Kevin Durant took a lot of heat for joining the Warriors in 2016 just weeks after they defeated his Thunder team in the conference finals, but Draymond Green believes Durant was interested in making the move long before that series. Appearing this week on the “Checc’n In” podcast, Green said Durant was attracted to Golden State because of its style of play (hat tip to Eduardo Razo of NBC Sports Bay Area).
“Everybody’s running pick and roll and taking advantage of mismatches because that was the cycle that the NBA was in,” Green said. “We then changed the game of basketball and how basketball was played. KD saw that. KD wanted to play that brand of basketball. KD wanted to play with us … In my heart, believe before it ever came to them being up 3-1. KD wanted to come to the Warriors.”
There’s more on the defending champs:
- Andrew Wiggins‘ future with Golden State appears set, but Jordan Poole‘s is more uncertain, an anonymous Western Conference executive told Sean Deveney of Heavy. Both players are nearing the end of their current contracts, and the Warriors will face tough financial decisions on who they can keep. “Wiggins is like the opposite version of Harrison Barnes, where Barnes won rings early, then wanted to get a bigger role and be the star,” the executive said. “He got to do that for some bad teams and now it is, ‘Jeez, I wish I was winning again.’ Wiggins is going the opposite way. He’s pretty well set on staying with the Warriors, if they can pay him.” The executive believes Poole, who’s only 23, may have a desire to leave for a larger role with another team.
- First-round pick Patrick Baldwin Jr. is expected to be ready when training camp opens, but the Warriors haven’t decided if he’ll play in the first two preseason games in Japan, according to C.J. Holmes of The San Francisco Chronicle. Baldwin sat out Summer League and rested through much of this offseason because of an ankle injury that dates back to high school.
- A loaded roster will likely keep Ryan Rollins in the G League for most of his rookie season, per Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. Still, the Warriors liked the Toledo product enough to trade up to grab him with the 44th pick and give him part of their mid-level exception in a three-year, $4.8MM contract.
Imo the smart move is to keep Wiggins. It’s all about money. But when you are in the Finals, a few. Makes it easier to pay out.
Poole is a system guy to me. Can’t blame him for wanting to get paid. I would want that too. Only young once.
Warriors can sell high on him and get a pick. Moody can fill his role.
I see the biggest assets they have. Is Wiseman and Kuminga progression as players. I see two future stars in them.
Smart move is keeping them all. Let;s see if Myers can get a Poole extension done by the deadline.
Correct, GSW will be trying to keep everyone – its so bizarre how preoccupied Lebrons paid off media, aka “an anonymous Western Conference executives” is acting right now.
Anytime you see those words “an anonymous source” it literally just means “I made it up out of thin air, because we have to have as many articles trying to break up this juggernaut of a Warriors team by any means necessary. Because Lebron paid us to.”
Its so corny at this point, the ONLY guy who might leave is Wiggins, no shot anyone else gets traded, so stop talking about it!
Umm…LeBron plays for the Lakers. He doesn’t figure into Warriors personell matters one bit. And, the media is even more irrelevant when it comes to what the Warriors do.
Wiggins is the most likely to stay. He loves it here. Kerr loves him. It is match made in heaven.
It’s not your money. And there’s not enough mins. Plenty of Payton’s come out every yr. There is always a nice find like him. Throwing away contracts is not the smart move. Not when rotations are 8-10 deep.
There is no reason for the Warriors to extend by the deadline. They can match any offer he receives. Let the market name the price.
Sure there is. GSW wants to keep him, so if they can sign him now it removes the uncertainty. I think that waiting for him to be a RFA would be a mistake.
Teams are likely to (over)pay for someone with his skills, especially if his defense takes a leap this season and he gets his 3 pt FG% to 40+.
“…if his defense takes a leap…”? His defense needs to take the leap first before you offer him a long-term contract. If it doesn’t, you just tied up a lot of money.
Poole’s defense is already above average, his DRPM of -0.54 puts him 163rd out of 555 players last season.
His RPM of 2.16 is 87th, and his RPM WINS of 10.82 is 62nd.
