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KGMZ-FM / 95.7 THE GAME
  • 11/22/2024
Transcript
00:00What do you think of Jonathan Kaminga? What was your answer? What are you thinking of him right now?
00:03I think that he's a great player with
00:06Tremendous upside and he will be a very good pro somewhere, and I don't believe that that somewhere is here
00:13I think that I don't think they're gonna trade him
00:16okay, if they find a deal at the deadline that would involve the contract of D Anthony Melton and
00:23Kaminga and one other player. Let's just say it's
00:27GP2 or loony around the 8 or 9 million
00:30You're at about 27 million right there if they can find a 27 million dollar player who they can get back who is
00:37expiring and still productive
00:40Then I think Kaminga might get moved but short of that
00:43I'm kind of with Ramona Shelburne who just joined us about you know Giannis is probably not moving
00:48I don't think you want Jimmy Butler. I agree Zach Levine. No. Thank you
00:53Brandon Ingram is a pass and as we're starting to move down the totem pole of available options
00:58I do think that they're more likely to do if they make any deal. It's gonna be more of a middle salary player
01:05I agree. I think like think names like like Jonas Valanciunas
01:09Yeah, I like the player very big guy in Washington only making 10 million
01:15I but but you could see how that might have an effect on the Warriors if you had a body
01:20Yeah, it's that big that you could bring in to the rotation I'm with you
01:24I don't think there's a huge deal out there for them
01:27But I also think this if Andrew Wiggins keeps playing like this, you know, we haven't made this point yet
01:33You want to know why like on a night like last night that Jonathan Kaminga doesn't play a lot
01:39Cuz Wiggins is playing his butt off and they don't play well together. It's that simple
01:44I'm not tell you if I'm Steve Kerr
01:46I'm not taking Wiggins off the floor because all of you want Jonathan Kaminga to play or
01:52Jonathan and his agent want him to play. No
01:55Andrew Wiggins is playing phenomenal basketball and and and he's back and he looks comfortable
02:02you know comfortable in his own skin comfortable in the in the
02:06offense and the process and all of these things and
02:10It
02:11Just feels to me like I'm with you. Jonathan Kaminga is a very use the word great. I don't think that he's a good player
02:18I think he has upsides to be great. I think he's got upside to be really good
02:22But and he's talented and yes, he's growing
02:26He's he's doing some good things. I just am NOT convinced that he's a fit
02:32You know that last caller called him sticky. I think it's a great word and what I mean by sticky
02:39Is that when the ball is flying around on offense?
02:42Sometimes it hits Jonathan and it sticks. Yep, and that is not what you want
02:48That's not what you want
02:49And so I do think that there is a little bit of a discord not some sort of bad relationship
02:55But some discord in terms of how the team would like Jonathan to play and how Jonathan would like to play and that can happen
03:02When somebody's trying to play for a new deal
03:04I don't even think that it can be necessarily in your control and we think about it in terms of football where you've got
03:11some running backs who can run best in a
03:15Outside zone scheme and some running backs who are much more
03:20Fitted for power straight ahead one gap
03:23You've got running backs who are better on the outside some running backs are better on the inside
03:27And if the running backs style doesn't fit the offensive scheme
03:31Well, then that player is gonna have a hard time changing the way that they're good at running the football
03:36And I do think in basketball a lot of it's the same James Harden could not play in this offense
03:42I don't think God wouldn't want him to like Russell Westbrook
03:46Well could not play in this offense because of the very nature like LeBron James is a great example of a guy who could
03:53He can play any different sort of way. He can play all styles Kevin Durant was a guy who
04:00Didn't necessarily fit very naturally in this offense, but when you're that good
04:05Guess what the offensive scheme changes for you and you remember when Kevin Durant was here Kevin Durant didn't do a lot of the
04:13Pass and move and run offense
04:16They would get him the ball and he would go get you a bucket and that coming is obviously not at that level
04:21But at the essence of it for me the way he is best at basketball
04:26Doesn't fit with the way the Warriors like to play basketball
04:29888-957-9570 what do you think right now of Jonathan Kaminga Ramona Shelburne ESPN on with us a short time ago was asked
04:36What the league thinks of him?
04:38I think they think he's incredibly talented and there are a lot of teams that would love to have him in their developmental system
04:45But I'm not sure anybody really wants to commit that giant max contract to him
04:49I think the Warriors have some level of leverage because he didn't sign that extension
04:54They can't they do control of playing him. I don't think they're trying to depress the market on that's not not how they roll
04:59They're trying to win basketball games. Okay, so that that was Ramona's answer
05:04What's yours? Let's go to mark in San Rafael. Hi mark. Thanks for calling
05:08Hey guys, thanks for having me big fan of the show
05:11Thank you a word comes to mind what I think about coming and that word is expendable
05:16I think obviously I'm a big fan of the upside
05:19But I think he represents the Warriors brass
05:22Not moving on from a two timelines mindset and you could say the two timelines could have worked
05:27We're one James Wiseman away from it being a great idea and everyone looking like geniuses
05:32But it didn't work and the fact that he's not playoff ready is evident, right?
