Kerr on multi-sport players, Curry x CP3 “basketball junkies”, Moody, Devin Haney, GP2, Marciulionis, Ayesha, Kuminga

[M-W video/notes/quotes/transcripts]

I’ve found that streaming live on YouTube on game nights really drain me the next day, so I’m thinking of just posting my game notes on off-days, assuming the Golden State Warriors take tomorrow off in between tonight against the Sacramento Kings (see how often they play each other in the Malik Monk section, below) and Friday versus Victor Wenbayama and the San Antonio Spurs.

So I didn’t have a post back on Monday as I was dead tired — no more of that, at least post the game notes and then yesterday was a mega-post, and today we have tons because a lot happened at practice yesterday, along with a 17-minute podium visit by Stephen Curry (at the bottom of this particular post).

PREGAME WARRIORS-KINGS

• Steve Kerr pregame mentions notable Warriors lineup changes tonight: Chris Paul comes off the bench for the first time, Kevon Looney (ill) replaced at center by rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis, Jonathan Kuminga starts at power forward, Andrew Wiggins at 3, Klay Thompson at 2, Stephen Curry at point. Looney went home sick earlier today. (Monte Poole, Shayna Rubin, video by Anthony Slater: https://x.com/anthonyvslater/status/1714802325594996968?s=46)

• Kerr says he's "thrilled" with the depth of this Warriors roster. (Dalton Johnson)

MORNING SHOOTAROUND NOTES

• Bob McKillop and folks from Davidson are at Warriors shootaround. Fitting since it’s Steph Curry graduate bobblehead giveaway at tonight’s game. (Shayna Rubin)

• Silent clip of Steph Davidson bobblehead tonight: https://x.com/chasecenter/status/1714711082756173889?s=46

• First few minutes of Gary Payton II at the podium was about taking naps and doing studies about it. He had a nap scheduled at 11:30AM and they were able to finish his interview before then.

• Hearing Looney will sit out tonight’s game vs Kings. Steph, Klay, CP3 and Wiggins will play. (Shayna Rubin)

NICE 95.7 THE GAME WED SPOTS

Brandon Payne and Joe Lacob were on 95.7 The Game Wednesday morning. Below are two videos posted by the radio station:

• I will post the entire transcript tomorrow (which should be an off-day with another preseason game and “dress rehearsal” Friday).

• Joe Lacob (who talked for an hour!) on 95.7 The Game re Klay Thompson’s extension: “We want him back. He wants to be back… Everyone needs to chill just a little bit, let this take its course. My guess is it works out… The intentions are really good.” 0:58 video: https://x.com/957thegame/status/1714702321274548693?s=46

• Lacob on winning another championship: “We’ve got a window here. We’ve got to try and win another title, and I really badly want to see Steph and our guys, Klay and Draymond, get another one. LeBron’s got four, they’ve got four, let’s get five!” 1:42 clip https://x.com/957thegame/status/1714690540430914003?s=46

TUESDAY PRACTICE NOTES

Note: full transcript of Steve, Steph, and Moses Moody is at the bottom of this post:

• From Warriors PR: “Warriors forward Draymond Green, who suffered a sprained left ankle during off-season workouts and has missed the first three (3) preseason games, is making good progress. He has been cleared to begin light on-court workouts (shooting drills, etc.) and his return to full team practice and scrimmages will be based on his continued progress. He will be re-evaluated again on Sunday.”

• Also from Warriors PR: “Warriors guard Cory Joseph, who has missed the first three (3) preseason games due to a lower back strain, is making good progress. He has been participating in various on-court workouts, including full team practice and scrimmages in recent days. He will be listed as questionable for Wednesday’s preseason game against Sacramento.”

• Kerr after Warriors practice says that Draymond is questionable for the season-opener next Tuesday. Kerr told me he wouldn’t put Draymond in a game without getting 5-on-5 action under his belt, so the hope is he can play 3-on-3 later this week, and graduate to 5-on-5 by Sunday. (Kendra Andrews)

• Rodney McGuder has cleared the league's concussion protocols, but the Warriors aren't going to play him tomorrow. He practiced in full today but just like with Draymond, they want him to get more scrimmaging before playing in a game. Could possibly see him on Friday. (Kendra Andrews)

• Kerr says Jonathan Kuminga is confident and making strides so far in year No. 3: "This is how it should go in his third year. He's so talented. He's so gifted." (KNBR)

