guess it is if a hamstring pops, anything like that. We saw it with Curry, but it’s a long season and the Warriors need to win games. And I don’t think they’re any in any position right now to where their depth is so strong that on these load management nights or on a a given week where Jimmy Butler’s out with a hamstring strain or someone misses Draymond misses time with an ankle or whatever that’s inevitably going to happen that you can have four dudes trying to shoulder the burden that uh or that age and now there are talks of potentially Bradley Beal if he was bought out and it’s like and then Dame Lillard potentially who I guess by all accounts could return for a playoff push but most likely would miss the entire 25 26 season. I mean it’s an Achilles, right? You would have to imagine that just based off common knowledge of an Achilles that he would miss the entire season. So you’re talking about one final run with the contract of of Steph Draymond and Jimmy that would line up with Dame Lillard. So
sorry I didn’t want to interrupt you. That’s what I was trying to raise my hand like a kid in school. My last thought on DeAndre Aton though, that whole situation is like at this point the Warriors aren’t going to get a big who’s perfect. Like that’s where they’re at based on, you know, the money that’s tied up in the luxury tax, but you can get a big that likes basketball
and who’s available. But here’s the thing. You see players come to the Golden State Warriors that had lost a love for basketball like a Jimmy Butler. Like look at what the Warriors culture did for Jimmy Butler. He was a player who everything had gone south for. Reports of all these locker room issues, attitude problems. We know what happened when he didn’t want to play for the Miami Heat anymore and he came to the Warriors and so far has been a great culture fit. Like players on the team have identified Jimmy Butler as coming in and like pretty quickly earning respect of the locker room to be a leader. So, I think that if you’re going to take a risk, it’s going to be on a player who has all of the things you need in a skill set, but like, hey, like you said, maybe there are certainly, you know, very relevant attitude and locker room and those types of concerns. But I think with a Draymond Green staying on top of a DeAndre Aton or, you know, some of the other vets that the Warriors have in the locker room, maybe that actually makes him better. And I think a change of scenery can do a lot of players good. So, like that’s where I’m like, okay, you’re not going to get a perfect big out there on the market based on where it’s at right now. This is a player who has a ton of upside in terms of what he can do on the floor and what he can add to your team. And like I said, I like the age, all those kinds of things, but the culture concerns to me are the same as what we saw with Jimmy Butler. And the Warriors did Jimmy Butler a lot of good. Now, we still didn’t see playoff Jimmy how I would have fully liked to see playoff Jimmy, but he hasn’t been a locker room issue. It hasn’t been a culture fit issue. You know what I’m saying? Had DeAndre Aton joined the Warriors, we would have had a press conference like three weeks into training camp and Steve Kerr would have said something very bad happened at practice and 957 the game would have went crazy for a month and then TMZ would have leaked a video that Draymond hammered him in the face because DeAndre Aton just uh no, I’m glad the Warriors did not touch him. And if you’re not, wait about two months for the Lakers and then say, Chuck, you were right after all.
