Warriors notes-quotes-video dump leading up to Ring Night

[catching up thru last preseason game]

This is a catch-up article and dump of notes, quotes and videos since practice before the last preseason game and heading into Ring Night tonight, i.e., last Friday through today (Tuesday) morning, with the exception of the Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins interviews on Saturday, which also includes Bob Myers and Steve Kerr on the podium.

I’ll do a separate article for that because we have some additional content from YouTube and commenters there, especially a livestream with CBA expert Keith Smith of SpoTrac to discuss Wiggs and JP as well as Draymond Green’s player option.

To round out the quote dump below we have Kerr pregame, then Kerr postgame plus Klay Thompson, James Wiseman and Jonathan Kuminga, in reverse-chronological order.

There’s also Myers, Kerr, Moses Moody and Kevon Looney quotes from 95.7 The Game’s season preview on Monday. Then also from yesterday there’s Kerr, Donte DiVincenzo and Wiseman after practice. I just have to add: DiVincenzo is just becoming more and more impressive each time he steps on the podium, just reiterating how he wants to fit in.

How many rec league ballers can relate? It’s like he’s living the dream of a lot of highly competitive, solid, not-necessarily-super-athletic, high-IQ basketball players I’ve seen throughout the years in various (amateur) tournaments and leagues. To see such ideals realized at the highest, most elite level on the planet lets me know the game is in good hands.

Below, each of the interview quotes is preceded by the video itself, and we lead off with a compilation leading up to Opening Night as well as the livestream (see topics discussed in the video’s Description) and pregame clips from Friday:

DISCLAIMER: These are all just notes for my main workflow of YouTube videos, tweeted by beatwriters, as listed, or transcribed by me. I used to transcribe every interview but it became too tedious and not worth the investment for the small amount of views we got on the soundbites on YouTube. The links to the tweets are not available because sometimes I don’t use the full tweet and just having a ton of tweets on this website imo isn’t aesthetically pleasing and gets away from the main goal: transferring information (not so much entertainment) to the brains of DubNation asap.

STEVE AFTER PRACTICE (YESTERDAY)

• Steve Kerr says minutes for starters aren’t ready to be ramped up. Not ready for 30+ minutes. Until they are, Golden State will lean on its depth: “I don’t think we’re ready to have our top 5 or 6 guys play 30-plus minutes a night. We have to rely on our depth…It’s fine. You just adapt and adjust.” (Monte Poole, CJ Holmes, Mark Medina)

• On Jama and his role: “His energy is infectious…he’ll be handing substitutions, taking that from Mike Brown…get it mapped out (before the game with Bruce Fraser)…if I’m up at halfcourt…put him in, you don’t need my approval…I’ve just got too much going with my discussion with the referees, with the players on the floor…Like Mike, he’s extremely organized…also in a meeting every day with our performance staff…say, Klay can’t go (various minutes)…he’s kind of the Chief of Staff, he gets everything organized.” (me)

• On Klay: “we’ll build him up from here…his calf, his Achilles…they just wanted to make sure he had strength in that calf.” (me)

DONTE AFTER PRACTICE

• Donte DiVincenzo: “I am so eager to just get on the court and play…two different types of feelings…super-excited for guys like JK, Wise and Moses to get their rings. And Wiggs.” (me)

• On Wiggins: “Their confidence is gonna be at an all-time high. When you’re at the top everyone’s gonna try to bring you down…challenge of doing it again, night in and night out…I’m sure as hell glad he’s on my team now.” (me, NBCSBA)

• On winning championships at Villanova: “Same thing happened to me in college (hurt). That was the fuel to my fire…there’s a lot of Hall of Fame players that never won a ring…just to add to this team. They already have the blueprint…help where they need to be helped.” (me)

• On Elena Delle Donne: “I’m Delaware there’s not many high-level basketball players…yes you are, but you’re not here…Gus Johnson…Best from Delaware…definitely (Del Donne)…huge fan…she’s an amazing person.” (me)

