“The Last Dance” documentary series is making an impression around the NBA, particularly with the Warriors, who can identify with the challenges of trying to string together championships, writes Nick Friedell of ESPN. One of those challenges is attempting to maintain camaraderie, which became an issue on the way to the 2017/18 title, admits general manager Bob Myers.
“The second time with Kevin (Durant) it felt like, ‘Well, we just did what we were supposed to do, and great job,'” Myers said. “It wasn’t joy. I’m sure a lot of people felt differently. It wasn’t anybody’s fault. I think there’s just a weight to everything. And so I’m sure (the Bulls) felt that weight of everything, weight of relationships.”
Golden State posted 67-15 and 58-24 records and won back-to-back championships during its first two seasons with Durant. But before the quest for a three-peat was derailed by injuries in last year’s Finals, there were frequent reports that Durant was looking to leave the organization and an infamous on-court incident with Draymond Green.
“To be honest, (the documentary) is just confirmation of what I was saying to our team all of last year and 2018,” coach Steve Kerr said. “The whole messaging for the year was based on my experience with Chicago and feeling that level of fatigue (and) emotional toll that had been over the previous four years. … And so watching this now is just a reminder of how difficult it is to sustain that kind of run.”
There’s more Warriors news to pass along:
- Connor Letourneau of The San Francisco Chronicle talked to a few Warriors players who are too young to remember the Michael Jordan era. Several took note of Jordan’s intense leadership style in the documentary, saying it was reminiscent of Green. “When (Jordan) just said he never asked anybody to do anything that he wouldn’t do, that really stuck with me,” Marquese Chriss said. “You want your leader to lead by example, but also be vocal at the same time. It honestly reminded me a bit of Draymond.”
- Even though the Warriors dropped to the bottom of the West this season, the team’s culture continues to be a strong selling point with players, observes Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson III both expressed disappointment over being traded in February, and Quinn Cook said it was important to him to sign with the Warriors in 2017. “When Golden State called, I told my agent, ‘I didn’t care if I never play,” said Cook, now with the Lakers. “I don’t have to play. I just want to be a part of the organization. I want to learn every single day from those guys.’”
- Grant Liffman of NBC Sports Bay Area identifies 11 free agents that the Warriors should target, even though they will be over the cap and can only offer minimum contracts and the taxpayer mid-level exception.
Brian Windhorst of ESPN, the other day on the radio, said same thing Myers said. Warriors in 15 and 16 played with way more joy than when Durant was there. And he added that Durant just doesn’t play with joy in general. He seems like he’s never having
fun. Pretty telling when players are upset to get traded from last place team to a playoff team.
That’s a national writer from Cleveland, not a Bay Area writer btw
Well the Cavs went through the same thing, to greater disruption. Most teams that win titles do, regardless of the sport; baseball probably has it worse, with rare repeats; GSW may have had it the best due to their “splashy” nature.
What ‘splashy’ nature do the Warriors have?
the “Splash Bros” – do you pay attention?
It’s a marketing term. I don’t think that is a player type. It doesn’t have anything to do with their mental makeup?
Their style reflects their mental makeup, esp Curry. Every time he shoots from distance it’s like the first time, like it’s fresh. The shot splashes. Well, it did anyway; he’s in his 30s now. Fresh and crisp, not warhorsey… Bogut took care of that.
The cavs joy on winning the championship was completely different than the warriors. It was all about Lebron. It was LeBrons team. The other players were only sidekick for LeBron. Warriors was all about how each player played a role in their championship. How many people will remember it was Irving whose big shot won the game for the Cavs not leBron.
Arc89 you have no idea, at least regarding the article and thoughts raised by Kerr, which is the topic. Yours is of a universal unconcerned outsider and your topic is joy? Indeed I have made similar more measured remarks, most recently about Kawhi and the Raps, (which turned out mostly wrong). But I won’t deny that MANY people in 2019 Toronto or 2016 Cleveland felt a champion regardless of contribution. I & others hollered WE WON without ever leaving the couch area. Then, even though WE won our 3rd and 4th straight EC title, at this new level, it was aggravating there wasn’t more than that. (Some people do not like the “we” construction and I usually edit it away in case.)
Every team that wins has multiple people they could not do it without. Lebron and an army of claymations would not have won. Everyone was cocky; check Tristan’s interview this week.
A lot of people remember it was Irving. That’s why Cavs fans don’t (fully) join in the widespread condemnation of Irving even though he stiffed us in record manner. (We never regarded him as a leader or even reliably healthy so he’s not all to blame.)
Arguably Cavs players sacrificed more than Warriors players and felt the most joy in being champs. That’s basically how GSW loses when they do lose– they show off or nothing.
