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00:00I'm Steve Kerr.
00:01You know, Jimmy's arrival took away a lot of Jonathan's minutes at the four.
00:05You know, there's no doubt that, you know, as soon as Jimmy arrived and we started winning,
00:10we leaned into lineup combinations that enhanced Jimmy because we were winning.
00:16And Jonathan was out for that whole stretch.
00:18We went like, you know, 17 and three or something.
00:20So we're going to keep doing what's been winning.
00:23But the lineup with Jimmy, Jonathan, and Draymond doesn't fit real well, frankly.
00:28It just doesn't.
00:29We need more spacing.
00:31We've found other lineups that have clicked.
00:34And it's just part of the deal, you know, being in the NBA.
00:37And you've got to adapt to whatever, you know, whatever's happening with the team.
00:42Jonathan's done a great job of that.
00:43He's working hard.
00:44He's playing well when he's out there.
00:46But I'm just going with the lineup combinations that I think are going to give us the best chance to win.
00:51And there's going to be nights where he's absolutely part of that, like the Laker game.
00:56And then there's going to be nights where I go to Buddy or Moses or Peyton.
01:02It just changes every game based on what's happening.
01:05And I have to read that as a coach.
01:07Yeah, I don't really find what he just said there to be controversial at all.
01:11I can tell that a lot of people do.
01:13There's going to be this sort of thread through frustration about Jonathan Kaminga's role in his minutes all the time.
01:21What I hear when I listen to that, though, is like a bigger problem.
01:25Because whether it's feelings or contracts or opinions, there's really no room for those things when you get to the start of a playoff run.
01:36Like there's examples of that all over the place.
01:40You know, we've seen it a lot with championship runs from the San Francisco Giants where major names were pushed to the side in favor of, hey, you're not doing well right now.
01:49Or this doesn't fit Tim Lenticum, Pablo Sandoval, Barry Zito.
01:54Like there were big names, big contracts for people.
01:58And they were just like, yeah, we're not using you.
02:00Because we're in the midst of trying to do something very special right now.
02:04And so we can't deal with that right now.
02:07But when I hear him say that, the bigger thing that goes through my head is the future.
02:13How much do you value?
02:15How much do you pay a guy that you're saying out loud, you basically, you don't want to play him when Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green are both on the floor?
02:25Well, those guys are on the floor a lot.
02:27Right.
02:28A lot.
02:29Yeah.
02:29They are your stars.
02:31And that's your three and that's your four or that's your three and that's your five.
02:35And so if Kaminga is going to play the four, if you want to go with a Butler, Kaminga, Draymond trio, well, then it would have to work.
02:43And if it doesn't work, then you can't play Kaminga with Butler and Draymond because when Steph goes out, Steve has said it, Jimmy's going to play all of the non-Steph minutes.
02:52So it's going to be Jimmy out there.
02:54So if Jimmy and Kaminga don't play great together, and it's too early to really tell that from a long lens, I think.
03:02But it's been a small sample.
03:05But if you want to look at it from what you're saying, the bigger picture of it, then if Jimmy's going to play the non-Steph minutes, then Kaminga can't really play the non-Steph minutes.
03:15And so can he only play the non-Jimmy minutes?
03:18And Jimmy, by the way, he tends to play this time of year 38 minutes.
03:22Exactly.
03:23Now, he didn't say the Jimmy and Jonathan lineup doesn't fit.
03:27He said the Jimmy, Jonathan, and Draymond lineup doesn't fit.
03:31So essentially, and this is maybe why we see a lot of 17, 18, 19 minutes a night for Jonathan, what you're looking at is where are the windows when either Jimmy or Draymond are not on the floor?
03:45And is Steph on the floor for that time?
03:48Obviously, anytime Jimmy comes out, Steph is going to be on the floor.
03:52That's an opportunity for Jonathan to come in.
03:55Or if Steph is on the floor with Jimmy and Draymond goes out, that might be an opportunity for Jonathan to get in.
04:03But what you're going to see, I think, is largely an average of about four to five minutes a quarter where that even exists.
04:08And you give Jonathan as much of those as you possibly can, and you hope, actually, that lowering those minutes to a certain degree, if that's how you want to phrase it, calls for him to really go crazy with his effort, rebounding the basketball and playing defense, because that's what they really want from him.