05:37Otherwise, you wouldn't be talking about Laurie marketing or you wouldn't be talking about Paul George over the summer
05:41So to me, he's a few years away from being great and he wouldn't be a fit in our system
05:47But I think the Warriors need to maximize this window towards the end of Steph's career and coming is not good
05:52Are you gonna be ready to contribute within that window? So it's time to move on and find the best way to do that
05:57That's my thoughts. Thanks guys. All right mark. Thank you mark. That's a little heavy-handed in my mind
06:03The word expendable. I I think that there are a number of ways that this can get can develop throughout the year and
06:10I will fully admit on this topic which you and I have detailed is going to be a topic all year long
06:16Yeah, I have already
06:18Labeled myself a flip-flopper
06:20But I think that that's the nature of the conversation and here's what I mean. I think we're gonna spend all year
06:27Trying to figure out is this warrior team?
06:31good enough as
06:33Constructed to actually contend. We know they're good. Can you actually contend or?
06:39Do you need to?
06:41Rid yourself of some of the parts because you've got a lot of parts to whittle down the rotation and make it a little bit
06:47More dynamic so that you can actually try to win a championship and I go back and forth if you'd asked me a week ago
06:54At the end of the week. No, keep them. I love this group
06:57I love the wood their chemistry and the way they're playing
06:59Then the D Anthony Melton injury happened and we saw three straight games of Jonathan coming and not getting 20 minutes
07:05and right now I look at them and I go hmm, I
07:09Think that we may arrive at a time
07:12It's wonderful how they're playing
07:14but we may arrive at a time where you feel like you've got a you got to tighten some screws if you really want to
07:21Win in June. Yeah, and I think that when you talk about April May in June the playoffs you're not gonna play 12 guys
07:27You just aren't 10 is even an extreme number when you get into the real deep deep series
07:33The deep water of April and May and hopefully June you get down to nine players sometimes even eight
07:40So if you're a team that has 12 and right now you're looking at 12 with Lindy waters now
07:45Not only in the rotation but starting you've got 12
07:48So you may have a couple of extra players as you get down into the crunch time of the playoff
07:53So if there's a three-for-one trade out there that makes sense
07:57You have to look at it, especially when you've got
08:00GP to make it 9 million expiring
08:04D'Anthony Melton gone for the year making 12.8 expiring Kavon make an aid expiring coming is expiring
08:10Heck even Lindy waters at 2.1 2.2. It's a one-year deal
08:15So you've got a lot of financial flexibility already for next year. So you got contracts that might be attractive for other teams
08:23Drew and San Jose you're next up. Hi drew. Thank you for calling
08:26And
08:28You guys are taking my call, how are you doing?
08:32Yeah, for sure so yeah, well, I mean what do I think of Kaminga like look I mean
08:37I I think he's very much an improving player and I think he's had some bright spots
08:43Even this year like do the Warriors win that game in Houston without Jonathan Kaminga
08:49So I think I mean, I think he's had bright spots and I think he's an improving player
08:54But I mean, I'm in agreement with I mean with pretty much everybody who has spoken
08:59I mean, I think we're all saying that he doesn't he doesn't really fit on the Warriors and
09:05He's not worth a max contract
09:07I guess one way where he could fit is be sort of that super sub score off the bench
09:12But he's not efficient from the field and he's definitely not efficient for the free-throw line at this point
09:17And so like yeah, I mean using that contract along with the Anthony Nelson's contract would I mean?
09:24wouldn't net a player maybe like a Cam Johnson from the net somebody who's like who just fits in the system and
09:31Knows how to play because as long as Seth is here as long as he occurs here
09:35You're gonna have that system. And so that's I mean, that's that's how I feel about Kaminga
09:39and but I mean
09:41As far as the trade market goes, I mean
09:45there doesn't seem to be a trade out there right now that really makes sense and
09:50if that's the case, I would just keep them and
09:53Wait until the offseason
09:56And you can make a decision then but yeah, it's very very good
10:01Yeah, Drew. Thanks, man. It's interesting again. We're just taking a handful of
10:07Calls and a straw poll here and I'm sure more voices will come in but I feel like whatever has gone on this year
10:15For Jonathan coming because if we go back just a couple of weeks to when clay was coming to town
10:20It had been recent that Jonathan had been quote
10:24Benched. Yeah, but actually it was just changing roles and he was still playing 26 27 28 minutes a night and he was scoring actually
10:32better
10:3317 a game since he had moved
10:35to that role and all of those things and there was some relative positivity about a the way he was handling it and be the
10:43output they were getting and
10:45My has it changed fast and and we're having a hard time finding anybody who at this moment at least
10:52feels like they really see a
10:54Long-term future for Jonathan Kaminga with with the Golden State Warriors a for two reasons one
11:00He's probably the biggest chip you have in a year that may suddenly people are thinking wait a minute
11:05The Warriors aren't just surprisingly good like do the one seed right now. Yeah. Yeah, like maybe they can actually yeah
11:13Maybe they can actually really have a special season and Jonathan is the chip that could help you get there
11:19But B, here's the easy one for me
11:22If you're telling me that this player is gonna cost 35 to 40 million dollars
11:28Come out. Well, it's not a 35 to 40 million dollar player
11:32He's not and that is where the whole rub lies because that's probably what he wanted
11:39he wanted the max which is even more than that reportedly in the offseason and
11:43The team balked at it and that's why we asked Ramona Shelburne that very question about what does the league think of him?