• Steph after practice on CP3 constantly communicating and talking: “We’ve seen him play for a very long time, and it’s nice that it’s getting directed at us in a way that we can accept it vs. how it used to be.” (John Dickinson)

• On Brandin Podziesmki: “He’s a very confident guy… He’s got a presence about him. That’s what you want to see from a rookie.” (John Dickinson)

• On Kuminga being rewarded for his patience: “The best is yet to come for him.” (NBCSBA)

• Steve said he'd be ramping it up this week and you could tell. Everyone was out there getting work. Unified Lightweight Champ, Devin Haney watched — he fights Regis Prograis at Chase on Dec. 9 for the WBC light welterweight title. (Jason Dumas)

• Draymond told Haney the first fight he ever saw live was Andre Ward at Oracle Arena, see video above.

• Steph danced to “Back And Forth” by Aaliyah; “Always Forever” by Bryson Tiller playing in the background as Steph and CP3 work out. Also heard: “In The Air Tonight” by Phil Collins, “Intro” by Meek Mill.

• At Kings practice in Sacramento Tuesday, Mike Brown said he’s pulling for guys like Kuminga, then stares at and leans into the camera and says, “JK, just not against us, you hear me?!” (see video above)

• Monk said he heard out of the last 18 games for Sacramento, the Kings and Warriors have played each other 16 times, on the budding rivalry: “they’ve been saying (on Twitter) we’re the young Golden State”.

• De’Aaron Fox: “learn while playing” the Warriors so many times (11x last season, two regular season games in first five this season).

MONDAY: STEVE x RAKUTEN

I obtained a nice clip (it’s at the beginning of the above embedded video from practice today) of Kerr doing a talk with, I’m told, Rakuten employees. In case you didn’t know, Rakuten is a lead sponsor of the Warriors and a driving force behind their visit to Japan for 2022-23 training camp.

Kerr answered a question about NBA players playing multiple sports: “Our best players played multiple sports, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, they played everything growing up. The best passing players that I’ve seen in the NBA all played soccer growing up. Every sport impacts the others and learning how to use different muscles, learning from different coaches, seeing different games, everything then is sort of used in one manner if you eventually focus on it.”

Here’s also a rare glimpse of Steve’s autograph. When the Discord channel goes live (target: some time before Opening Night), I’ll be putting these on there as well as nearly everything you see on this website, but as it drops in my lap, mostly unfiltered. Again, to get access to the Discord you will need to be a paid subscriber (standard $5/mo Substack thing):

Here’s what’s in the video from the practice court Tuesday:

• Curry dancing to “Back And Forth”

• more dancing by Steph

• Klay shooting

• Usman Garuba with Ron Adams

• Draymond with Kerr

• Steph x Chris Paul

• Cory Joseph x Dario Saric

• Draymond tells lightweight champion boxer Haney that the first match he ever saw live was Andre Ward at Oracle Arena

• CP3 posts up Rudy Gay

• Gay post-up drills with Mychel Thompson

• Steph meets Haney

RADIO: KERR, DRAY, MDJ, KLAY

Warriors PR as well as the NBA tweeted out a bunch of interviews that Sirius XM did, presumably during Media Day. Here are ones that actually included video:

• Kerr credits Steph Curry to much of their success: “I thank my stars every day, literally everyday. The ability to coach Steph right from the beginning is the only reason I’m still here. The guy’s incredible.” https://x.com/siriusxmnba/status/1714310299476472185?s=46 Full interview: https://x.com/warriorspr/status/1714318776286781587?s=46

• Draymond explains why he believes Steph Curry is defeating “father time”: “A never dying passion that’s just burning, raging”. https://x.com/siriusxmnba/status/1714009662629253333?s=46

• Note: I haven’t included some of the links from Warriors PR here, so you’ll have to go to their Twitter to find those interviews: https://x.com/warriorspr

• Mike Dunleavy, Jr.: https://x.com/warriorspr/status/1714318540101316851?s=46

• Klay: https://x.com/warriorspr/status/1714320307828453656?s=46

• Steve also hopped on 95.7 The Game and KNBR. I was able to transcribe only the longer 95.7 The Game spot. Not sure if I’ll get around to the one with KNBR, although his banter with Tom Tolbert often makes that must-listen radio. The one transcript is at the bottom of this article, below the one for Steph.

