Vent: Bill Simmons on Kuminga

[Impuniti]

Simmons might as well be BSPN. I don't hear anything resembling independent thought from anyone in media which is what one would expect from truly independent sources.

Funny, what you are feeling is what I feel about what they say about Steph.

That there is not one single person that I can point to in media that is willing to say or argue that Stephen Curry is the greatest player in the game or that the Warriors should have been favorites at the beginning of the season is enough to tell me they are all BS.

While not saying he's the best, Zack Lowe was saying the rest of it before the season started.

[WarriorGM]

Simmons might as well be BSPN. I don't hear anything resembling independent thought from anyone in media which is what one would expect from truly independent sources.

Funny, what you are feeling is what I feel about what they say about Steph.

That there is not one single person that I can point to in media that is willing to say or argue that Stephen Curry is the greatest player in the game or that the Warriors should have been favorites at the beginning of the season is enough to tell me they are all BS.

While not saying he's the best, Zack Lowe was saying the rest of it before the season started.

If you look at the data it is inescapable that you start saying those things because the data signals are so strong. That's why guys who supposedly know the data always end up sounding effusive about Steph at one point or another. But they almost invariably fall short of stating the logical conclusion. Zack Lowe epitomizes that. If I recall he has a habit of saying things about Steph with this note of surprise. It lost its "how amazing" vibe long ago and for me sounds more like the surprise one gives when a toddler says its first words. It's like the way calling Steph "the greatest shooter ever" actually devalues him under the guise of praising him.

I'll cut Ben Taylor slack since he has actually stated Steph may be best at something although his career value framework is as full of holes as swiss cheese. But Ben isn't really an in-house media guy is he? Benjamin Morris is the only one I've seen unabashedly advocate for Steph using the data on hand.

[Flash Falcon X]

Simmons always shows love for the Warriors, so when I first heard this podcast back then I didn't think too much of it and don't consider him a hater, it's just him making a wrong assumption. Simmons is also the type who'll admit when he's wrong; once Kuminga gets more minutes and flourishes I wouldn't be surprised if Simmons mentions how wrong he was about Kuminga and how smart GSW was for being forward-thinking. No biggie.

[FNQ]

People who cover all NBA teams don’t have the time to get it right

[Outside]

Simmons hasn't been getting it right in a while. His "Courtside at the NBA Finals" documentary on HBO (about the 2018 finals between the Warriors and Cavs) was horrible. If a Warriors fan thinks a doc about a Warriors sweep over the Cavs is bad, it's gotta be bad. It was vapid self-promotion that offered no insight on something I was intensely interested in.

[ShootersShoot]

Because Utah finished #1 in the west last season with no major losses of their roster, and the warriors finished 8th despite curry playing at or near mvp level? Klay hasnt come back yet and we have no idea how long it will take him to get acclimated. Sounds extremely logical to me honestly.

Utah finished first and then in the playoffs was unceremoniously ousted by a Clippers team that didn't have its best player.

That against a team powered by the same core that went to the finals 5 consecutive times setting up numerous records and terrorizing the league.

No, it does not make sense. Especially when you consider the media gives every benefit of the doubt to the Nets or the Lakers.

Also, the original vegas line did not have GS anywhere near the top for contention, i think. That's a good pulse on what people are really thinking.

I think the championship odds line had the Warriors at 4th or thereabouts and I remember a media guy commenting that was crazy.

I think people are just hedging their bets since Klay's impact will be unknown. I see us as being better on both ends than the jazz once the playoffs come around and Klay has had some time to get into the flow of things. We also have multiple young guys as xfactors who will be improving throughout the RS.

[EvanZ]

You can't take anything seriously from non-Draft media. They don't know anything.

[DonaldSanders]

Simmons hasn't been getting it right in a while. His "Courtside at the NBA Finals" documentary on HBO (about the 2018 finals between the Warriors and Cavs) was horrible. If a Warriors fan thinks a doc about a Warriors sweep over the Cavs is bad, it's gotta be bad. It was vapid self-promotion that offered no insight on something I was intensely interested in.

When has he ever been good at anything except Sports Comedy from a fan's perspective?

[Outside]

Simmons hasn't been getting it right in a while. His "Courtside at the NBA Finals" documentary on HBO (about the 2018 finals between the Warriors and Cavs) was horrible. If a Warriors fan thinks a doc about a Warriors sweep over the Cavs is bad, it's gotta be bad. It was vapid self-promotion that offered no insight on something I was intensely interested in.

