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00:00And our guy Slates, right here on the River Islands guest line, our Warrior Insider, great
00:05work on the athletic.
00:06Anthony Slater, kind enough to squeeze in a few minutes for us because there's just
00:10a lot going on.
00:11Slates, how are you doing tonight, man?
00:12How are y'all?
00:13We're doing great, man.
00:14And I really love what you wrote and dropped just a few hours ago.
00:22Can you share, for our listeners, the scene on Friday night with Joe Lacob and Kevin Durant's
00:30agent?
00:31Yeah, Rich Klineman, who, I mean, you guys probably remember him from the Durant days.
00:35He's been with KD since Oklahoma City, actually.
00:38He was very much at the forefront of moving Durant from Oklahoma City to the Warriors.
00:43And he was seated next to Joe Lacob.
00:46You guys see it, Joe Lacob always has guests, right?
00:48Sometimes it's Niners players or various minority owners, stuff like that.
00:53It was Rich Klineman all Friday night, and it was very obvious to see to anyone looking
00:59that conversing throughout the game, bridge club, halftime, postgame.
01:04And I mean, I put it in the story, I don't have any type of details necessarily on the
01:08conversation that's taking place, but I did find it interesting that Bob Myers is 10 feet
01:11away doing the game on ESPN and did go into the bridge club postgame.
01:15Yeah, and he and Rich, I'm sure, were just catching up on old times.
01:19Remember that time where you had your player come to our team?
01:23If we think about the dream scenario, Anthony, and they're having a conversation about what
01:28would it take, would Kevin want to come back, would he want to come back, and what would
01:32it take?
01:33There's a Jimmy Butler-Domino and a Bradley Beal-Domino right now that is creating this
01:39scenario, right?
01:40I think we all know some of the dynamics at play, most of the dynamics at play.
01:43But I mean, if you're the Warriors and you're willing to play this kind of waiting game
01:46right now, Miami's got to make a decision by Thursday afternoon.
01:51Phoenix has obviously been Butler's preferred destination for extension purposes.
01:55It's pretty well known Kevin Durant would like Jimmy Butler to be there, but the only
01:59way for Phoenix to get that done without, or while keeping Durant and Booker is to get
02:05Bradley Beal somewhere.
02:06Bradley Beal has an oak trade clause, again, this is knowledge everybody knows, but I just
02:11kind of want to go through it quick.
02:14He's probably the least desirable contract in the league at this point, so if Phoenix
02:17cannot get anything done there, where's Jimmy going?
02:21Is he staying in Miami?
02:22That seems unlikely at this point, I mean, certainly Miami could take this to the summer
02:26and prefer otherwise, but if it is to the Heat, I mean, if it is to the Warriors, there's
02:33other teams that you hear are kind of on the fringes of Milwaukee, Memphis, something like
02:37that, then the Warriors kind of gain a level of leverage if Bradley Beal is unmovable by
02:42Thursday.
02:43Anthony Slater with us here on Withered & Dibs, 95-7 the game.
02:47I think that's the other thing to really kind of point out, a lot of people went to bed
02:50this weekend after the Brian Wynhorse tweet, thinking that the Warriors and Jimmy Butler
02:55are no longer a match, but you say there is still a window, so what would you say is kind
03:01of the current situation and the likelihood of a pairing there?
03:05Yeah, I mean, Jimmy's clearly still trying to get to Phoenix, and Phoenix is still clearly
03:10trying to get that done.
03:12I would say the Warriors are kind of like, you know, the third in this tango, looking
03:16around going, will somebody come get Beal, do they think?
03:23Could they get in that mix?
03:24What's Durant's future potentially?
03:25I mean, I think it's obvious to talk about Kevin Durant's contract situation, right?
03:29He did not sign an extension this summer.
03:31He's at the same point Luka Doncic is, which is one and a half years left.
03:34He's at the same point De'Aaron Fox was at, where he really kind of muscled his way out
03:37of Sacramento, obviously.
03:39It's almost become, not the new free agency, because there is a level of team control,
03:42obviously.
03:43You could take it to the summer if you want, but you guys have noticed, right, it's free
03:46agency is not what it used to be.
03:47Big name players don't really get there.
03:50They try to get somewhere and sign an extension.