B.PAYNE & JOE LACOB ON 95.7

Brandon Payne and Joe Lacob were on 95.7 The Game Wednesday morning:

• I will post the entire transcript tomorrow (which should be an off-day with another preseason game and “dress rehearsal” Friday).

• Lacob (who talked for an hour!) on 95.7 The Game re Klay’s extension: “We want him back. He wants to be back… Everyone needs to chill just a little bit, let this take its course. My guess is it works out… The intentions are really good.” 0:58 video: https://x.com/957thegame/status/1714702321274548693?s=46

• Lacob on winning another championship: “We’ve got a window here. We’ve got to try and win another title, and I really badly want to see Steph and our guys, Klay and Draymond, get another one. LeBron’s got four, they’ve got four, let’s get five!” 1:42 clip https://x.com/957thegame/status/1714690540430914003?s=46

STEPH x CHARLIE SIFFORD AWARD

Ron Kroichick, golf writer for the SF Chronicle first reported that Steph Curry wins Charlie Sifford Award for golf: https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/warriors/article/warriors-steph-curry-honored-advancing-18431382.php

…the World Golf Hall of Fame announced Curry will receive the Charlie Sifford Award honoring his “spirit in advancing diversity in golf.”

…

The Charlie Sifford Award was created two years ago to honor an individual who personifies Sifford’s groundbreaking achievements. Sifford was the first African American to earn a PGA Tour card and the first Black player to gain induction into the Hall of Fame.

Sifford also grew up in Charlotte, N.C., as Curry did.

GP2 x CORSAIR

Awhile back, like last year, GP2 mentioned on social media that he needed help with his gaming system. Fast forward to now and he’s in partnership with Corsair:

garydwayne

A post shared by @garydwayne

AYESHA x SWEET JULY SKIN

Ever wonder what it’s like to get a care package from Ayesha Curry? Callie Curry, Steph’s brother Seth’s wife (and Doc Rivers’ daughter) posted this for Sweet July Skin Care, which incidentally Steph is using as well:

Again, the above visuals will only be posted on our forthcoming revamped Discord channel for paid subscribers, starting Opening Night.

NBA NEWS THAT DUBNATION PEEPS

Here’s a couple NBA items that I thought erudite Warriors fans tend to pay close attention to:

• Shams Charania actually got fact-checked by Austin Krell of 937ESPN in Philadelphia — as Tim Kawakami of The Athletic often tweets, follow local sports reporters! https://x.com/nbakrell/status/1714662208116867488?s=46

For the sake of total accuracy here:

- James Harden was at practice on Sunday

- He did not play in the preseason game on Monday

- The Sixers were off Tuesday

- Reportedly missing today

So “not been present with the team since Sunday” is not necessarily the most accurate depiction.

• I’m liking Paul George more and more ever since he had Klay on and they reminisced about their AAU teammate exploits. Here’s a funny one from Podcast P, on his first time playing organized basketball: “I'm in the paint, I'm embarrassed. Tallest kid out there, with jean shorts on… I didn't understand the game. I didn't know traveling, double dribbling, any of that.” https://x.com/clutchpoints/status/1714708319179300925?s=46

• Andre Iguodala’s season two of the Point Forward podcast is two days away. Will he announce his retirement? 0:59 portrait highlights praising everyone from Larry Bird to Tim Grover: https://x.com/pointforward/status/1714688333148754095?s=46

• Speaking of Iguodala, JJ Redick mentions him in a 10-minute promo for his Rich Paul episode on Thu 10/19: “From a player’s perspective, it’s your approach, your play, and your professionalism. That equals power… Very few guys have the power to move the needle and impact things.”

• Joel Embiid leaves Under Armour for… Skechers?! Shams breaks the news: “While Joel Embiid would cause the biggest ripple, Knicks All-Star Julius Randle and Clippers guard Terance Mann are expected to sign deals and be part of Skechers new basketball class, industry sources said.”

KERR on KUMINGA

Anthony Slater of The Athletic with exclusives with Steve Kerr and Jonathan Kuminga: https://theathletic.com/4967439/2023/10/18/jonathan-kuminga-warriors/?source=emp_shared_article

“A lot of guys in this league, young players — shot goes up, and they just turn and look at the ball,” Kerr said. “So, on the defensive end, we need JK to take up space, find the guy that’s crashing early and go and hit him because there’s a lot of long rebounds. Then on the flip side, he should take advantage of all that ball watching.”