He was ranked 82nd in EPM last season.
The point is, he’s worth signing to an extension as he is, rather than waiting for some team to offer $100 mil as a RFA which would be almost impossible to match.
Here. Here.
Trade Draymond keep Poole
Young and young
Trade Silliman.
I think Poole will have another really really good season and then when it comes to resigning him GSW won’t max him and he will leave in FA.
Not that he’s a bad player I just personally don’t believe he is worth the max but I’m sure some team that’s rebuilding with cap space will love to grab him.
Indy, Orlando, San Antonio, Utah, Oklahoma, Charlotte and LA Lakers could all be options.
Of these team I’d expect Orlando, San Antonio and Charlotte to try the hardest.
Orlando could look at Poole to add to the young core of Paolo Franz Cole Jalen etc. No stand out SG on that roster.
San Antonio a rebuilding team with loads of cap space. Depending on how they take and how the young guys go, Poole could be an option. Imagine Scoot Henderson Poole and Keldon Johnson, that’s a nice trio.
Lastly Charlotte, obviously have the Bridges issue and could be looking to add talent around him to replace Miles. LaMelo and Poole would be really entertaining to watch
Magic are loaded with young guards, and only have $3.4 mil space left on the cap. Pretty sure Jalen Suggs is their SG in their rebuild, despite his rookie shooting struggles.
They also have Ross and Harris. Hard to see them making an offer GSW wouldn’t match if Poole becomes a RFA. Spurs have 7 SGs signed, Poole would be a PG if they signed him.
Hornets are more likely as Rozier has value as a trade piece.
Jalen Suggs = Bust
Way too soon.
I think his strength is D. He’s a big guard. He should concentrate on that. I also think running an offense can also be a strength. He needs the right team. And the team to believe in him for that. A big 16 and 10 ast PG. With great D. Imo is something he can shoot for.
Jalen is struggling cause they are playing him out of position. He’s a point guard with size that should be aiming to put up 16-10. He is a pass first guy and with his size plays good defence.
As for their other SG options Ross is on an expiring 1 year deal and has been rumoured out for multiple seasons. Gary Harris is on a 2 year deal with the second year non guaranteed. So considering they are rebuilding and both those guys are older, I think next season both will be gone and that in itself frees up roughly 24mil.
Speaking of non guaranteed Jonathan Isaacs, Mo Bamba and Chuma Okeke all have non guaranteed years for next season so if all three were to get cut that would open up just over another 30mil.
So they could easily throw a max offer at Poole next offseason if they wanted actually.
Ok so lets break this down, why, exactly, do you think a young NBA champion player who has 2 NBA Finals buzzer beaters to his name and is a MASSIVE fan fave and walking meme, isn’t going to get maxed out by Lacob, who has said that’s what he is going to do?? Jordan Poole is 100% worth the max, no matter what your heavily-biased opinion thinks, so stop writing that because its never happening.
Stop projecting and just say it out loud with your chest out: You hate the Warrirors, you think their current roster is “unfair” because they assembled it the right way… which makes your analysis 100% bunk. You KNOW the Warriors are going to make 10 Finals in a row with this 8 player core, and obviously you hate that and want to break it up, so just be honest with your intentions next time, stop the cap and admit defeat.
Cool Aid wants his pitcher back. NOW.
This ain’t soccer clown. Only hate comes from wannabees. This is simple arithmetic. Game winners that’s so cute ……..
Go Google system guy. So you can prepare for his reality.
Wow bro find some chill it’s not that deep.
I haven’t seen any quote from the owner saying he will max Poole.
As for he’s 100% worth the max I don’t think he is. He hasn’t even proven himself as a starter so how’s he worth the max? The max usually only goes to rookies who made the all star team and Poole so far hasn’t done that or been relatively close.