So what happens when the Warriors don’t get it big? We’ll see if they get it big or not. We’ll talk Walker Kesler, Jonathan Kaminga. Whole lot of dubs news that I guess is just rumors as of right now. That’s coming up on Locked on Warriors. All right, let’s tell you about one of my favorite apps. We’ve all been there. Whether you’re waiting forever for concert tickets to go on sale or whether you lose your spot because you were dying to see a show and you don’t get the tickets in time. You don’t have to deal with the stress of ticket shopping because game time comes in. Actually, we just Yeah, we used the game time app. We got $20 off by using code locked on NBA for our first purchase. We’re seeing Kaigo the world tour little um all right, enough of that. But anyways, if you’re tired of endlessly scrolling for tickets looking for the best deal, it’s game time. They give you panoramic seat views so you know exactly where you’re sitting. 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First of all, they are searching are the Warriors for a young promising player plus a firstround pick in return for Kaminga. And when I hear that first round pick, I think, all right, they would use that to flip that first round pick for other trades this off season to keep some ammo in the arsenal for down the road. Um, should they part with him in a sign-in trade after they extended the $7.9 million qualifying offer, uh, they would maintain the ability to match any contract that he signs. We know this. So, they have received inbound calls in recent days. The Sacramento Kings floated an offer. Devin Carter and Daario Sarich plus two second round picks. The Warriors said, “Absolutely not. We just had Daario Sarich. Why would we want him back? Do your homework, Sacramento. What are you doing, VC? So, anyways, they turned that one down. Devin Carter shot 29% from three. Did not look outstanding in his rookie season and shot 59% from the charity stripe. He’s a 6’2 point guard. No can do. Uh, will Sacramento offer a Malik Monk, a Keegan Murray, anything else to sweeten the deal? We do not know. But the Kings to me, no bueno. A team that has popped into the mix, the Washington Wizards. This has happened in the last 24 hours. They like the idea of Kaminga as a fit in their rebuild. It has gained some real momentum. Now, what would the Wizards offer that the Warriors would want aside from that draft capital in terms of the young player? Who would it be? There’s no Jordan Pool reunion. Remember, he’s on the Pelicans now, so who knows? The Heat, the Bulls, the Bucks, and the Brooklyn Nets have also registered levels of interest. league sources said, “I am going to take the the Nets out until I hear something differently.” The fact that they just went after um Cam Johnson makes me think that there’s no way they’re touching Jonathan Kaminga. Uh there is a means that the process could drag into Deep July. They could have uh face-to-face meetings with Kaminga and Suitor in Las Vegas during the NBA Summer League. And there could be a compromise to return to the Warriors. That’s on the table as well. The two sides have talked about a sitdown in Las Vegas between Kaminga and Mike Dunlevy along with uh Steve Kerr to discuss a potential path forward. Jonathan Kaminga, what would it take you to get rid of JK? Because you and I are in in different levels on how we feel about JK. I think he’s he’s very much expendable. you think he’s very much a part of a future that you can work around that the Devin Carter and the second round draft picks with Sarich. No, thank you. But to me, um I looked at New Orleans. I’m not hearing that that name on there. I would take Andrew Wiggins back in a heartbeat. Like what would it take you to uh to get rid of Kaminga in this situation? I don’t know when or when you got the impression that I didn’t think Jonathan Kaminga was expendable because going back to last season I was like put Jonathan Kaminga on the trade market to bring an Lari market in. I couldn’t believe that the Warriors were refusing. Like that’s the crazy thing because now they’re in the situation where to me Jonathan Kaminga’s trade value or sign in trade value has gone down from where it was a season ago. and the fact that reports were out that they could have brought in an all-star but did not want to give up Jonathan Kaminga or Brandon Pajki. That was the other one that was wild to me. Pajky was supposedly a sticking point or at least according to reports in a potential Li marketing trade to where I was like like I just feel like you got to be willing to let those players go if you really want to try to build a championship contending roster for right now. Um, so I’ve never said that Jonathan Kamingo like is not is a player that can’t be even in the discussions. And I think now we’re at the point where it makes the most sense to me to let him move on because of the reports that have come out that Jonathan Kaminga wants to be a star and he wants to be a high usage