Wish list for next year

[vvoland]

Jimmy certainly looked like one since he got to GS and stopped looking like it once he broke half his ass. Coincidence? I think not.

Dray can look like a 25M/yr player. In fact, he did look even more valuable than that in the Hou series, for long stretches, if not all 7 games. He did not look like that against the Wolves but I'm not yet willing to write him off.

I'm not using Jimmy's tailbone bruise as an excuse against the Wolves. He looked like he had lost a step(explosion/burst) since he got to the Warriors.

Once defenders stopped biting at his pump fakes he became less impactful.

The last 3 games before the injury, he really turned it on and became playoff jimmy. He put up shots, points, rebounds, assists and anything else you would want as we went 2-1 vs clippers, memphis, hou to end the season/start the playoffs. He then gets undercut (not an age or usage injury), breaks his ass, and never looks the same again. If you were expecting prime Butler, sure, he lost a step. I'll be happy with the guy that was putting up 30/9/6 on great efficiency and a ton of FTs against good teams.

So defenders were biting on his pump fake the first 14 years of his career and then learned to stay down in the spring of '25?

From the 'building around dray/jimmy/steph thread":

Just to remind folks what happened just one month ago:
4/13 - Clipper game : 30 pts, 9 assists, 12-20, 1stl, 1 blk
and defending Kawhi or Harden most of the game (wish we saw some JK on Kawhi that night)

4/15 - Memphis play-in: 38pts, 7 rebs, 6 asts, 3 stls on 12-20 and 12-18 FTs
40 minutes of amazing basketball in a clutch win

4/20 - Hou game 1: 25pts, 7rebs, 6 asts, 5 stls on 10-19
Led the team in rebounds, assists, steals, and +/- in a road playoff win

[Onus]

That is not true. Sure a lot of the times, Dray was on "Rudy", but a lot of that was so he could get switched onto players with more offensive firepower. To WB the defense. A lot of that time that meant him switching to defend Randle, who absolutely embarrassed him over and over again. Now Randle is looking like NY Randle in the playoffs.

Yes dray was on Randle at times. But this was after he was in a groove and in rhythm. The bigger issue was that there was no one else on the team that could guard Randle at all other than dray.

Except that Dray could also not defend him. Nobody could, that's why Randle had the best PS series of his career and all of the sudden looks like a complete fraud only days later. Stop making excuses for Draymond, he was objectively garbage defensively in the Minny series. If he played to the standards we expect from him, the series goes at least to 6 and who knows what Steph we get back.

I have been all about keeping Draymond with the Warriors despite his issues, but this PS showed that's he's not worth 25m/year. Especially since Jimmy can do his 4v3 playmaker role once Steph gets doubled at half court.

I doubt the series goes 6 even with a prime Dray.

[whatisacenter]

I'm not using Jimmy's tailbone bruise as an excuse against the Wolves. He looked like he had lost a step(explosion/burst) since he got to the Warriors.

Once defenders stopped biting at his pump fakes he became less impactful.

The last 3 games before the injury, he really turned it on and became playoff jimmy. He put up shots, points, rebounds, assists and anything else you would want as we went 2-1 vs clippers, memphis, hou to end the season/start the playoffs. He then gets undercut (not an age or usage injury), breaks his ass, and never looks the same again. If you were expecting prime Butler, sure, he lost a step. I'll be happy with the guy that was putting up 30/9/6 on great efficiency and a ton of FTs against good teams.

So defenders were biting on his pump fake the first 14 years of his career and then learned to stay down in the spring of '25?

From the 'building around dray/jimmy/steph thread":

Just to remind folks what happened just one month ago:
4/13 - Clipper game : 30 pts, 9 assists, 12-20, 1stl, 1 blk
and defending Kawhi or Harden most of the game (wish we saw some JK on Kawhi that night)

4/15 - Memphis play-in: 38pts, 7 rebs, 6 asts, 3 stls on 12-20 and 12-18 FTs
40 minutes of amazing basketball in a clutch win

4/20 - Hou game 1: 25pts, 7rebs, 6 asts, 5 stls on 10-19
Led the team in rebounds, assists, steals, and +/- in a road playoff win

And he had a 20 and 30 pt games vs. Minny after the injury before putting up 20 shots in 76 minutes in the last two games. I don't think it was due to being injured but the Warriors better hope he was sick/injured.