The next season Smith held out. GSW got new talent but the Cavs no. 2017/18 saw unprecedented turmoil & turnover instead of taking advantage of the last year of that window. The owner held on to the future first instead of using it! Sexton will never recover from the pressure. Meanwhile in Cali, GSW fans are sipping their wine, arranging their ducks in rows, and shaking their head about Durant’s interviews.
They are splashy because they shoot a lot and it’s usually net (oldschool) or wet if you’re a younger baller… thus the Splash Brothers. All wet. And they do it a lot so they are splashy. That works for me !!
The Dubs are all about the team. People call Green a misfit and arrogant. But, his biggest pride is in assists. He loves moving the ball to teammates.
I agree howie about green but for crying out loud, people’selbow was just making a play on words with the splashy adjective. Ctf (c is for calm) down man. I believe an apology is warranted
Why is an apology warranted? Draymond Green kept the ball moving to setup Curry and Klay’s shots. What apology is needed? Ball movement has won the Warriors a couple Championships. What apology is needed?
Something like “I’m sorry I don’t get plays on words” or “sorry for overreacting”. Better yet, nevermind
At this point, when you see an article about GSW you just have to know that anything that is negative or an incorrectly-framed argument about them is coming from the 3-6 mafia. Bron bought as much media outlets as he could, and almost overnight he went from being the most clowned-on guy on barstool, to being the only true “goat”, which isn’t true on any level. Bron probably is top 10 all-time, but he is running a propaganda campaign to somehow convince the masses a guy who is 3-6 in finals is somehow the best player ever.
Puke.
Wonder if Durant will come back?
To the Warriors? Never. To Brooklyn this year? Well he has that one or two or three-year contract, but I think he’s shut down for this season. He’ll probably come back next season which may start around Christmas?
Is this Gary Radnich? It’s me. Jessau from Modesto.
Nope, it’s Gary from So Cal, winter in FL, and lived in Sunnyvale in the 80’s. Go Warriors!!
If Draymond and maybe Klay (more points for KD) goes, KD would come back in a second.
klay??
Chriss was overly effected by typical editing. The highly extroverted & emotional Green does not resemble Jordan, even a young Jordan, though Jordan might wish teammates were more like him. There was an era later on where Jordan had to play the team toughguy, like Green does, amazingly enough when Jordan also had to play PG.
Green is competitive like Jordan and tries to motivate like Jordan. There was no attempt to compare him to Jordan in other ways
Can you seriously not understand that it’s not about skill? Draymond’s will to win and being unrelenting to the point of annoying when it comes to each play to his opponent is absolutely on par with MJ’s. They get the same grade here, why on earth would you make this claim? OH right, you just hate Draymond because he did all those things to your team. Point: me.
Point: Hilarity. Very different personalities. You must not remember Jordan except from these hyped-up bios that want to sell you things.
Everyone wants to win. There’s not much difference between players. Some go farther. Draymond getting himself thrown out of games is not an example; he cannot control himself; while Jordan was all about control. Dray is annoying because he is annoying. If there was no game to play Dray would still find a way to annoy… reminds me of a certain poster who likes to remind everyone when he’s wrong. But strategic Jordan could be as quiet as necessary if he wanted to, and was, and still is as owner.
While Dray cannot shut up, and excuses himself by claiming he cares more instead of taking responsibility.
And I have supported Dray as an effective counterpoint for GSW, not as a pacesetter, and why hate a guy who gets himself thrown out. The leader for attitude was Bogut; all the players give him credit for that. Dray has to be dealt with by players on both teams.
StrikeFour as usual trying to find a good reason why he says what he says.
Chriss and strike watch a Jordan special, and think: Just like Draymond Green.
Iguodala, to me, brought out the best, and most joy, of those teams. Until they find the next Iguodala, I don’t see the warriors getting to the top again. Sure, other factors can play into that ascent, but guys like iguodala are not common.
Who do you posters see as a similar player/component in the league that adds what he added. Joy. Leadership. Playing hurt which he did a lot. Clutch greatness. Anybody?
I like Lowry. He killed gsw. Is that a good example? Chime in
Btw, I’m not as familiar with the players as all of you. I saw a lot of Lowry from watching gsw. And keep in mind, I was excited when iguodala came to gsw because of how he played against them as a nugget.
So who do you guys say is the next iggy and support ur choice with good reasons. Or don’t, I just thought a change in thinking would be fun
This is going to be the big question this offseason. Who is the crunch-time wing player the Warriors will rely on? Could it be Andrew Wiggins, and it might be, because he’s a athletic enough. If he wants to be a good Defender I think he can get it done plus his athleticism going to the hole and hitting an occasional jumper are assets. I don’t know who else could be out there that the Warriors could snag for help on the wing.
And I liked iggy when he played against gsw. So obviously my best examples are warrior opponents and obviously I’m not that knowledgeable about rest of league. So who could be like that
Please stop posting. Why don’t you consider Sean Livingston as a great player. His play as combo guard is underrated.