03:52So there's always ticking clocks, and I think that's some of the dynamics at play.
03:58And again, I think if somehow Phoenix finds a place to plant Beal and can get Butler done,
04:03then the Warriors will probably have to look elsewhere, but that has not happened at this
04:06point.
04:07If you end up looking elsewhere, and maybe it's to a lesser player, no disrespect to
04:12Vucevic or to Cam Johnson, what do you think the perception is among the fan base?
04:17Did what happened over the weekend, did that change everyone's expectations outside the
04:22building to where fans now, you think, are clamoring for a really big move like the other
04:27teams?
04:28I mean, you'd have to ask them.
04:30I'm sure it certainly painted this idea that, hey, the biggest rival down in Los Angeles
04:34just picked up Luka Doncic.
04:36Why didn't you get Luka Doncic?
04:38Warriors don't employ Anthony Davis.
04:39Clearly, Nico Harrison identified who he wanted to trade Luka Doncic for, went and got him.
04:44I guess theoretically, he could ask for Steph Curry, what do you say if you're the Warriors
04:47in that situation?
04:48Because he certainly wasn't going to come target another player on the Warriors.
04:50So that was like an impossible situation.
04:52Again, I don't know what the fans feel about it, but that's just reality.
04:56Levine, you could almost kind of say the Warriors passed up on a little bit.
05:01That Sacramento and San Antonio wanted to get a deal done at a point, the Warriors,
05:05it seems, weren't ready to get a deal done.
05:07I don't know how big a domino you view Levine as, but that was out there.
05:11He was on their radar.
05:12If you do go to a lesser level, I think my sense is fans would still like to see them
05:16get something done.
05:17I do think if they go medium game hunting, then it's probably going to be somebody that
05:23is under contract next year, it's re-flippable this summer, they're not giving up too many
05:27assets.
05:28And we can go through a few possible names there.
05:31I mean, you guys, I'm sure have been talking about it all day, but that probably would
05:35be better to the fan base than getting off the money and ducking the tax, but that's
05:39probably the option we're talking about.
05:41Slates, you know these guys.
05:42If they had called and asked for Steph Curry, what would they have said?
05:48My guess, again, educated guess here, very interesting, we'd probably have to have a
05:53meeting that you could never leak to the public, but I mean, probably no, right?
05:57I mean, it's a fascinating conversation, and it never had to actually happen, because look,
06:04Niko Harrison has a relationship with Anthony Davis, and he clearly wanted a big, and he
06:07wanted that big, but man, I mean, we could go team by team right here, what does Oklahoma
06:12City say?
06:13What does Minnesota say with Anthony Edwards?
06:16Name your team out there.
06:17Yeah, yeah, it is interesting.
06:19Okay, and then sort of like piggybacking on what Dibbs just asked you, whether it's about
06:24what happened last weekend or not, there's been so much smoke about the Warriors and
06:29trades for months now, where would you place the current likelihood that something happens
06:35by lunchtime Thursday?
06:37Yeah, I think something happens, I think they're just sorting out the degree of something.
06:41Can they get something seismic done, or does it have to be more minor around the edges,
06:45repositioning themselves for, you know, a dream of the summer, that again, I understand
06:49the frustration of the fan base, especially if Steph Curry's about to turn 37 years old
06:52next month, that by the time you maybe strike on something, it might be too late.
06:57It might already be too late, right?
06:58We've had these existential conversations for months now, but yeah, I do sense a desire
07:05by them to shake it up, and again, I think, I've reported, I mean, I know that they've
07:09kind of shopped around their 2025 protective pick, like what could that potentially get
07:13on the market?
07:14And if that does get a guy that helps you now, maybe helps you next season, or helps
07:18you get to another guy this summer, it would make sense.
07:22What doesn't make sense, as we've talked about, is just, you know, flinging everything at,
07:27you know, a player that's only gonna kind of marginally up you, but at this point, that
07:32doesn't seem to be what they're thinking.
07:34Are they thinking at all about the possibility of including Draymond Green into trade, and
07:38I wouldn't have thought about this last week, but the Lakers deal their second-best player,
07:43who's clearly better than Draymond Green, but have you heard anything about them changing
07:47their approach about, you know, who else might be somebody they would part with?
