Wiggins x Kuminga dynamics (Miami postgame transcripts +more)
[free article, notes/quotes/video]
Below is the transcript from the Golden State Warriors’ postgame interviews after the win at the Miami Heat, with Steve Kerr, Jonathan Kuminga, Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole and Damion Lee. The whole video shebang including the Miami side is here:
Some observations and opinions:
• Wiggins brushed off a question about a comparison of Kuminga’s development to his own. I took that as a sign of not wanting to rehash his Minnesota Timberwolves days. You can see it for yourself in his interview. He’s already said earlier this season before the All-Star Break that he’s found a home here with the Warriors. His contract is up at the end of next season (Summer 2023) and fans on our YouTube live chat have bantered that his expiring contract could be attractive even this summer. I don’t necessarily agree (haven’t analyzed it that much) because $33 million is a huge number that I don’t think is easily matched in a trade, plus the Warriors don’t really have the spots based on the roster blueprint of this season and, perhaps most importantly, they’re probably more inclined to want to keep that large salary slot to get something of similar value back in a trade when they’ve gotten Wiggs back to having a non-negative-value contract (i.e., salary cap gymnastics dating back to 2016 and beyond that allowed us to add Kevin Durant as a gigantic slot when few other teams could pull that off). Such “Debbie Downers” clamor for Wiggs to be traded only after he struggles in any game, though. I would like to think that as of right now, he’s considering making the Bay his permanent home and might even take a discount to stay. Wiggs pointing out that Kuminga has the vets and coaches putting him in the right position seems to suggest that he laments not having such luxuries coming up through Minnesota, although I could be reading into it too much. And, as always, a lot can happen between now and next summer, so we’ll see, but I can envision a situation where Wiggs agrees to stay for slightly less than market value because Joe Lacob, Bob Myers and Kerr have enabled the warriors to be championship contenders with a strong culture for years to come.
• The growth rate in IQ of Kuminga, especially with the talk of him in the post, is scary. He really does work a lot. During the struggles against the Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs, he went to the practice facility after hours at least twice. The Warriors have one of their development staff with him almost constantly. As seen in the videos below, Kuminga even worked out in the southern Florida during the All-Star Break with trainers from his agency:
Here’s some more on Kuminga and “.5 Basketball”:
• Poole’s favorite ways to answer questions can be summed up as follows: “Huge. Just play my game.” In Draymond’s recent rant against the media (which seemingly was targeted at one reporter), Green mentioned how he expands on his answers. I would hope that JP somehow finds value in that, over time.
• DLee way-outperformed his contract against the Heat. Based on my research during the live chat (read: I could be slightly off on this because running a livestream while doing other things is super-hard), Damion hadn’t made a three in two weeks. He was due. But then that’s how it goes with veteran minimum spots, which he’s talked about on the podium before, saying “there’s a pecking order”. Even though he’s an easy target when the casual fans are frustrated during the struggles, I’m beginning to think he’s actually a bargain and we could conceivably see him as a Warrior for awhile even though it’s always a one-year “vet min” deal. Again, we’ll see, and this is probably worth it’s own article.
• Once again Steve revealed that the key to get through the adversity is, quite simply, positivity. What if I told you that you could learn a lot about life not only from the invite guys like Stephen Curry, but also Kerr? And Damion. And Juan Toscano-Anderson. Note: this is a shameless plug for you to come join our game commentary livestreams on the YouTube channel.
• The audio and setup of the Zoom calls was not ideal and I’m starting to hear the whining in the comments on YouTube. I’ve noticed these days in the era of social media that a lot of people act entitled and are not mindful of situations. NBA teams’ PR staffs have a lot on their plate and adding the role of technology specialist to their task list is difficult especially when there isn’t a remote-enabled microphone (super-expensive technology) to pass around for each of the reporters to talk into. The Warriors happen to care about this and so the do a good job on the Zoom calls at Chase Center but I’m sure their budget for technology is a lot higher than the other 29 teams. Furthermore, NBA fans should realize that it wasn’t too long ago when Zoom calls weren’t even possible. So in those days, you’d have to rely on a guy like me or the local team cable provider’s camera man to be assigned that day to physically video record the interview. Even then, the audio was very very tricky. Since the dawn of sports reporting, you had to rely on reporters providing quotes in their written stories, which is fine but it also means you aren’t able to get the raw feed and draw your own conclusions, as I’m going to do in the next paragraphs. So I think this is a friendly reminder that fans should be a little more mindful, a little more grateful that we’ve made some strides with technology but then also not be so entitled as to think that every reporter’s question ought to be heard by the whole world. That’s just not the case and I don’t see this changing in the near future except for the heavily covered events such as the Finals (when the NBA steps in and imposes the resources by sheer will onto the event, as you’ve often witnessed, I’m sure, on TV or shared on Twitter and Instagram).
STEVE
2:24, 3 • Recap: “Overall competitive fire…that’s a really physical team…coaches kept saying we’re gonna make some threes 🚨…3-for-17 at halftime…getting good looks…our guys earned it…game gets a lot easier offensively (when you can defend and rebound).”
• How to explain the win (without Draymond and Klay, Miami at full strength): “If I knew I would bottle it and sell to other coaches…sometimes the NBA doesn’t make any sense…greatest players on earth…everybody’s human, you go through ups and downs 🚨…just keep pushing ahead and not succumb to the noise and the rollercoaster nature…”
• How to get through ups and downs: “…made a couple of adjustments/reminders on personnel but no Knute Rockne speech.”