—

“We want him going every time,” Kerr said. “Go. Every time.”

—

“The only other person who had that freedom was Wiggs,” Kuminga said. “Now they want me to crash every time. I’m kind of enjoying it. It’s something new. I’m still trying to figure it out. I’m tall. I’m athletic. I’m stronger than a lot of people on the floor.”

—

“We call them crashes or stays,” Kerr said. “You can’t stay. We want you to crash. But you can’t stay. If you’re not crashing, you should be running back.”

—

“To get more respect and get more playing time, there’s things that you have to always do,” Kuminga said. “It’s rebound. It’s playing defense without fouling.”

—

“I only missed four (free throws, out of seventeen), right?” Kuminga asked. “Is that the highest amount I’ve ever shot? Damn. My shot wasn’t going the way I wanted, the way it was the past two games. So I found a way. I stayed aggressive. If my shot isn’t going, I still need a find a way to make plays.”

—

“It’s mainly about recognizing possessions,” Kerr said. “What’s the best shot? We want him shooting 3s, especially if people are going to sag off him. Especially in the corner. Be ready to catch and shoot. Absolutely. Make them respect your shot.”

—

“I was confident, but I wasn’t as much as I am this year,” Kuminga told reporters after making seven 3s in his first two preseason games. “Seeing someone back up when I shoot, it makes me overthink. But lately, it’s like, ‘Do that and you have to pay for it.'”

But the Warriors also don’t want him to overdo it.

“Part of being on this team is if Steph and Klay have a better shot, throw the ball to them,” Kerr said. “It’s not as easy as just sort of, ‘Oh, this is your shot and this is not your shot.’ It’s about recognizing basketball plays that happen to go really fast. That stuff takes time. If he shoots a 3 and Steph or Klay is wide open in the corner, that’s a bad shot. Different circumstance it could be a good shot. He has to recognize it.”

—

“JK is handling himself really well,” Kerr said. “We’re having conversations with him every day. I did yesterday. AV (Anthony Vereen) watches with him daily. It’s important that he and I watch tape together. He’s asking a lot of really good questions.”

—

“I’m really trying to find the right balance of infusing a guy with confidence but coaching him into making good decisions at the right time,” Kerr said. “That’s something I’m focused on, making sure he is confident and feeling good, but embracing the fact that he’s still a young guy and has a lot to learn.”

STEPH CURRY AFTER TUE PRACTICE

0:00 on receiving the Charlie Sifford Award in golf: “So weird coming up here and y’all talking about golf … obviously it's pretty special. There's not many names from a black golfer perspective that ring a bell like Lee Elder, Charlie Sifford, obviously Tiger, some others. So Charlie Sifford award and recognizing, creating opportunity and diversity and representation in the game means a lot. It's hopefully a validator of the work that we're doing. Underrated Tour, Howard, some hopefully, things in the pipeline to keep that energy, momentum going. And a call that hopefully, things are slowly changing. And obviously that means more work needs to be done, but there's a lot of ambassadors and champions and people who have supported me and my adventures on this mission. So, definitely appreciative and grateful for that, too … It's always nice to, when you're here. You get to see the vision of what we’re doing come to life in terms of putting these young men and women on stage, whether they're playing on TV or getting access to tournaments I didn't have access to before. Obviously a division one team being in existence that wasn't three years ago. And they're winning championships already at Howard. So it's just for young kids to be able to see themselves on the course and understand that there is a roadmap for them if they want to pursue golf at a higher level and then also golf being the vehicle to create opportunity for these kids in terms of education, network and character development, workforce training. Opening their eyes to different industries or different careers outside of actually just playing golf. So, changing lives in that way. I think we're being able to tell those stories more consistently and eventually it won't be the exception to the rule.”

2:36 on what he’s seen with the defense which Kerr has said has been lacking, also given that Draymond has been out: “That's definitely a factor. It's also working out the kinks of this particular group, understanding our strengths and weaknesses, and the attention to detail on how we're going to defend and when it comes to like, just technique and you know how you’re guarding on-ball, off-ball, communication in terms of the calls that were are making. Those things have to be in sync because when they're not, then you're out of position, then your size shows or your lack of size shows at times, and you're fouling, giving up offensive rebounds. So there's a cycle to it. So we're starting with the details of watching film after every preseason game, showing the good clips, showing the bad clips. We don’t need to show the fouls because those are the results of bad defense. And if you're putting the Lakers on the line 30 plus times, Sacramento I don't know how much it was, but there were a lot of bad fouls in that situation. So he calls it ‘winning the margins’ and those are the things we got to do better. Knowing that every team's gonna score 95, 100 just because we're all NBA players, but can you keep it around that number on a nightly basis, give us a good chance to win on most nights?”