04:28And then what I also think is really difficult when you hear this, because everyone is so in their feelings about this, this isn't about Jonathan.
04:36It's simply about different skill sets.
04:39You know, the Warriors acquired another wing player who's not a great three-point shooter.
04:44There aren't that many of them left in the NBA.
04:47There just aren't that many of them left.
04:50Wings who don't shoot threes?
04:52What are we doing?
04:53That doesn't exist.
04:55And the Warriors went and found a great player who fits that bill.
04:58And so what that means is you can't have Jonathan and Jimmy be wings at the same time, because neither of them do a good job of shooting threes.
05:08Especially if Draymond's going to be the other man of that five-man combo.
05:12You can't have Draymond, Jimmy, and Kaminga all out there and still want to be a team that goes up and tries to shoot the three.
05:18And I asked Steve that about the San Antonio game where they shot 48 threes.
05:22And I asked him, were you a little bit too three happy?
05:26And he said, no, I don't think so.
05:27We want to be a team that goes out there and tries to shoot the three.
05:31We want a space.
05:32We want to shoot the three.
05:34That's who we want to be.
05:35So if you take that as fact, and I do, then you look at the Warriors and you think about what's that team that's going to have at least three shooters, if not more, on the court at any one time.
05:46And if you've got pods and you want to call him a shooter, and it's fair to do that, he's been shooting it great.
05:52Okay, he's a shooter.
05:53Moody's a shooter.
05:54And Buddy's a shooter.
05:56Sometimes you wish he wouldn't shoot as much.
05:58I mean, but he does.
05:59But beyond that, Kavon, no.
06:02Draymond, no.
06:02Jimmy, no.
06:04And Kaminga, no.
06:05So what are we doing?
06:06You can't play Kaminga, Jimmy, and Draymond at the same time and still want to be a team that shoots a lot of threes.
06:12You're listening to 95.7 The Game, KGMZ FM and HD1 San Francisco and Odyssey Sports Station.
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06:21All right.
06:22707.
06:23Text line.
06:25Just say Kaminga's gone next year.
06:26Warriors have wasted his career.
06:29It's interesting.
06:30I see that quote a lot.
06:32Warriors have wasted his career.
06:34First of all, he's 22 years old.
06:35His career has not come into full focus yet.
06:37But for me, the hardest part of having a conversation about this is just that.
06:45It's just that.
06:45The Warriors acquired a player that has now vaulted them from a 25-26 basketball team to go 22-7 since then.
06:54Currently sit in a playoff spot with an opportunity over the next about 55 hours to go out there and secure a playoff spot
07:01and give Steph Curry a chance to do something just astronomically special.
07:06That's what they've done.
07:08And somehow this is getting processed by some as wasteful or wrong or you've blown it.
07:16I just, I don't know, man.
07:19I don't know.
07:19I don't know how to get this conversation into a spot where people are, I think, like getting back to rooting for the Warriors to win basketball games.
07:30Because, you know, if anybody feels that way, I'd honestly love to hear from you.
07:35Like, why aren't you just rooting for the Warriors to win games when you watch them play?
07:41Why would you watch?
07:43Why would there be any other goal?
07:45I don't know.
07:47What's the goal?
07:48What's the goal when you watch the Warriors?
07:51You want them to win.
07:52I have no box score goals.
07:54None.
07:55Ever.
07:56Ever, ever, ever.
07:57None.
07:58For minutes, for points.
08:00I've actually won.
08:01I'm sorry.
08:01I want the turnover number to be as low as possible.
08:06I have no box score goals.
08:09Ever.
08:10When I watch them play.
08:11Right.
08:11Score more points than the other team.
08:13But when they don't, that's when fans look at the why, and a lot of times when fans look at the why, they look at the who, and they think, well, if you would just play JK, and last year and earlier this year, it was if you would just play Moses Moody, why can't Moses get in there and cook?
08:29Let Moses cook.
08:29So, I do think you're right for most fans, but when they lose, you look at the box score, and you figure out who could have been in there to make it so they maybe would have won.
08:39But the box scores are so much better now than they used to be.
08:42They are, but still, when you have a game like against San Antonio, when you lose, you look at the box score, and you think, why did they lose?
08:49And, you know, you look at, and you can blame anything you want.
08:53You can blame Moody and Pods for having down games, and that's fine.
08:58You can do that.