07:53I would just put it this way, like, nobody around the Diluc Adonis situation, reporters,
07:57you know, best in the world, was aware that that was happening, and I think it's a lower
08:02level scale, but similar, like, I don't think I would know that Draymond Green is being
08:06shopped, because I don't think they can have the world know if that was the case, right?
08:10Would I be, you know, absolutely floored if it happened before Thursday?
08:14Not necessarily, but it's gonna have to be done somewhat quietly, because of the ramifications
08:18and the figures involved in the, you know, political nature of it, but have I personally
08:22thought about, you know, if you're looking at the Wiggins contract, you're looking at
08:25the Draymond contract, you're trying to stair-step, certainly I imagine it's a topic that's been
08:30broached, but again, nobody's gonna tell me that right now.
08:33Anthony, you said that we could go through some of the names, so I'm gonna hold you to
08:37it, let's go through some names and just get your reaction to the situation right now.
08:41How about Zion Williamson?
08:43Big risk, I'm curious, I don't know, the Pelicans seem like a team that, you know, they're way
08:50out of the playoff race, they got all these very intriguing players, I don't know what
08:54they're necessarily doing, what about Brandon Ingram, what about CJ McCollum, what about
08:57Trey Murphy, and Zion is obviously a name there, he's got this interesting contract
09:01with like, you know, a lot of outs, but he's still this potentially spectacular player,
09:06to your question on the Warriors, I think it's worth exploring, but, you know, I don't
09:10know what the asking price is, and I would group him in a lower tier, more riskier than,
09:16you know, Kevin Renner, even in some ways Jimmy Butler.
09:20Um, and then what is your read on what is and is going to happen with LeBron James?
09:27I mean, all the reporting out of there, including at our place, Joe Varden, who's known LeBron
09:31and, you know, everyone around LeBron for a while said he's not waving his no trade
09:34clause, so I just expect, you know, he controls his own situation, at least until the summer,
09:39I expect he's gonna play it out, and like, while the Anthony Davis departure probably
09:44shocks him in a lot of ways, like, I'd be kind of intrigued if I was him to see how
09:47him and Luka work, you know, so why not play it out, obviously, in a place he prefers to
09:52live, his son is there, I mean, not that that couldn't necessarily get solved, but, um,
09:56all signs, and again, I'm a little bit more outside reading the people who are there and
10:00know them, is that he's just gonna stay for the rest of the year.
10:03And when you look at the summer, would it change the calculus at all?
10:07And the other piece of that, I guess, would be if he wanted to opt out and the Warriors
10:12were interested, he'd have to take a lot less money to fit him here, and that doesn't
10:17seem like that's been a part of the LeBron playbook.
10:20Yeah, he's made it pretty clear, you know, over time that, you know, the max is too little
10:25money, right?
10:26You know, what he's worth to a franchise, and I think, you know, Steph doesn't necessarily
10:30say it, but I think it's kind of a similar opinion on that, so yeah, I don't think something
10:34like that would happen, maybe again, like, you know, I know everybody's kind of talked
10:38about this Avengers scenario.
10:39Sure, I think it would intrigue a lot of people, but that's LeBron coming upstate, you know,
10:44moving away from his family to play on Steph Curry's team.
10:48I just, I still kind of have trouble seeing that materialize.
10:52Anthony Slater is with us.
10:53You're listening to 95.7 The Game, KGMZ FM and HG1 San Francisco and Odyssey Sports Station.
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11:07dealer.
11:07What about some of those other sort of smaller names out there, though I think they're still
11:12pretty big-time players?
11:13What about Cam Johnson and what about Vujovic, now that the Bulls have shown they will be
11:18active?
11:20Word for months now is that Brooklyn's acting price on Cam Johnson is much steeper than
11:24it was for Finney Smith than it was for Dennis Schroeder, so, you know, I don't know that
11:28they're going to hold to, like, a two-first-round pick type thing, but I think at minimum they
11:32would get a high-value first-round pick.
11:34I know the Kings, at one point, were in discussions with him.
11:36I'm curious, you know, the Kings got a 2031 Minnesota unprotected pick in the Fox deal.
11:41Could that get something like Cam Johnson done?
11:43I will see.