He will be 36yo next season and won't sniff those numbers you would be happy with.

[vvoland]

The last 3 games before the injury, he really turned it on and became playoff jimmy. He put up shots, points, rebounds, assists and anything else you would want as we went 2-1 vs clippers, memphis, hou to end the season/start the playoffs. He then gets undercut (not an age or usage injury), breaks his ass, and never looks the same again. If you were expecting prime Butler, sure, he lost a step. I'll be happy with the guy that was putting up 30/9/6 on great efficiency and a ton of FTs against good teams.

So defenders were biting on his pump fake the first 14 years of his career and then learned to stay down in the spring of '25?

From the 'building around dray/jimmy/steph thread":

Just to remind folks what happened just one month ago:
4/13 - Clipper game : 30 pts, 9 assists, 12-20, 1stl, 1 blk
and defending Kawhi or Harden most of the game (wish we saw some JK on Kawhi that night)

4/15 - Memphis play-in: 38pts, 7 rebs, 6 asts, 3 stls on 12-20 and 12-18 FTs
40 minutes of amazing basketball in a clutch win

4/20 - Hou game 1: 25pts, 7rebs, 6 asts, 5 stls on 10-19
Led the team in rebounds, assists, steals, and +/- in a road playoff win

And he had a 20 and 30 pt games vs. Minny after the injury before putting up 20 shots in 76 minutes in the last two games. I don't think it was due to being injured but the Warriors better hope he was sick/injured.

He will be 36yo next season and won't sniff those numbers you would be happy with.

It's almost like health isn't linear and the body can react to ongoing stress (and repeated impact to the injured area) in a negative manner.

They said the same thing about Steph for the last 4 years, even the 21-22 title didn't stop that talk. In January of '25, the nba was shoveling dirt on Curry's grave. Since the butler trade, Steph has dropped 50, almost broke the single game 3pt record, and made the dubs one of the title favorites before getting hurt.

[whatisacenter]

From the 'building around dray/jimmy/steph thread":

And he had a 20 and 30 pt games vs. Minny after the injury before putting up 20 shots in 76 minutes in the last two games. I don't think it was due to being injured but the Warriors better hope he was sick/injured.

He will be 36yo next season and won't sniff those numbers you would be happy with.

It's almost like health isn't linear and the body can react to ongoing stress (and repeated impact to the injured area) in a negative manner.

They said the same thing about Steph for the last 4 years, even the 21-22 title didn't stop that talk. In January of '25, the nba was shoveling dirt on Curry's grave. Since the butler trade, Steph has dropped 50, almost broke the single game 3pt record, and made the dubs one of the title favorites before getting hurt.

And I could argue that you think age is static, and that the old three have plateaued rather than are on the decline.

But it’s a moot point, all three will be back and time will tell.

[thunderdunk]

All three will be back, and if they can address some crying needs in the off season they are a threat to win a lot of games next year, and maybe make a long run in the PS. Jimmy and Steph need to be back healthy. Apparently Moody (thumb) and Podz (wrist) both had surgery on their shooting hands this past week? If so, maybe their shooting woes against Minny were an aberration? Regardless, I'd trade one or both in a heartbeat to get a real 5 and a consistent outside shooter on the roster. The Dubs need more dependable vets.

[SpreeS]

Green cant play +30min in PS against big front courts. Career the lowest REB% and TS% show a lot. He has no legs to defend/to score/to rebound.

[Onus]

Green cant play +30min in PS against big front courts. Career the lowest REB% and TS% show a lot. He has no legs to defend/to score/to rebound.

We desperately need another playable big. It all depends on what JK gets and that determines how much we have to spend in free agency. I can also see us taking another shot at a 2nd rd big that falls.

[Impuniti]

Yes dray was on Randle at times. But this was after he was in a groove and in rhythm. The bigger issue was that there was no one else on the team that could guard Randle at all other than dray.