08:59I look at the actual game, and I see your stars, all three of them, who didn't make plays late in the game, but a lot of it comes down to JK.
09:06And the texter, that was interesting, the way they put that of, like, you know, just hurry up and get rid of him in the offseason.
09:13They ruined his career.
09:15Well, I do think that they will, quote, get rid of him in the offseason, but I don't think that they've ruined his career.
09:21I don't think that he'll be back next year.
09:23You don't?
09:23No chance.
09:24No chance?
09:26Well, of course, there's a chance.
09:27Why do you say that?
09:29Because he doesn't fit.
09:30And if he doesn't fit, then he must sit.
09:33And that's what has happened.
09:35And I look at, and think about what Steve Kerr said.
09:38He played the cut.
09:39Yeah, he's still playing.
09:41Sure.
09:41He's still playing, and I mean, it was.
09:43He's playing 18 minutes a game.
09:44Right, and you need those players.
09:47Like, eight nights ago, he had a profound effect on a huge win.
09:51Right.
09:52Profound effect on a huge win.
09:53Eight nights ago.
09:54Yes.
09:54So, once in the past week, and if you take the premise that Steve Kerr laid out of, you know, Jimmy Draymond and Jonathan Kamingo, they don't really play well together, and if two of those guys are coming back next year, and I presume that they both are, they're both under contract, and Draymond plays 30 minutes a night, and Jimmy plays 35, where does JK then fit going forward?
10:16I mean, literally exactly what he's doing right now.
10:19I mean, I choose to actually look at this as maybe, maybe this is a wonderful thing.
10:25I don't know if Jonathan will feel that way.
10:27Right.
10:27Wonderful for them.
10:29It's going to make him cheaper.
10:30Right.
10:31And I, like.
10:32Well, cheaper if nobody else wants to give him 20 million.
10:35If the Warriors want to offer him three years, if they want to give him the Moses Moody deal, three years and 39.
10:41Wow, no, it's going to go, yeah, it'll be higher than that.
10:43It's going to be higher than that.
10:44Who's been better this year?
10:46Who's been more impactful this year?
10:47Um, no, it depends on which window of the year you're talking about.
10:51I'm talking about the whole year, and I know JK missed 30-plus games because he was injured, but right now, both are healthy.
10:59One guy is cemented as a starter, and he plays 30 minutes a night, and the other guy is getting eighth-man minutes.
11:06The answer is Moses based on the time where the Warriors really, really started to boogie, you know?
11:14So, yeah, the last 30 games, the Warriors have played much better.
11:17Those have been decisive, and the answer during that window is Moses, and Jonathan was hurt for half of that window as well.
11:24Right, but who fits more going forward?
11:27Like, forget the salary and the contract situation.
11:30Well, they both fit.
11:31But who fits better?
11:32Well, they fit, it depends on, again, like, they both fit.
11:36Steph, Draymond, and Jimmy.
11:38Who fits best with them?
11:40To me, it's Moses more than JK.
11:41Yeah, Moses, but that's not the whole game.
11:44I get that.
11:45You know what I mean?
11:45If you're looking, if you're going to go to next year, you're talking about three players past 35.
11:51Like, what are the chances that one of them or multiple of them will miss an extended period of time here or there?
12:01And if that happens, then I think you really, really want that guy on your team.
12:06I don't want Jonathan Kaminga to not be on the team.
12:10I don't want that either.
12:11I think the writing's on the wall, honestly.
12:14Maybe.
12:14I mean, you might be right.
12:16But I would, I'm going to hope right now that what this does is maybe it keeps his number at a very manageable number and the Warriors sign him to that.
12:27Yeah.
12:28That's my hope.
12:29Manageable for them, not manageable for him.
12:32Maybe not.
12:33I would imagine that Jonathan Kaminga sees himself as a guy who is worth more than $15 million a year.
12:39He doesn't have any leverage here.
12:41He doesn't get to just leave if he wants to.
12:43Well, the leverage is, you know, what another team will offer.
12:45Right, which we've been told constantly that no one has any money to spend this offseason.
12:49Well, $40 million a year, no.
12:51But another team, I'm sure, has $20 million to give him.
12:53Well, $20 might be that the Warriors might do that.
12:56They might.
12:57They might not.
12:57Because if you're the Warriors and you go into next year thinking that, okay, this Jimmy Draymond stuff thing, it looks like it might work.