• On what the nicknames are for him, such as “the Michael Jordan of Delaware” (rejected) and “Big Ragu”, according to reporter Kerith Burke: “White Donte?…Te, D, DD, DiVo…a lot…my mom calls me Donte and when I’m in trouble, Donte Michael.” (me, Marcus Thompson)

• On his contract: “Seeing Jordan and Wiggs signing their extensions, that’s motivation…not the focus for me…my goal is to be a factor in the playoffs on a winning team. That’s what my focus is right now and everything else will take care of itself.” (me)

• On the culture and having Poole and Wiggins locked up: “It doesn’t feel like I’ve only been here a couple months. Honestly, it feels like I’ve been here almost a year. That’s what it feels like. It’s not a bad thing. It’s a good thing…makes it feel like you’re part of the family instantly.” (me, Alex Espinoza)

• On the Warriors system: “The one thing that stands out to me…constant movement…Loon will go from one side of the court to the other…four screens…that’s the type of basketball I like to play…it’s fun and honestly it’s coming together, it’s still early…get him feeling good (Poole)…understanding of ‘alright you got it this time.’” (me)

WISE AFTER PRACTICE

• James Wiseman on the depth and none of the starters ready to go more than 30 minutes: “It’s Strength in Numbers like we’ve talked about. That’s our motto here at Golden State.” (me)

• On Klay’s advice: “Just to be patient, take it one day at a time…don’t get too high, don’t get too low…made me more relaxed…focusing on one thing at a time….build that foundation first.” (me)

• On his first Opening Night in 2019: “Man, it was crazy for me because I was thrown into the fire, going into my first year. I can't wait for this game tomorrow. It's going to be different. It's going to be better…it was Brooklyn on the road (in December)…insane.” (Mark Medina, me)

• On if he’ll surpass that Opening Night in Brooklyn when he scored 20: “We’ll see. We’ll see.” (me)

• On a lot of talk about the blueprint for the Warriors: “just falling in love with the process.” (me)

• On having a full season ahead of him: “just excited to go through the regular stages of an NBA player.” (me)

• On any jitters: “I was nervous…in Japan…a little bit of a warmup (for Opening Night).” (me)

BOB, STEVE, MOSES & LOON ON 95.7

• Bob Myers said the season opener was a “soft deadline” to get an extension deal done for Andrew Wiggins.

• On Joe Lacob: “It’s rare that an owner would commit this much financially into a team. It is not normal…Teams like this don’t come along very often.”

• On what he’d say to fans that are worried this is the last dance with the big 3 (Draymond, Steph, Klay): “I would say to that fan enjoy the season. Tune in at the end of the season… we’ll see what happens.”

• On why this team will get through the drama: “Like Steinmetz mentioned, we probably have the best face of a franchise in the history of sports. I believe that. Steph sets this tone of ‘we will figure this out.’ He really is the beacon of how we move.”

• Steve Kerr said he and Kenny Atkinson were watching Steph Curry go through his drills today and Kenny said: “'Looks like he’s a Sophomore at Davidson.' That’s how much joy he brings.”

• On James Wiseman: “James has been fantastic… I love James. He’s going to be really good.”

• Is Moses Moody going to be the type of guy that wears his ring all the time? “I don’t know if I’m gonna get fined but I’m tryin to wear it in the game.”

• Kevon Looney on how Draymond Green is handling the aftermath of the altercation: “I think Draymond’s doing a great job of getting the camaraderie back.”