Except that Dray could also not defend him. Nobody could, that's why Randle had the best PS series of his career and all of the sudden looks like a complete fraud only days later. Stop making excuses for Draymond, he was objectively garbage defensively in the Minny series. If he played to the standards we expect from him, the series goes at least to 6 and who knows what Steph we get back.

I have been all about keeping Draymond with the Warriors despite his issues, but this PS showed that's he's not worth 25m/year. Especially since Jimmy can do his 4v3 playmaker role once Steph gets doubled at half court.

I doubt the series goes 6 even with a prime Dray.

Well considering they lost two relatively close games, esp game 3 with Draymnd being the worst player on the court.. I have no zero idea how you've come to that conclusion. Randle was bullying the **** out of Draymond in the 2nd half and Dray's abysmal 3 minute stretch helped the Wolves go on a 9-0 run that they never let up after in the 4th.

But yeah, lets protect Draymond. It's one thing this fanbase and the FO know how to do quite well.

[Onus]

Except that Dray could also not defend him. Nobody could, that's why Randle had the best PS series of his career and all of the sudden looks like a complete fraud only days later. Stop making excuses for Draymond, he was objectively garbage defensively in the Minny series. If he played to the standards we expect from him, the series goes at least to 6 and who knows what Steph we get back.

I have been all about keeping Draymond with the Warriors despite his issues, but this PS showed that's he's not worth 25m/year. Especially since Jimmy can do his 4v3 playmaker role once Steph gets doubled at half court.

I doubt the series goes 6 even with a prime Dray.

Well considering they lost two relatively close games, esp game 3 with Draymnd being the worst player on the court.. I have no zero idea how you've come to that conclusion. Randle was bullying the **** out of Draymond in the 2nd half and Dray's abysmal 3 minute stretch helped the Wolves go on a 9-0 run that they never let up after in the 4th.

But yeah, lets protect Draymond. It's one thing this fanbase and the FO know how to do quite well.

Minnesota was up 9 with less than 1 min left to go that game wasn't close down the stretch. Prime Draymond really going to help us score? Prime Draymond really going to guard Ant and Randle at the same time? Who do you think prime Draymond is? Maybe prime Dray slows Randle down some more but then who is going to guard Ant at the rim since he was blowing by whomever was in front of him? We just didn't have a great personnel to guard them especially without putting any pressure on them on offense. And we still couldn't score until they started playing prevent defense and we hit some contested 3s at the end of the game.

Sounds more like you're deflecting for Jimmy being unable to score in the 4th. Unable to guard Randle all series or even take on that challenge. Unable to provide rim protection. Being hidden on Jaden McDaniels on defense. Not even taking double digit shots in some games. For 60M/year?

I'm not even Dray's biggest fan, his offense has been a huge hinderance to us being an elite team for years and makes team building extremely difficult. I've been saying we need to find a way to reduce our reliance on him. That we need a legit big that can rim protect.

[ChuckDurn]

Jaylin Williams would be a nice stealthy acquisition - I could see him slotting in as our starting center next year, and the team taking a huge jump as a result.

We saw what happened when Post offered some spacing next to Draymond and Butler - the offense was pretty magical. Williams is better than Post, particularly defensively.

OKC also has a roster crunch, with all of the good players they have, and the mountain of draft picks coming up. They’re going to have to consolidate or defer more picks to the future. So Williams (Jaylin, not Jalen) might be obtainable if we can offer them a future pick or, more likely, a swap or two.

That's a pretty decent idea for a cheap option at the 5 next year. He's a bit small for that role full time but we have enough people that he can split time with and, as alwasy, we'll likely close with Dray at 5.

Yeah, I’m thinking that he’d potentially be fairly gettable fairly cheaply….. slot him in to start at the 5 and probably get 20-24 minutes / game…… Post playing something like 12-20 minutes…… and Draymond probably playing something like 8-12 minutes / game at center (with probably about 20 more at PF next to Williams / Post at C).

Less wear and tear on Draymond, more time with stretch-5’s on the floor, at not a ton of money.

[Old_Blue]

Zion has just been accused of rape. Start the Zion to the Dubs rumors.

https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/pelicans-star-zion-williamson-accused-of-rape-and-abuse-by-ex-girlfriend-in-lawsuit-171406023.html

[vvoland]

Jaylin Williams would be a nice stealthy acquisition - I could see him slotting in as our starting center next year, and the team taking a huge jump as a result.

