killmongrel wrote:BigRedDog wrote:I think you absolutely have to try Klay at SF.... his steep decline this year was one of the most overlooked aspects of the Warriors fall from Grace... He's simply been asked to do too much these last few years on defense and as he's aged he's become a big liability on that end.
I think you absolutely try the Curry/Russell/Klay pairing.... and either draymond or Looney are great at center but you need a shooter at PF to pair with them...
Obviously robert Covington could fill a huge void if he's healthy this year. But it would probably take Russell to get him... i would probably do that... then attempt to swing for a Shooting Guard with that giant trade exception... there will be plenty of teams looking to make salary dumps...
I just dont think playing Klay at SG coming off a major knee injury will work at all... heck it was already starting to go south two years ago when he was healthy... lot of mileage on his body and task him to do a LOT out there....
Otto Porter is another interesting target that might be avvailable for Russell if the bulls are willing to give him up
Klay's steep decline? What the hell? Why didn't the Warriors FO and other teams see this. It would have been cheaper to keep him.
In some ways i agree with you they could have used his free agency as a way to reboot... but with curry's age i dont think the Warriors could afford to just let Klay walk because they wouldnt have been able to replace him due to the cap and he's still a pretty good offensive fit for what they are trying to do...Shooting is still at a premium around the league and klay was pretty in line for a "legacy payment" for all the $ he passed up in free agency last go around and the money this team has minted the last 5 years... but yeah he's nowhere near a max player anymore in terms of production...that's clear...
Defensively the warriors had a lot of issues last year and losing Iggy won't help that at all.. Durant kinda morphed from a good defender to a guy who just lazily chased blocked shot stats the last few years so i dont think his absence will matter anywhere near as much as people seem to think...
Overall, i see people calling for a steep decline, even a few people saying the warriors will miss the playoffs. I dont see that. I think draymond will come back hungry instead of fat and out of shape like last year... i think russell fits pretty well overall... and i think the warriors can find some role players to put around their core to give them a shot in the postseason again.
All that said, they will probably struggle a bit out of the gate while they merger new pieces together. That's just life in the NBA.
A lot of the advantage the warriors had ~5 years ago wasnt just TALENT it was also the fact that they were just playing mathematically more sound basketball than most teams. But teams have adapted and started playing smarter analytical basketball. In the meantime the talent disparity isn't nearly as wide anymore.
I still think the Warriors are a 48+ win team. I'd put money on that. Not a ton. But Curry is Curry and Looney is probably the most underrated player in the league right now. And losing klay is just not that big of a deal given his play last year in the regular season at least. In the playoffs he obviously did play a lot better but he's still on the downside of his career, clearly. I hope he recovers from this knee injury.. he cant dribble anyway but i worry about his knee because body balance is so critical for him... ive seen some guys actually come back better from ACL injuries in football because they give their body time to rest and they correct imbalances and stuff... but basketball the knees are just so critical to what you're trying to do out there... and he was already not the same player last year. And he probably suffers most offensively from Durants absence.