4:17 on Podziemski’s eagerness to soak up everything: “He's a very confident guy and he feels like he belongs and knows he belongs. He works. And he has a very true style or style that he understands how he's going to translate to the league and how you can make an influence or an impact on the game. And then studying the process of how we prepare for practice, games, how we see the game, asking questions. So he's very active in that part of reaching out and trying to gather as much knowledge as he can. And then when he's out there playing, y’all can already tell, y'all see him, he's got a presence about him. So that's what you want to see from a rookie coming in. Be fearless, understand you have a lot to learn, but go out and compete and he's been doing it.”

5:22 on seeing Kuminga grow personally, over the past six or seven months: “I don't know how he would explain it, but it’s just what you see is him embracing the challenge of what's in front of him. I know he is a competitor and somebody who was on a fast track to the league. I'm sure he wanted to be playing more minutes early and have more to show for his first two years, but at the end of the day, it's really just about him understanding the best is yet to come for him. And if he can take in all that learning lessons that he's gotten over the last few years with the patience and the work that he's put in, that there is a role for him. There's a way for him to help us win games and that will be rewarded in the long run. So I would say probably just the patience, I think, of how he's approaching things. And as you see him play, he's not patient like he's aggressive and all that, I'm just saying more the mindset of ‘let it come to you’ and don't have to really force anything, just keep getting better. That’s how everybody in this league has gotten it, who has made it deep into their careers and been rewarded financially with wins and all that type of stuff. That's how you get there.”

6:45 on how appreciative he is of realizing how rare that is in professional sports and what kind of an advantage being with the same team for 10-12 years is: “I'm definitely appreciative and understanding that you have to win to make that happen. But you also have to have the right combination of personalities and just understanding and know-how to maintain what we have for so long. And you get reminded of that every time a veteran comes in as a new guy on the team, and they speak on what it is that kind of bounced around the league, and what their experience has been in different places and I always might come back as, ‘I don't know anything about that.’ So it's nice to be able to say that, obviously, but it helps just because you can kind of eliminate certain variables from year to year of just familiarity and comfortability on how we do things here and more. It's just about adapting to whatever the challenge is of that particular roster and that particular season, but the environment, the facilities, the personalities that we have within the organization, like, all that stuff helps just to keep you comfortable in the sense of how you kind of move on a day-to-day basis. And we're in these buildings for — y'all probably feel how much y'all are in here. We're in here a lot more. It's a lot of time you're spending with certain people. So you’ve got to have that type of respect and appreciation.”

8:32 on getting someone like Chris Paul keeping things fresh: “If we were playing on 3-on-3, me, Draymond and Klay in a 3-on-3 league, it’d probably get stale, but you definitely have different energy and personalities around you. Like I said, you have to embrace the challenge. Or whatever it means to put that particular team together and make it work. So we've had different guys coming in from different places and we've tried to make it work and we've succeeded most of the time. And hopefully we can do it again this year.”

9:14 on what it was about Mac Dre’s legacy that made him and his partner Erick Peyton want to do the documentary on him: “Mostly just the ability for understanding how much he impacted not just hip-hop culture, but culture in general and talking about (how) I played 10 years in Oakland … moments where you could kind of tip your cap and have a subtle nod to who he was in his presence within the Bay, within Oakland, that when that opportunity came and made sense because we've tried to find a lot of ways to put Oakland on the map, put the Bay on the map, and tell the stories that need to be told. And in such an iconic timeframe in terms of hip-hop history that he was able to dominate while he was here, along with a lot of other characters and that's the story that needs to be told. So I'm happy that, one, being a part of that project will hopefully bring the right energy of people that want to be a part of that project with us because it's not up to me to tell his stories, putting the right people in the room to do it. So I'm excited about that.“

10:29 on Wanda Salvatore (Mac Dre’s mother) involved in the project: “It speaks to the energy that we have on this and why it's a good time to do it, for sure.”