When has he ever been good at anything except Sports Comedy from a fan's perspective?

Grantland was good, and he was the driving force behind that, though what I enjoyed was all the stuff others wrote, not him.

[Upperclass]

Kuminga isn't good though. He's heavy legged, has no suddenness in his game so he'll be an avg or poor rebounder, has average length, has average hands, poor agility and quickness and no real skill other than effort. However. He's a naturally strong, tough dude and right now seems moldable and willing to do the dirty work. He's not a player you pick at 7 anymore then Wiseman a player you pick at 2. However they did and they have the right cast to get use out of him until he's traded.

[GQ Hot Dog]

Kuminga isn't good though. He's heavy legged, has no suddenness in his game so he'll be an avg or poor rebounder, has average length, has average hands, poor agility and quickness and no real skill other than effort. However. He's a naturally strong, tough dude and right now seems moldable and willing to do the dirty work. He's not a player you pick at 7 anymore then Wiseman a player you pick at 2. However they did and they have the right cast to get use out of him until he's traded.

I see defense, rebounding, quickness, ballhandling, passing, tremendous bounce, length and focus. But you don't see any "suddenness"? Kuminga's sheer talent level is up there with Mobley and Barnes as the premiere run/jump athletes in this year's draft. He shoulda been top-5 and the only reason he wasn't was because of how deep this draft was. We were lucky he was available at 7. I'm not yet sure which team picking 1-6 will regret not picking him but more than one will.

Watch on YouTube

[ChuckDurn]

Kuminga isn't good though. He's heavy legged, has no suddenness in his game so he'll be an avg or poor rebounder, has average length, has average hands, poor agility and quickness and no real skill other than effort. However. He's a naturally strong, tough dude and right now seems moldable and willing to do the dirty work. He's not a player you pick at 7 anymore then Wiseman a player you pick at 2. However they did and they have the right cast to get use out of him until he's traded.

I believe you forgot the “/sarcasm” at the end of this post.

[whatisacenter]

Kuminga isn't good though. He's heavy legged, has no suddenness in his game so he'll be an avg or poor rebounder, has average length, has average hands, poor agility and quickness and no real skill other than effort. However. He's a naturally strong, tough dude and right now seems moldable and willing to do the dirty work. He's not a player you pick at 7 anymore then Wiseman a player you pick at 2. However they did and they have the right cast to get use out of him until he's traded.

[wco81]

I listen to Simmons. You don't have to agree with his opinions, doubt he expects his listeners to either.

I also listen to Lowe, who did a deep dive on the Warriors with Nick Friedell and Anthony Slater recently.

This was just before Kuminga started getting minutes. Lowe said Franz probably would be getting regular minutes for the Warriors.

Maybe, depends on how he defended and shot. He's getting plenty of minutes on Orlando because they're trying to develop all their young players.

Yeah it would be great if the #7 pick could earn 20-25 minutes over the course of the season because he defended well, hustled and hit open looks at a good clip, whether that's Kuminga or someone like Franz.

But they went for the high ceiling over the high floor.

They get paid to make these decisions so we will see. Matter of how well they develop him.

[FNQ]

You guys are really gonna make me work on this script that enhances the foe button, repeatedly quoting things that arent worth the bytes they take up

[and1GS]

I listen to Simmons. You don't have to agree with his opinions, doubt he expects his listeners to either.

Yeh I want to be clear that I love the Ringer, loved Grantland and generally think Bill gives an interesting perspective dating back to his Sports Guy days. This is one that he is dead wrong on though and it's less due to evaluative skill and more due to laziness and projection. That's what annoyed me.

[shazam_guy]

So Kuminga is going to be a flop, huh?

I wish some of these posters would put some money on these things that they'll hope people have forgotten in a year or so. I'd be there.

[Scoots1994]

You can't take anything seriously from non-Draft media. They don't know anything.

You are daft media so you are okay right?

[Scoots1994]

WarriorsGM is always insane, more insane even than Simmons.

I still hear regular talk about the Warriors needing to make a trade ... I think it's just hot take culture.

[tarantism]

Simmons had Marcus Thompson on in the last few days and he was absolutely gushing about Kuminga. Thompson also included an anecdote about how Kerr wasn't planning on having Kuminga in the rotation but he was dominating practice to the point that he forced his hand. You love to hear it.

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