13:05And what we need is another $20 million player who is a ready-made vet, a cookie-cutter insert guy as opposed to a 22-year-old question mark.
13:16Maybe, but then again, you do have to keep in mind that that contract, like the length of it, is probably going to span beyond the careers of the big three.
13:27Potentially.
13:27Right.
13:28So, I mean, if you fully believe in Jonathan Kaminga, then you will sign him to a long-term deal and you will...
13:35I mean...
13:36I don't believe that they think that.
13:37Joe Lacob...
13:38I mean, it wasn't that many months ago that he just said it.
13:41He's like, we love the guy.
13:42Of course we're trying to keep him.
13:44Right.
13:44But they didn't.
13:45I mean, they didn't sign him.
13:46Well, I mean, I don't think...
13:47I don't think that that's...
13:48I mean, he was hurt.
13:49They signed Moses.
13:49He's hurt.
13:50Right.
13:50That was before the year.
13:51Right.
13:52They didn't sign Kaminga.
13:53No, but...
13:53No.
13:53They could have.
13:54They were allowed to.
13:55I don't know what he was asking for.
13:57Like, his price...
13:57Well, whatever they offered, he did not accept.
13:59His price has dropped.
14:01Dramatically.
14:01No question.
14:02Right.
14:03So, now you have a new conversation.
14:05Yeah, I just don't...
14:06The Warriors actually played that pretty well, I would argue.
14:08Well, depending on what eventually happens, another team can offer him a certain amount
14:13and the Warriors can say, nah, no thanks.
14:15Right.
14:15I mean, you could lose him for nothing.
14:16Maybe.
14:17So...
14:17Maybe.
14:18We don't know how they played it yet.
14:20Well, the bottom line is they did not pay for a player a number that he has been proven
14:29since then to not be worth.
14:30And I actually hate saying it that way.
14:33The market will not call for what he asked for at the beginning of the year that the
14:38Warriors wouldn't pay.
14:40So, therefore, I mean, make it like anything at the store.
14:44Right?
14:44Like, do you want this shirt?
14:46Well, I don't want it for $89.
14:47Well, now here we are four months later.
14:49Now it's $49.
14:51You want it?
14:52If only it went that way.
14:53Now it's actually $149.
14:54Well, that's what just happened.
14:56That's what just happened.
14:57So, they played it well.
14:59They did not buy when it was at its height.
15:02Now it's lower.
15:03I don't know how much lower.
15:04I don't know what anyone else wants to offer.
15:05We'll see how they played it.
15:07I don't know yet if they, quote, played it well or not.
15:10Well, again, they didn't pay for something that is not...
15:13The market is saying is not worth that.
15:15Debra in San Leandro.
15:16Hi, Debra.
15:17Thanks for calling.
15:19Hey, guys.
15:19How are you?
15:20What's up?
15:20Good discussion.
15:21Good discussion on Jonathan.
15:22Thanks.
15:23I like Jonathan, but Jonathan didn't start playing basketball until late in life compared
15:28to these other guys, right?
15:30And Moody came in at the same time.
15:32He still seems to have trouble grasping the offense and different things.
15:37So, I'm good with...
15:40I would like to keep him, but I don't want to pay a lot of money.
15:43And actually, I don't think he's worth more than Moody because he hasn't shown more than
15:47Moody.
15:48But that's my take on it.
15:49I like the kid, but he just doesn't grasp certain things.
15:52Even in the defensive aspect as far as team defense, the rotation, I see other people
15:58telling him where to go still.
16:00And he should have that part.
16:01Doesn't matter who you're playing with, you should know that defensive rotation.
16:05So, that's my take on Jonathan.
16:06Debra, thanks.
16:07I mean, the other side to the conversation is that he does have some skills that the
16:12Warriors really lack and are probably going to need at one point or another going forward.
16:17So, this all comes down to dollars and cents.
16:20I have no idea what someone else wants to offer.
16:23Like, I do think the Warriors still like Jonathan Kamingo.
16:27I think they'd like to have Jonathan Kamingo on the team.
16:30It'll come down to what anyone else is willing to offer.
16:34But he doesn't get to leave just because he wants to.
16:37I'll keep stressing that.
16:39So, you know, that's in the Warriors' corner right now.
16:48You're welcome.