10:42 on him and CP3 feeding off each other, saying what they see to each other while on the bench together: “Yeah, we've talked a lot. That’s the one thing about IQ guys. One, we both love basketball, like, watching. I think we were laughing because, uh, no, it was on the plane, on the way from LA to Sacramento. We're at the card table. It's small talk and then I think we both knew the slate of preseason games that were playing that night. And we were kind of looking forward to tuning in and we both kind of laughed, like, I don't know how many people on this planet actually know which four teams are playing in the preseason that night. So it's just basketball junkies that want to talk about it, live it and then that feeds into — I saw him watching film with coaches, like 20 minutes after brunch in Sacramento before the game, I just kind of walked over and eavesdropped for 30 seconds and then kept moving, but he was going through defensive rotations and stuff, trying to figure stuff out. So that bleeds into how everybody approaches the day-to-day because there's a care factor and I think that matters.”

12:05 on if he’s noticed anything different from last year from Jerome Robinson, where he was trying to be on a two-way: “He knows the respect he has in the locker room from all of us, of how hard he works and how he approaches things and who he is as a person. And has opportunity for him, for sure. There’s oing to be at some point in the season, just to be ready for it. And don't put too much pressure on yourself. That’s how you got here and that’s what we expect from him.”

12:40 on seeing the team connected this preseason: “You can only control certain things at this point and for us that is just how you, again, how you approach every day with the energy at practice, the conversations that are happening in the locker room, on the court during our reps, and the veterans coaching the young guys and the veterans trying to figure out things that we don't understand, and adjustments that we're making and all that. I mean, obviously, we had some good summer work, so we got a head start just on everybody being in the same building. So training camp wasn’t, ‘Hi, my name is —” type of energy. So that all helps, but we’ve got a lot of work to do. And you're going to hit adversity at some point and how you push through that should be a reflection of the energy that we put in so far right now.”

13:39 on watching the young guys close out games: “That's the fun part of the preseason because we're not gonna play every minute. And I remember when I was a young guy, my first two years playing preseason games and doing the hockey subs and five in, five out, and now you see the young guys finish the games and you want them to be competitive, you want to develop a winning mindset. Both teams in LA and Sac, we’re all standing up, cheering on guys because, again, don't ever take any opportunity that they have out there for granted because that can make the difference in being in the rotation or not, or making an impression on the rest of the league. So they’ve got to take it serious and we’ve got to bring that energy to support them. And it's just fun. Like, we're playing basketball at the end of the day. It's nice to see guys win. You want to win any game you play. I don't care what it is.”

14:39 on communicating with CP3 on the court, as it looks like he's sort of in everyone's ear after every play: “We've seen him play for a very long time and it’s nice getting directed at us in a way that we can accept it, versus how it used to be, because he does talk. He is constantly locked in on what's going on. And the adjustments need to be made in the game, within the game. So you’ve got to embrace it, even if sometimes you might not want to hear it because it's challenging you to do something different. Like, I know those moments are gonna come, too, and we're gonna give it to him and all the way down the roster. But good teams accept it and embrace it as part of your identity.”

STEVE TRANSCRIPT FROM PRACTICE

3:27 Steve Kerr after practice on if Draymond Green will be ready by Opening Night: “Yeah, so he's going to do more and more on the court this week. I just talked to him; he felt good in his workout today. He's moving around. He's doing some drill work on the court. And by the end of the week, hopefully he's playing some 3-on-3 we'll reevaluate at that point… I wouldn't put them out there Tuesday night if he hasn't played any 5-on-5. So we're hoping for that later this week, it's 3-on-3 then translates into 5-on-5. Maybe we have practice Sunday. We get Saturday off, so maybe over the weekend. So we'll just play it by ear.”

4:34 on if he’s decided who the starters are for Wednesday vs the Kings: “No, not yet.”

4:41 on which of the two remaining preseason games will be the “dress rehearsal” for the regular season: “Both. ‘Dress rehearsal’ meaning shootaround, scout player personnel, walkthrough, all the game-day routines — more than lineup or patterns.”

5:03 on any updates with Rodney McGruder (concussion protocol): “Yeah, he practiced today and he — I don't know, what we did we list Rodney for tomorrow? (Looks at Raymond Ridder)”

5:15 Ridder: “There’s no isting for preseason games or whatnot, but I'll check with Rick (Celebrini) or Lainn (Wilson).”