player. He wants to be getting 35 minutes a night, which just hasn’t happened. And I think that there is definitely a rift between Jonathan Kaminga and this Warriors coaching staff. And it’s like, is that repairable? Is this a situation where a player would be better off in another environment and the Warriors would be better off with with a different player? And I’m kind of at the point where I think it’s going to be better for both parties. and Kaminga in all of the reports and Anthony Slater had a great article once again from the Athletic that he was pretty upfront in that like I want to have a big role and it may not be here with the Golden State Warriors and it just seems like the time has come and I almost feel like if he ends up coming back to the Warriors and they wait like rather than doing a side trade now wait six months until they have less penalties I feel like it’s going to be like that awkward breakup where you like are together but you know it’s coming to an end and like you know neither party like necessarily wants to be there, but you’re just kind of like going through the motions and you have
you know what I’m saying? You don’t you don’t want that type of player. So that’s my point. So that’s why I think like does Jonathan Kaminga even want to be with the Golden State Warriors? To me, all of the reports and the impressions are no. So it’s like do you really want a player that you’re going to build your franchise around who like basically has been saying in interviews that he like doesn’t necessarily want to be here? And reports have been out previously that he like disagrees with the coaching staff or he doesn’t think that they’re valuing him enough. It’s just kind of like it to me it just makes sense to to you know see what else is out there. However, what I will say is that the Sacramento Kings offer is insulting. I think that’s definitely a buy low offer. I don’t think you can go that direction at all. Um so what can the Warriors get in return? And and that’s where I know you brought up a pick that you could possibly flip. I think is a great idea because I do really want to see the Warriors go after Walker Kesler. That may be a pipe dream in terms of the Dubs being able to do some type of Yeah, it may be a pipe dream to see the Dubs be able to make a deal happen with Danny A and the Utah Jazz. I don’t know if that would be a possibility, but supposedly the Jazz want a young promising player and two first rounds. I don’t think the Warriors can afford right now to give up two first rounds. But could they flip a first round? Like right now the Jazz asking price is too high for the Warriors in my opinion. But I like the Walker Kesler edition. What he would do. But will the numbers match up? I don’t know. But if they can flip Jonathan Kaminga for some picks, then I think that the conversation gets a lot more interesting because the Jazz wanted Brandon Pajki a season ago. Let’s not forget the Utah Jazz were really high on Brandon Pajki when there were discussions about marketing trade. So could you send pods and flip a pick or two? Like I said, I don’t know. I’m a little skeptical on two first rounds, but to add a Walker Kesler, would you do it?
Absolutely. I would do it. And I’m a pods guy. We we all know this. I’m a pods guy, but I would absolutely do it because the shooting guard position, you got Buddy Heield and and Moses Moody right now that can kind of fill that void. And frankly, you just signed a guy in Will Richard that I think is going to be somewhat NBA ready. Now, how effective can he be from day one? I don’t know, but I think he can mop up some minutes to where you need some size. Walker Kesler would be much more important than Brandon Pajimsky in my opinion. Unless Pods does pop like he showed the capability of from time to time to last season where he’s literally a guy that puts up, you know, 16, seven, and six. At the same time though, Walker Kizler is already putting up double double type numbers in Utah. So, I think sometimes it’s just about fit and the Warriors right now do not have much size and they’ve shown like we’ve said that they can win a title without a ton of size in this system. However, Quinton Post not someone that’s going to bang in the paint, not someone that’s going to get a ton of boards. He’s going to hover around the perimeter a lot and Trace Jackson Davis was deemed unplayable for much of last season. So, what has changed in that regard? You got to go out and find a big I know Jock Londale was just waved. Uh he he’s someone that could be on the market, but that is not going to get the job done either. So, uh Sacramento offering Devin Carter. He was the 13th pick out of South Carolina firstrounder a season ago. So, it makes sense in that regard that they’re like, “Here, have some young talent.” But, it was young talent that did not show that he was an NBA guy or a a solid NBA guy in his first season. So, it would all be about the scouting department for the Warriors, their