Dude, if reading comprehension is that difficult, then just ignore my posts. I’m obviously looking for opinions on the next iguodala. Livingston was great, but he was no iggy. Iggy was the best player on nuggets before he was with warriors. He won finals mvp. I loved livingston, but he wasn’t close to being the spark plug iggy was.
I kinda feel like I’m wasting my time with you howie. I’m looking for input from posters cuz I admittedly don’t know the rest of the league. But then, I already wrote that. How about I stop posting when you do you nimrod?
Btw, it’s shaun, not Sean livingston.
Wiggins is better than Barnes. The current front court is deeper than what they had when Iggy first came over. They can land a nice depth piece at Small Forward in this years draft. The current back court needs a solid veteran. That’s why I bring up Shaun Livingston. Poole needs another year of growth if he is going to have a career in NBA.
Shaun Livingston was pretty good. When he first came over to the Warriors he filled that major hole of backup point guard, 6th man guy. He could score, he was extremely unselfish and could cover multiple positions. Definitely an unsung hero and didn’t receive lots of credit.
I generally did not like Kyle Lowry. I used to always bash him for his performance when big games are on the line but he was a lot better last year. He was always good for a turnover or a crap shot in previous years but his grit and defense and laying it all on the line last year was fantastic.
He’s almost like Marcus Smart, you have to have him on the floor because good things happen when he’s out there. It’s funny I really couldn’t stand Lowry until last year he showed me a lot.
I’m with you I believe that Andre Iguodala was a major reason golden state was successful and won those championships. He was huge, a tremendous defender on the wing that can guard one through three which is a lot of times the other team’s high volume scorers. And another less important thing is he was almost like Denis Johnson and that when it really counted his shooting percentage went way up. He couldn’t shoot a lick in the regular season but he nailed some big threes in the playoffs.
Ah yes, the joyless Steph Curry. The guy everyone hates because he does something cool after he beats them. No joy though. Always divert to Iggy. Textbook Steph-hate. Puke.
Klay Thompson? Stoic. No personality. Definitely does not have millions of blogs and memes about him.
It just KILLS you guys to bring up Curry and Thompson. KILLS you. Can never do it.
Strike four. Curry is one of my favorite athletes of all time…any sport.
Why are a couple of you so clueless about what I’m talking about? I’m talking about that SPARKPLUG. That guys that can do everything to shake things up when maybe a team is a little flat.
Currys not a spark plug. He’s the motor. He carries that team most of the team. They already have him. Did you read that? They already have him. Curry can’t be on turbo every minute. So gsw need that guy that iggy was to kick start them.
They have curry but need the next iggy. My simple point of discussion is WHO IS THE NEXT IGUODALA? Got it. That’s all. And I need help because I don’t know enough about the rest of the league. I am admitting ignorance but F***!!!! Quit responding to something I AM NOT saying.
Thats why I keep trying to fit Aaron Gordon into GSW, as another Iguodala. It is possible Gordon does not have the heart, but he has a superman-wannabe attitude and it’s not wrong in that body, but he is fading with team mediocrity and his 3pt % fell to 30%. It could be good or bad that he is from Mitty HS and is somewhat scionic. Both went to Arizona.
Allstar Iguodala was expensive for GSW to acquire, but he was relegated to backup. I think Gordon is going that way, but for a quality side, can come into a game with attitude.
He was unsung. Deadeye from midrange. I’m not asking about a wing or point or any position in particular. And a backup works. It’s just that guy who all the guys love to play with, who is unselfish, who creates and defends and just brings that enthusiasm LIKE iggy did.
They’re hard to find. Gary you know more players than me obviously. Your take on Lowry is kinda what I’m looking for. Someone to discuss. I do like Gordon but he’s not “that guy” imo. Bay Area kid, and I’d like to add him but again, broken record here, but any others?
Hell, I’d take the next Rodman. Green could fill that role. I liked the Dennis Johnson comment.
I was talking about livingston in the first couple sentences
I think this “they have to find the next Iggy” thing is the exact reason GSW might draft Avdija. He’s the closest to Iggy out there and they can keep him for cheap for a while.
Avdija? From? Help me out
Nevermind. I’ve read about him before. Read this:
… I don’t want to say prodigy in the way that Doncic was, because Doncic was Mozart. If Doncic was Mozart, this kid’s Elton John.” – ESPN analysis Fran Fraschilla, to Cleveland.com
PS He’s 50% on free throws.
From israel
Iggy wasn’t relegated to a secondary role. His skills didn’t diminish. He was the leader of the second unit.
Howie look up relegated. Claude I think your word is intimidation and Iguodala could get grumpy, what might happen if Harrison Barnes took your spot.
Wouldn’t barnes cost too much? And if I remember he wasn’t very defensive minded? Not too intimidating. But thanks for chiming in.
I like the idea of a hungry guy though. Someone from a perennial loser maybe.