Yes I’m projecting hence why I said “I think”. That’s kinda what this whole comment section is about. People having their own ideas and opinions and sharing them. I don’t hate the Warriors at all and I don’t think their roster is unfair and lastly I don’t think they will make the next 10 finals in a row. I think the warriors have done terrifically well to build the team they have and most of it has been through the draft. Their coach has built an awesome game plan around his players and they have achieved heaps. No reason to hate on any of that at all. I thought the team was stupid when KD joined but not unfair. As for the next 10 finals just jog on
Rookie extension is a negotiation. Poole won’t be offered a max extension, and he wouldn’t expect one.
The question is whether he would be willing to accept a team friendly deal which eliminates injury concerns that could hurt his value, or wait and see what his market is after the season.
Say he doesn’t get extended early come FA GSW probably offer 20m a season and 4 years somewhere in that ball park.
But other teams will offer him the rookie max which is somewhere around 30+mil and 5 years.
It’s a similar situation to Deandre Ayton who didn’t get extended early made it to FA the Pacers offered him the rookie max and in the end Phoenix matched it and he stayed. Poole could extend early and remove this whole conversation but I think he could get the rookie max and I doubt GSW offer it to him so what I see is him heading to FA like Ayton and getting a max offer. But this time I don’t see the team with his rights matching.
Lacob hasn’t said he wants to max out Poole. You are smoking something awful if you believe that.
The list of fan favorites, and players that have had careers that Poole can only dream of, and have left the Bay Area, or changed teams, is really long. Be real.
Dre, Klay, Wiseman, Kuminga, Wiggins all are more valuable to THIS team than Poole. Throw Moody into this too. Yet all 5-6 will need a new contract in 1-2 yrs. You can’t pay everyone. And we are not even talking about building for the future here.
Jordan Poole will leave in free agency. He’s worth way more $$ to another team than he is to the Warriors and they won’t match a 25 million per year offer. Ryan Rollins steps into his role as dynamic gunslinging Young player.
Wiggins’ future with the team is set? How so? He could have been extended (at his instance or that of the team) and wasn’t, and he’ll be a UFA at the end of this season (Poole will be a RFA).
GSW’s payroll going forward is a factor, but I assume not the biggest factor, in deciding to extend or not extend Poole before the season. The contract doesn’t take effect until the following year. If it reflects Poole’s market value, he can always be dealt for value before the contract takes effect. If he’s even a potential core piece, and wants an extension offer, they’ll likely offer one.
They have already started talking to Wiggins about a new contract.
I’m sure they’ll offer both players extensions at team friendly numbers. Wiggins is already well off, so could easily take less to stay with the team.
Poole is more likely to bet on himself and test the market.
Why does the Association penalize teams that build through the draft and keep their own ? The blueprint for success is right there for other teams to follow, but Silver seems as determined not to have dynasties as Stern was determined to.
They try to establish a happy medium between teams keeping their drafted players and players freedom to move somewhere else. I think where they have it now works out.
So, the Warriors spent 3 years developing Jordan Poole. He finally gets to the point where he can help the team, fill in for Steph and Klay when they get hurt and allow them to rest during games and now they would let him walk out the door? Seems like a lot of trouble to not get the full benefits of your work. The Warriors have said they see him as their future as Steph is getting older and won’t play forever. Plus the fan base loves him and sees him as the obvious heir apparent to Steph’s throne. With a few more years of mentoring from Steph and Klay, Golden State is his!
It is a year to year decision. Year one you have a player that needs development so you go ahead and do that. Also for year two.
Then you assess where you’re at and year three he spends with the big team on the NBA roster and has a fantastic season. Then you reassess again.
Do we pay him $25 million? Or do we wait? Yes time has been invested but you just take a look at this thing year by year. There’s nothing else to do but develop a guy in Year One and that cost is part of the process.
I hear what you’re saying but he’s not good enough to be a starting point guard on a championship team. He’s a sixth man on a championship team.
He’s exciting and dynamic and his long-range shooting attracts the Pedestrian fan. But he’s not blessed with super Court Vision or with the ability to make players around him better.
His flashiness is attention getting but he’s better suited for a young team trying to move up than with an established Warriors team the year after this one. Someone will offer him big dollars to be their lead guard and the Warriors will not match it in the hopes that Moody and Rollins and Steph and Klay gobble up all the backcourt minutes.