analytical team and and their data that they love crunching and whether that they think he can be a uh a valuable asset. And clearly the answer was no because they did not make that trade. I’m telling you if they have an opportunity to get off Kaminga, they’re going to get off Kaminga if the opportunity is right. Um and two second rounders not the move there. These first rounders would be very important. We’re getting some more into Walker Kesler. We’re talking about um who the Warriors could potentially go after aside from just a player in a Jonathan Kaminga trade. That’s coming up on Locked on Warriors. All right. So, it’s time to get into a little Chuck Walter is the GM and Kylin Mills is the assistant GM here. What I would do in a perfect world. Now, unfortunately, the world is not perfect and the Warriors don’t have a ton of leverage right now, frankly, because I think teams realize that they are in a tough position to where if they don’t do anything with Kaminga and he doesn’t work out long term, he’s walking for nothing this off season. He can he can b at everything that the Warriors do and say, you know what, I’m just gonna accept this $7.9 million qualifying offer. I’m gonna go out and ball out and I’m gonna gamble on myself. I’m going to bet on myself and test free agent the the market next season and that would be a disaster because the Warriors have reportedly had chances to get Markin with his talents, uh, O Ganobi with his talents, um, Pascal Seakum with his talents, and if he walked away for nothing, that would be brutal. I will say this, there was some smoke around the Warriors wanting a seagull bomb. There was some smoke around them wanting um Herb Jones of the New Orleans Pelicans. I think they need a perimeter defender. I would love that. Here’s how I would line everything up. I would use Jonathan Kaminga in a trade. Let’s say it’s Washington. Someone said get Bub Carrington in return. I liked Bub. Honestly, when I saw him last season, I was like, “This guy is tough as nails. He’s going to be good.” He is still very young. I don’t know if he fits that timeline, but hey, the Warriors want a young player. They want young talent is what it said in this Anthony Slater report, and they want a firstrounder. So, let’s say you get that first rounder. Now, all of a sudden, you potentially look to the Pelicans, you say, “Hey, you got your Bub Carrington or whoever Washington gives you, you got your first round draft pick that comes along with it, and you hit up the Pelicans and you say, “Hey, we’re going to overvalue Herb Jones here. We will give you two first rounders, two future first rounders and a young Moses Moody contract match for Herb Jones. They would have to take that deal. They would have to. Now you’re only technically getting rid of one firstrounder because Kaminga I mean it’s still two, right? But Kaminga turned into the free firstrounder. So you’re doing that. You have Herb Jones. You have a young Bub Carrington or whoever that may that player may be. The question then becomes, Walker Kesler, it would take a couple of firstrounders, it would sound like, plus a young player. Would you toss two first rounders? So, getting rid of four first rounders or maybe three. Maybe you can get by with one. Although Danny A is Danny A and Brandon Pajimsky to make that deal done and then have your off seasonason be Al Horford, Walker Kesler, Herb Jones, and some random young guy from the Washington Wizards. I would have to crunch the numbers,
dude. I think the Warriors would make out like bandits if in this off seasonason they added Walker Kesler, Al Hor, and Herb Jones. All right, someone needs to just the Warriors need to hire you to work in that front office, Chuck. Uh here’s my pitch for Jazz center walker Kesler. First of all, I love a player who’s young with some upside, but not too young. So Kesler’s 23 years old, turns 24 this summer, uh going into his fourth NBA season, so he’s not like totally a brand new calf that, you know, is still learning how to walk with those awkward gangly legs. He’s a player who does have some NBA experience, but still among a Warrior starting lineup that is all 35 plus or mostly 35 plus, he brings in a little bit of youth and should have some durability. Uh the numbers speak for themselves in terms of Kesler last season moving into a you know day in dayout starting role for the Jazz averaging more than 11 points more than 12 boards and just about two and a half blocks per game on 66 plus percent shooting from the floor. Kesler is a player who is an elite interior defender, a great shot blocker. I think the Warriors absolutely could use that. You’ve got Draymond Green who’s yes is a good defender down low, but he’s 66. Draymond Green is 66. I think having a shot blocker with some size would be massive for the Golden State Warriors and Walker Kesler happens to be seven feet. So, uh, you love to see it. Offensively, he can be a threat in the pick and roll and he is a very efficient finisher