WIGGS, JP, STEVE & BOB ON EXTENSIONS

(quotes to be posted in a future article with some bonus content)

KERR POSTGAME vs NUGGETS

• Steve Kerr on Klay Thompson: “He looked really good. I asked him just now how he felt and he said he felt great.” (CJ Holmes)

• Kerr said James Wiseman is in a better situation this year for the Warriors: “I think he’s really thriving.” (95.7 The Game)

• Kerr said Draymond “made a lot of great plays,” got tired in Q3 as did the whole team. “He’s ready to roll again.” (me)

• Kerr offers no info on the two-way spots. (me)

• Kerr on the energy in the building when Klay is in a groove: “There’s just a beautiful flow that happens. When he gets hot that’s the vibe.” (95.7 The Game)

• How many 3-pointers did Klay think he hit tonight, the stats computers not working? “It felt like five or six. It’s kinda nice not having stats.” (Alex Espinoza)

• Klay on his big night: “I felt amazing. I don’t take this time for granted playing October basketball. It’s been three years. I was nervous the entire day.” (95.7 The Game, Marc Spears, Kendra Andrews)

• Klay on his off-season: “I was in the gym like almost every day. I wasn’t just dancing on a boat, I was really working.” (95.7 The Game, me)

• On if he was frustrated with not playing earlier preseason games: “My individual workouts were so hard, they were harder than the 5-on-5s.” (me)

• On Wiseman: “It was fun to see Wise out there, too. We had some dog days in the dungeon.” (95.7 The Game, me)

• On Golden State’s upcoming season opener: “I’m so incredibly excited for Tuesday. It’s going to be a special night.” (KNBR)

• On the Draymond Green-Jordan Poole situation: “It's in the past…I think ring night and time will heal all wounds…We need both of them to go where we want to go.” (95.7 The Game, Marc Spears, NBCSBA)

KLAY POSTGAME vs NUGGETS

• Klay on the youngsters: “We’re seeing the future right in front of our eyes. The most unique mix of young talent and veterans that, possibly, we’ve ever seen.” (KNBR)

• On upcoming ring night: “It’s gonna be tough to sleep Monday night.” (95.7 The Game)

WISE POSTGAME vs NUGGETS

• James Wiseman on having an uninterrupted off-season: “I feel like the game is slowing down for me, especially compared to my rookie year.” (KNBR)

• On his first-ever game with Klay: “Me and Klay had some hard days…uplift each other.” (me)

JK POSTGAME vs NUGGETS

• Jonathan Kuminga on the lob and back: “doing the same action that I did…Klay was wide open.” (me)

• On Draymond: “It’s great to have him back. It didn’t feel like he was gone for too long.” (me)

• On the altercation: “Everything happens for a reason, but we don’t know the reason…getting better every day.” (me)

• On what was flowing; “Knowing where I need to be…know what they like (and don’t like)…open baskets.” (me)

• On if he would participate in the dunk contest: “I don’t think that will ever happen.” (me)

• On ring night: “I kinda forgot about it…idk what’s gonna happen…dream come true, gonna be me in a couple days.” (me)

• On what the most athletic thing he’s done is: “I’ve done a lot…I don’t really go back and think about it because it just happens naturally.” (me)

• On where he’s at heading into second season: “have a bigger role, it doesn’t matter offense or defense…I’m growing a lot as a person.” (me)

KERR PREGAME vs NUGGETS

• Klay Thompson will play 15-16 minutes tonight and won't play in the second half, Steve Kerr says. Draymond's minutes might be a little lower than Steph, Wiggs and Looney. (CJ Holmes, 95.7 The Game)

• Kerr on Thompson being excited: “I expect him to shoot every time. He'll be thrilled to be out there. I can't wait.” (CJ Holmes, 95.7 The Game)

• Moses Moody (right calf soreness) is out tonight. Happened “on one of his several falls” and crashing drives the other night. Not considered serious. (Connor Letourneau, Anthony Slater, Shayna Rubin)

• On Draymond's return tonight: “It’ll be great for Draymond to get back and it’ll be fun for us to see him back as well.” (95.7 The Game)

• Jamal Murray will not play tonight for the Nuggets. Nikola Jokic is probable. Bones Hyland will play, as will Jeff Green and DeAndre Jordan. (Kendra Andrews at Michael Malone pregame presser)

👍👍💛💙