11:49And we're gonna find out in the offseason if he doesn't get traded a team is going to make him an offer and the Warriors
11:56Have the opportunity to match it or not match it and I would bet if that offer comes in at four years and 160 million
12:03Then the Warriors will shake his hand and say good luck in fill in the blank, right?
12:07And if that offer comes in at four years and a hundred million now
12:11You've got a you got a choice to make and you probably match it at 25 million a year
12:16Although looking at next year's salary numbers mark
12:19They're already inking they already have 151 million on the books and that is with just seven or eight players
12:26Which tells me if you really want to get better next year
12:29You're gonna have to do it by spending between 20 and 40 million on
12:33One guy or a couple of guys if coming is making 25 of that and you already kind of have them as your
12:40Sixth man seventh man eighth man, you're gonna need to spend better and do better than that. Well, and let me ask you this, too
12:48What has been the most annoying thing to you about the Warriors so far this year when you watch games?
12:56Probably the turnovers. Okay, but I would argue there's only two answers that it even makes sense
13:00And that's one of the free throws would be the other one. There you go. Yeah, and I hate to submit this to y'all but
13:06Your number one culprit is right here
13:09Jonathan Kaminga, he's down eight percentage points from last from his career. He's shooting 56% from the line in the month of
13:18November yet 62 on the year
13:2156% in the month of November and that's not a small sample because it's 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 games
13:2756% from the line and obviously he's one of the guys who gets there the most right like I would tell Jonathan if I were
13:34Jonathan's agent or his dad or his brother or whatever
13:38I like Jonathan do like one of the things holding you back from being a star is the free throw line if you want to
13:45Average 17 18 19 a night in the NBA with your skill set. Do you have got to be amazing?
13:52you've got to be 75% from the free throw line and
13:56And he's not again
13:5856% here in the mud in the nine games in November and he leaves the team in free throw attempt. Yeah, he shot
14:04He shot the most. It's a brutal number
14:06Yeah, it's a terrible terrible number and it's a it is the number one culprit with the the team-wide problem that that is
14:12Well, he's not alone and you got no Wiggins at 72%
14:16Draymond shooting 69%
14:19Looney at 53
14:20TJD at 58
14:23But your nods is at 60, that's the one that's the other one because you're also your name and names where you'd expect that
14:29But I was going in order of free throw attempt, right?
14:31But so but that's where it becomes an issue
14:33But Looney and TJD's of the world you expect a lower percentage Draymond at 70% I'll take it Draymond
14:40I mean Kavon is uh, seven and a half points lower than his career average
14:43Okay, and coming is eight points lower than his career average that to me is where the problem is
14:49And yeah, I'm not expecting Kavon to shoot 75%
14:52But when you're shooting
14:5453.8 and you're usually 61. That's a problem
14:58It is but Jonathan gets there a lot more than Kavon does and and and so I I look much more to him
15:04Plus he's a wing player. Not a big. It's not a rebounding big
15:08Yeah
15:09Andrew Wiggins Jonathan coming and Brandon pajam skier the three that I have my eye on and
15:13And Andrew is the least offensive because at least he's north of 70% right?
15:18But the other two, you know, they're the two guys we're talking about
15:21I'm again wigs are one and two in attempts and that's you know
15:24Coming and not even playing as many minutes as wigs not even close and he's he shot 60 free throws to Wiggins 47
15:32Steph 38 for 40 from the line. I'd like to remember the two misses, but I can't actually I can you can miss remember
15:39I'm both I think he missed
15:41At least one of them in the clay game, didn't he? I think he missed a free throw late night. That's right
15:45Yeah. Yeah, so there's one of them. We found it. Yeah, I mean
15:50Like I might it might might have a job in this league. Yeah, the thing about coming gun one
15:56Stat that I kind of have created in my own mind
15:59Oh is it's a plus-minus related to the team if your plus-minus is
16:05Ten points better than the team's overall plus-minus then you had a good game
16:09So in other words last night coming it was a plus one the team won by 23
16:15That tells me that he probably didn't impact the game that much in his 15 minutes of his 14 games this year
16:22He only has two games where he's 10 points or more
16:27Better than what the team was the caller mentioned one of them Houston. They won by six. He was a plus 18
16:33He had 23 points that tells me that he was the man that night where he's a plus 18
16:39And he kind of carried the team in many ways. The other one was in in a loss where they lost by
16:47And they lost to Cleveland Cleveland. He was a minus four and they were a minus 19
16:52So he was pretty good, but I'd also argue that that game. I mean that game got out of hand immediately immediately
16:57Yeah, it's not like there was nothing clutch about it. Exactly
17:00Yeah, and I look more of it when there's a win a close win if you were bananas and you know
17:06There's only been two of his 14 games where he made that impact