around the rim. The issue is Walker Kesler can’t shoot from anywhere outside of the paint. Certainly has room for improvement when it’s when it comes to his ball handling and passing abilities, but like I think I’m okay with that. I’m willing to live with that. Kesler also is a player with a pretty high basketball IQ and I just think has a ton of upside when it comes to the handles and the passing and the shooting. Like those are things to me that can be developed. The skill set he has right now is something the Warriors don’t have. And you have Quentyn Post who is a good young center with some potential, but he’s not an elite interior defender or finisher right now. He’s good at shooting from beyond the arc. So I think you bring in a player who has a complimentary skill set to the guy you’d have coming in off the bench. Uh so those are the reasons why I like Walker Kesler to the Warriors. But what’s going to make this difficult is that it’s not easy to do dealings with Danny A in this Utah Jazz front office. Uh you mentioned it. I I think that you know the asking price is too high right now for me to be willing to deal with uh to deal multiple first rounders and a pods for example. Um and as you pointed out if there were other moves being made like at some point I do think the Warriors need to value those first round picks. So I think there does need to be a line drawn in the sand in terms of are you willing to give up three, are you willing to give up four? Uh, are you willing to potentially screw the team in the future? Uh, and I don’t know that I’m willing to do that, but but if there was a way to bring in Walker Kesler with a pick and a player, I think that that needs to be on the table.
Well, I mean, let’s put it this way. You’re using the first round picks to get, it’s not like you’re trading the first round picks for Dame Lillard or Bradley Beal or or some buffers, right? You’re getting Walker Kesler, who’s a young player that can lead into the next iteration of Warriors basketball. You’re getting a Herb Jones that can lead into the next iteration. You’re getting the Bub Carrington or whoever the random Wizards guy is uh in this hypothetical that leads into the next iteration. And you’re using those first round picks to also get talent that leads into the future. Question that I have is are the Warriors going to get off Pods Moody. Kaminga seems like Kaminga is the most likely, but they’ve liked Pods. They’ve liked Moody clearly and they have not been willing to get off them. Now, last off seasonason it was for Lowry Markin. Would they get off them one by one for different pieces that come in and help him out? That’s going to be the biggest question. Are Pods and Moody going to be on this team entering next season? I think Kaminga’s a crapshoot. Pods and Moody, I would say it’s likely. Is there any chance that the Warriors are going to attach them to any deals with draft picks or or whatever to give them some more need? And when you talked about Quinton Post as a valuable center, he gives them something that they can’t get anywhere else, and that is an elite shooter. Like Horford’s a good shooter, too. He’s had seasons of 40%.
Quinton Post is literally one of the best seven foot sharpshooters I’ve ever seen in my life. Like he is that type of player. And Kevin Durant said it best when someone asked him like, “Hey, how do you win in the NBA? Is it about being small? Is it about being, you know, having a big team? Is it about having this? And Durant’s like, it’s about having different looks. It’s about being able to go to the well and, you know, in a certain moment put Quinton Post on the floor and stretch it with a big and then go back to Walker Kesler to bang down low and then go back to Post and and change things up. And the Warriors didn’t have that many looks last season. It felt like um especially, you know, once Anderson and Shruder and all those guys were gone and it was just uh it was just basically consolidated for Jimmy Butler. I mean, it was it was Buddy Healed or or Pods and that was your your mixup or Moody or Buddy Heel. That was really your mixup. But and then in the playoffs, we saw um some Trace Jackson Davis thrown in there. But for the most part, the Warriors can’t really mix it up. They didn’t have a ton of uh valuable depth. they were running 1112 out there, but at the same time like they probably shouldn’t have been running 1112 out there. So, that was my issue there. Uh, we can finish this conversation. You can add anything to it, but I do want to ask you right now just right out of the shoot. Dame Lillard, he’s been attached to the Warriors. They’ve made the call for him. Is that something that would interest you based on the story alone? Oakland guy that said, “I never want to play for the Warriors.” Deciding to come back for the end of his career, or is this at this point turning into like a circus of just 35 year old allstars in one lineup that uh is going to screw the Warriors in the future?