We saw what happened when Post offered some spacing next to Draymond and Butler - the offense was pretty magical. Williams is better than Post, particularly defensively.

OKC also has a roster crunch, with all of the good players they have, and the mountain of draft picks coming up. They’re going to have to consolidate or defer more picks to the future. So Williams (Jaylin, not Jalen) might be obtainable if we can offer them a future pick or, more likely, a swap or two.

That's a pretty decent idea for a cheap option at the 5 next year. He's a bit small for that role full time but we have enough people that he can split time with and, as alwasy, we'll likely close with Dray at 5.

Yeah, I’m thinking that he’d potentially be fairly gettable fairly cheaply….. slot him in to start at the 5 and probably get 20-24 minutes / game…… Post playing something like 12-20 minutes…… and Draymond probably playing something like 8-12 minutes / game at center (with probably about 20 more at PF next to Williams / Post at C).

Less wear and tear on Draymond, more time with stretch-5’s on the floor, at not a ton of money.

I don't think anyone on okc will be cheap.

The more I think about it, the more I'm thinking gsw should only sign a C on the min, unless something great opens up. Jalen Williams might be the only move we have and I think I'd rather gamble on post and vet min C eating 40 minutes a night at the 5 and dray closes there, if we need it.

We need a stretch 5 and someone actually better than post will cost us real assets and money.

[jozef]

Curry, Butler, Green need athleticism and size around them. All Semi-Finals teams have flexibility to put two BIGS on the floor or hungry athletic guard/wings to create a spark.
Only TJD was true Big and athletic Moody and Kuminga were more out than in the rotation.

[Onus]

Double

[Onus]

Curry, Butler, Green need athleticism and size around them. All Semi-Finals teams have flexibility to put two BIGS on the floor or hungry athletic guard/wings to create a spark.
Only TJD was true Big and athletic Moody and Kuminga were more out than in the rotation.

I wonder what it would cost to get herb jones? A 1st maybe a lot of 2nds? I’d assume Trey Murphy would go for multiple 1sts. Though he’s probably similar to cam Johnson and maybe costs more.

[Jester_]

isn't it sad that we likely could've gotten caruso for kuminga?

[jozef]

Curry, Butler, Green need athleticism and size around them. All Semi-Finals teams have flexibility to put two BIGS on the floor or hungry athletic guard/wings to create a spark.
Only TJD was true Big and athletic Moody and Kuminga were more out than in the rotation.

I wonder what it would cost to get herb jones? A 1st maybe a lot of 2nds? I’d assume Trey Murphy would go for multiple 1sts. Though he’s probably similar to cam Johnson and maybe costs more.

Both Murphy and Jones did not finished the season cause off shoulder surgery. Both are very similar 6-8 SFs, Herb seems to be a bit smarter but Trey is a better shooter. With Butler on the board I would rather aim for 6-6 SG.

[DAWill1128]

https://www.nbcsports.com/nba/news/warriors-reportedly-dont-want-to-trade-kuminga-for-siakam-or-anyone-torontos-options-limited

[Onus]

Curry, Butler, Green need athleticism and size around them. All Semi-Finals teams have flexibility to put two BIGS on the floor or hungry athletic guard/wings to create a spark.
Only TJD was true Big and athletic Moody and Kuminga were more out than in the rotation.

I wonder what it would cost to get herb jones? A 1st maybe a lot of 2nds? I’d assume Trey Murphy would go for multiple 1sts. Though he’s probably similar to cam Johnson and maybe costs more.

Both Murphy and Jones did not finished the season cause off shoulder surgery. Both are very similar 6-8 SFs, Herb seems to be a bit smarter but Trey is a better shooter. With Butler on the board I would rather aim for 6-6 SG.

You said you wanted athleticism and size around curry/jb/dray but you’re looking for someone that’s 6’6”?

Herb might be able to help lighten drays role in that he can guard 1-4 as an elite poa defender and is also a good help defender. He might not be able to play with both jb and dray because of the shooting but he would make our defense a whole lot better. And maybe if we can just get enough steals and deflections it can work like okc.