11:44Anything could happen, but I don't sense from the Warriors that they view Cam Johnson as
11:49the type of piece that they should, you know, kind of splurge, you know, two first-rounders
11:54or an unprotected future first-rounder.
11:56So, if you're not going to do that, I assume there's going to be somebody else out there
11:58that would.
11:59Other names that are just, you know, kind of random and maybe unreachable for the Warriors,
12:04Joel Embiid and Paul George for Philadelphia.
12:07Any idea about the potential that they'll be dealt?
12:12We're going down the list today.
12:13Well, you said we'd be good on the list, right?
12:16We can, we can.
12:17These aren't medium-level swings.
12:18These are big, big swings.
12:20You know, I think Paul George is interesting, right?
12:22They, you know, however many months ago now, six, seven months ago, helped me do the math,
12:26but they sat in the room together and pitched him on it, and Paul George wanted to do it.
12:30Obviously, we know the dynamics that split it up, and at this point, Paul George's contract
12:35looks a lot less appealing, so I do wonder, you know, if that, you know, backs the Warriors
12:43off in a sense.
12:43I would say the only word I've gotten, this wasn't too recently, was that, you know, Philly
12:47planned to keep him, you know, at least through this cycle and through this season.
12:52Again, I would have told you the other day that all indications were Luka Doncic was
12:56going to stay with the Mavericks, so I don't want to guarantee anything, but I did hear
12:58that Philly preferred to keep Paul George.
13:01Now, Anthony, the Shams report this morning, I don't know if he meant it this way, but
13:06when he said the Warriors are literally calling every single team that has an all-star, to
13:13me, it made the Warriors sound desperate.
13:16Would you characterize it the same, that the Warriors are calling every and any all-star?
13:24Um, you know, every and any all-star, I don't know.
13:27I'm sure we could find one that they weren't.
13:28They didn't make a Luka Doncic call.
13:32Yeah, I don't think they're making a Shea call right now, a Wemby call.
13:35How about that?
13:36Yeah.
13:38So, they're surveying, they're canvassing, and they, to a level, to a degree, yes, they
13:42are desperate.
13:43They'll even kind of, you know, hint at that.
13:45Now, does desperation raise their price to an unwise level?
13:49We'll see.
13:50I don't think so.
13:50They've kind of messaged out they don't want to do that, but clearly, like, you know, they're
13:55not only trying to gather info on the landscape.
13:57Now, I do think there's a belief, you know, again, as much, you know, fervor that the
14:02fan base might have Thursday if they don't do something big.
14:04I do think there's a belief internally, even from Steph's side, that, you know, there's
14:07still a chance this summer when other guys might potentially become available and it's
14:11easier to be flexible.
14:13We'll see, but you want as much info as you can now to know what might even be up in the
14:17summer.
14:17And like I said, I think right now my sense is everybody, you know, is waiting on this
14:22Jimmy, Kevin Durant, Phoenix, Miami, Bradley Beal type dominoes to fall over.
14:26Uh, last thing, uh, Slates is we got a game here in, in two hours, you know, Bob Myers
14:30sort of like insinuated that sometimes you let things around the deadline affect you
14:35too much.
14:36Like, is there, is there like anything riding on tonight and Wednesday in Utah or, or no?
14:44I do not believe so.
14:45Uh, Mike Dunleavy, uh, you know, had plenty of conversation with him over the years.
14:50I'm sure you guys have had a few also.
14:52Uh, he's like very level-headed and like, I think he's kind of understood, uh, who this
14:57team is.
14:57And I don't, well, you know, I do think Joe Lacob, uh, maybe rides the rollercoaster a
15:02little bit more understandably, you know, it's just the personality and, and maybe that,
15:06that, that ups the motivation level a bit, you know, considering what happens in the
15:09next two games.
15:10Generally, I think that they have a pretty firm belief of who they are and who they aren't
15:15this season.
15:16And, and, and they'll make a decision based on, you know, the, the full scope of the season
15:20and what, and again, what they are and what they are not.
15:23Um, and I don't think like a win over a magic team without Jalen Suggs tonight or beat in
15:28Utah, for example, on Wednesday, we'll change that.
15:32Anthony, thank you for hopping in on game night.
15:34We appreciate it.
15:36All right, fellas.
15:36Okay, there he goes.