One of our viewers, I have to give you credit who’s watching on YouTube, if you’re listening, I I posted this or I put it up on the bottom of our screen, uh called the Warriors starting trio, the Geriatric Brothers. So, uh, that did make me laugh because I don’t know that they necessarily want to make it a a quad quadruple quad quadruplets. I don’t know what the right word would be, but four people instead of a trio. Um, I don’t know. See, here’s the thing for me. Like, Dame Lillard is the least of my worries right now. I know a lot of people have been excited about it. I don’t know what the fit would look like with Steph Curry. Uh, I don’t know that you want to bring in another old player who’s had injury issues. That being said, Damon is an elite player. He’s one of the best guards in this last generation in the league. Uh but but hit the like button. Uh agree with that. But I’m worried about the Warriors in free agency right now. Like that is nowhere near the top of mind based on the way this Warriors roster is is constructed. To be clear, uh Dame Lillard would not play next year. So we’re talking about 2026 27 season. I just feel like we got to sort it out. Uh my last thought is just to address a lot of people who have been saying in the comments that Brandon Pajki isn’t going anywhere because he sit sits next to the Warriors owner. He’s buddy buddy with Joe Leob at Valky’s games that Steve Kerr seems to love him. I don’t disagree with you. Last year Brandon Pageky was a sticking point uh supposedly at least reportedly in a potential deal for Lari Markin because the Warriors love Brandon Pajk and don’t want to let him go and they see him being the future. So I don’t disagree with you. I don’t know that it necessarily would happen. I think that’s the issue though. Like why is there this favor to some towards Brandon Pajki? I like Brandon Pajki. He’s a good player. Is he a replaceable player? Is he the most important player that should be the building block for the future of this franchise? To me, no. Where he’s the one who’s going to hold up trades for potential all-stars that could help the team right now. Like that’s the thing that baffles me. Like I like Brandon Pajki. I get it. But like just the obsession with keeping Brandon Pajki. I just I I don’t know that I see it.
It’s because of his cost straight up. I mean, he’s he’s 10 million dollars less than Moses Moody per year, and I would argue that he’s better than Moses Moody. Um, now you can you can have that debate as much as you want. I I think he he’s shown the capability to be more of a uh I can put up 258 and six as compared to Moses Moody. Now, he didn’t do it a ton, but he did it in the last game of the season and did it in a few games back to back against the Lakers and Denver Nuggets. Moses Moody wasn’t doing that a whole ton. Uh Moses Moody is a very tradable Warrior right now with a $13 million contract. That’s someone that with the draft pick attached can return you a pretty nice player. Um and then the last thing someone asked, Walker Kesler, he makes like $4 and a half million. How would you get him? Again, Utah wanted pods. He’s three million. Attach any other Warrior that makes a million and uh you’re you’re talking and they want draft picks, too. So, it could just be pods and the the value of the picks and you’re talking a swap there. Warriors haven’t done anything. My hope is patience is a virtue, just like the Jimmy Butler trade that wound up being magnificent. At this point, I think we can all agree that that first round pick that went to Miami along with, you know, Dennis Shruder going out the door and Lindy Waters going out the door and Kyle Anderson, Andrew Wiggins was tough to swallow, but Warriors were going nowhere and they ended up winning a playoff series with Jimmy Butler and may have gone further if Steph doesn’t hurt his hamstrings. So that was a genius trade. Uh in Dunley we trust but at the same time
do something.
Get the stick and poke it. Do something. Lockdown warriors everyone. Kylin Mills, Chuck Walter. Follow us on social media. We will see you soon. Peace everyone.

There have been some recent developments in the Jonathan Kuminga restricted free agency saga, but no breaking news to report yet and it could drag into NBA summer league. Plus, why hasn’t Al Horford signed with the Golden State Warriors yet and what is the master plan?

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