5:21 Kerr on McGruder: “I talked to him today. He's feeling great, practiced fully today.”

5:25 on if he’s been pleasantly surprised by Podziemski or if it’s what he expected from him: “I didn't know him well, so I'm impressed. That's the main thing. I think he's a very instinctive basketball player. He's always in the right spot and he sees the game well, indicated by his rebound totals in college, 8.8 a game. He’s just constantly where the ball is. And that translates to a lot of other areas too. So, a really good player. We're very excited.”

5:57 on how he’s seen Kuminga mature as a person and as a player over the past year: “I think this year he definitely feels more mature to me in terms of not getting down on himself, when we're coaching him through his mistakes. He's handling it better. He doesn’t hang his head. He's looking you in the eye. He’s understanding what he did wrong, trying to correct it. Very natural sort of progression from a maturity standpoint, development standpoint. So really, really happy with JK’s camp. And just his whole approach.”

6:45 on the defense so far through three preseason games, after saying it needed to be fixed: “Bad defense. Yeah, we're not there yet. We’re fouling jumpshooters more than we did a year ago through three games. It's one of our key points that we're trying to hit. Last game was better in that regard. And the Sacramento game we didn't foul as much the first few games (where) we fouled like crazy. So we gotta hit on those things. We’ve got to rebound better. We’ve got to take better care of the ball, defend without fouling, put more pressure on the ball. But that's what preseason is for. And we're able to see those mistakes and then hit on them and then it's up to the guys to take that next step and make the improvement at the same time.”

7:36 on how hard it is to project the defense when Draymond is not out there: “Yeah, I mean, Draymond, I think he's the best defensive player in the league. So if he's out, we're not gonna be as good but we still need to be solid, we need to hit our key points to gain that incremental improvement in multiple areas. And that's what it’s gonna take for us to get a lot better.”

MO TRANSCRIPT FROM PRACTICE

8:02 Moses Moody after practice on the team’s defense, what's being emphasized and what he’s seeing: “We’re still getting to know each other when it comes to knowing what somebody's gonna do before they say it, type of connection and communication, but it's a process so I'm sure our defense is gonna be better in Week 3 than it is right now. But, you know, it's camp, we’re learning a lot, they teach us a lot. So just doing that and growing from it.”

8:49 on if there’s a difference this year on defense than last year: “Yes, it should be. We didn't win it last year, so it should be a difference for sure. I know they talk about the numbers and where we stand in the league, where we did last year. So we want to see growth in that area for sure.”

9:08 on how much Draymond will help when he gets back: “Yeah, more so than even just what he actually does on the ball, off the ball, or whatever. Just communication, from quarterback and everything from behind, he can see what's going on. So just that communication would definitely help with his presence.”

9:37 on practices being a little different this year than last year in terms of more instruction and detail: “Yeah, yeah, training camp’s a lot different than last year. Just emphasizing more so on teaching, slowing down, making sure we don’t skip over anything. Drilling a lot of different things, playing a lot more. Years of the past, we've had the opportunity to have older guys, so a lot of guys wouldn't necessarily want to sit here and do shell drill a bunch of times or whatever, because they kind of know where to be. But this year, even the guys that know it, slowing down, going over the repetition. I think that'll be good for us.”

10:26 on if he’s benefiting from that this year: “Yeah, just reinforcing what I've learned up to this point, as well as getting in different situations in practice before I actually get into them in the game. Just like I said, just being able to slow it down and know what you got going on.”

10:50 on if Chris Paul being injected in the second unit will help him, Podziemski and others, especially given the fact that he's super vocal: “Yeah, he is very vocal, like Draymond. Like I said, just that presence out there on the floor has been a big effect on everybody and what's going on, with him being in there with our group, being able to orchestrate things and communicate what he sees and communicate back to us. What he obviously can do on-the-ball whether it’s play-making, scoring, he just adds a whole other dynamic to the offense.”

KINGS PRACTICE QUOTES

11:51 Mike Brown says he’s pulling for guys like Kuminga, then stares at and leans into the camera and says, “JK, just not against us, you hear me?!”

12:27 De’Aaron Fox: “learn while playing” the Warriors so many times (11x last season, two regular season games in first five this season)

13:21 Malik Monk says he heard out of the last 18 games for Sacramento, the Kings and Warriors have played each other 16 times, on the budding rivalry: “they’ve been saying (on Twitter) we’re the young Golden State”.

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