0:47 • Wiggins: “It’s been a rough go for Andrew but he has played a lot of great games for us this year…you gotta look at the sum of the whole season. That’s all I told him…he’s gonna get it back…stayed with it…”
1:32, 3 • Kuminga: “…the growth has been continuous all year…dramatic 🚨 …so explosive. The game is slowing down…when he’s down on the post you can see it, he’s more patient. Like a lot of rookies early in the season he was going to fast…”
• What changed for JK during the game: “…I’d have to watch the tape…”
• Kuminga foul trouble: “…as a rookie he’s prone to falling for some veteran tricks…that’s a really crafty team…”
1:57, 2 • Poole: “He was fantastic just running high screen and roll…couple of Wiggs buckets came when they decided to double Jordan…been amazing for awhile now…we’re gonna stay on him on defense and boxing out…fun to watch his success because he’s really earned it.”
• More high pick and roll with Poole? “It’s still a work in progress. We’ve wanted to go to it more…him recognizing when to go and when not to…we didn’t really play that differently tonight than last night, it’s just we attacked better…defense leads to offense…better energy…”
POOLE
1:17, 2 • Response game compared to Orlando: “I guess…back to backs can be tough…”
• High screens: “…find a mismatch…we can put defenses into rotations…”
0:35• Kuminga: “Huge. Huge. Being able to come in and have the impact that he does… at his age…shouldn’t be slept on…a lot of people in his ear…contribute…”
0:38 • Wiggins: “Huge. Huge…go out there and just dominate…I have no doubt that he’ll just take over. Every time he goes into the game I have the utmost faith and trust…he has no reason to listen to the noise because he’s a great player. 🚨 Huge win for us…”
1:19 • Miami doubling: “…goes back to putting defenses in a rotation. I’m a willing passer 🚨…”
• Success against one of the best defenses in the league: “It’s pretty cool. Sure for sure.”
• (inaudible): “…if we can get any advantage…build of that momentum…just play our game was huge for us
KUMINGA
1:35, 4 • Recap: “I’m just getting more comfortable…I know what time to do it and what I’m gonna do.”
• Improvement: “Putting in that work every single day…get more comfortable. Working with the coaches, Steve himself 🚨…more confident…”
• Best improvement: “I’ll say post up. Whenever I’m out there I get whatever I want to. 🚨 Setting screens, diving to the rim…”
• (inaudible): “…getting to the paint every single time…”
0:36 • Poole: “Jordan is Jordan. 🚨 …DLee, he had a great game today…I’m happy for him. He really haven’t been playing for a minute…”
1:25 • (inaudible): “…we gotta stay locked in for 48 minutes every single night…Draymond said last time, we always get beat in the fourth quarter 🚨…”
• Draymond’s speech: “Before he came and told you guys that, he shut the door off the locker room and yelled at everybody to wake up…everybody, coaches, everybody that was in the locker room at the time. We kinda needed that. He’s one of our leaders…he’s helping at the end of the day.”
WIGGINS
1:42, 3 • Improvement: “These last couple games I’ve been starting off kinda slow 🚨 and had to pick it up in the second half…I just wasn’t asserting myself…even when the shots weren’t falling…keep attacking…”
• Adjustment to Steph being out: “That’s part of it. Even the last game I didn’t make shots but it felt good. I’m on the right track…just gotta keep it rolling.” 🚨
• Recap: “…I’ve of the better games I’ve had…carry it on, have that same mindset.”
1:15, 3 • Kuminga: “He’s nice. He’s nice. His growth this year is amazing…soaking everything in…great vets, great coaches, teammates have been putting him in position to be successful. He’s a kid that wants to learn…every game he’s getting better…he’s doing things that we’ve never seen him do and he’s just doing it. He’s talented. Sky’s the limit…” 🚨
• More Kuminga: “He’s starting to know that he can get to the basket any time that he wants 🚨 …quicker, stronger, more athletic than most guys, majority of guys. He’s figuring that out and that’s the scary part.”
• How long did it take for you to figure it out: “Couldn’t tell you. Too long ago. I don’t remember. I’m not too sure.”
0:52, 2 • Poole: “…attacking, creating for others, making shots, making plays. When he got fouled he did a good job of getting the ball off his hands, feeding the other guys. We made shots and executed.”
• High screen for Poole: “…he’s very comfortable in that area…”
DAMION
1:32, 2 • Recap: “…no excuses…haven’t had our full roster…bouncing back…continuity…”
• Individual performance: “Just try to do out there and play…make a positive impact…everyone stepping up in different moments…”
1:32, 2 • Kuminga: “Just continue to understand spacing, timing, awareness…he’s a freak 🚨 …physical as hell…when to attack when he has smaller guys on him…mismatch…knowing where his spots are…plenty of years to be great…soaking up game from all of the vets…”
• Kuminga posting up: “…baseline, go middle. His footwork for an eighteen year old is really damn good 🚨 …when to use pump fakes…when the defense collapses, kick outs…knowing when to cut. You see his confidence growing every single game…”
2:06, 2 • Poole doubled: “…just seeing reads…reading the game from the backside…where rotations are…ball gets to the wing that means it’s 3-on-2 or maybe 2-on-1 on the backside…reading where that low man is…”
• Poole and high screens: “…he works on every facet of his game. He’s not just a point guard or just a shooting guard. He can do it all…decision making is getting better and better…everyone just going and running the floor…”
👍👍💛💙
