Q and A: Columnist on Curry’s quarterback potential, Warriors’ offseason

Jane Bracher

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Q and A: Columnist on Curry’s quarterback potential, Warriors’ offseason

AFP

Rappler talks to Marcus Thompson, Warriors columnist and author, about everything from Golden State’s offseason moves to his prediction for the next NBA playoffs

MANILA, Philippines – Stephen Curry would make a good quarterback. The Golden State Warriors aren’t likely to get Paul George. And the Houston Rockets still won’t beat the Warriors even with the addition of Chris Paul.

Warriors columnist Marcus Thompson, also the author of bestselling book “Golden: The Miraculous Rise of Steph Curry,” took some time during this NBA offseason to share with Rappler his analyses of the defending champion’s offseason moves and how they’ve somehow gotten better, as well as Curry’s golf career, and the big moves around the league since July. 

Read a transcript of the interview below.

What is your assessment of the Warriors FA? Omri Casspi, keeping the core with Iggy and Shaun even JaVale and Zaza, adding Nick Young?

Thompson: From all perspectives, it was a really good free agency by the Warriors. They didn’t lose anybody so that’s a big deal because it costs a lot of money to keep this team. And the owner showed he’s willing to pay. Andre Iguodala made him pay and they proved that point. They’ve been saying for a long time they’ll pay whatever it takes to win a championship and this is what it takes. So the big victory was keeping the core together. And they actually might have gotten better. They’ve added Nick Young, who is a more I guess you would say proven scorer off the bench. Ian Clark was good in spots but he wasn’t the guy who could just roll out there and get you 20. Nick Young is a pretty good shooter but he’s a proven scorer. And you thrown in Omri Caspi, that’s the guy who could shoot. I’ll never forget the shootout he had with Steph Curry against the Kings. It was Warriors versus the Kings. They hit like 10 threes in a quarter combined, it was going back and forth. And everybody was like, who’s this Omri dude? He immediately gives them shooting off the bench, which is what they didn’t have. They got a spacer, they got a 4 who could spread the floor. That’s [what] they needed coming off the bench and they got it. So you can argue they’ve gotten better, they’ve gotten deeper. And they are the champions so it’s really hard to think the Warriors got better. But you know it’s a good offseason when you can say that after they won a championship.

Do you think they’re still missing something at this point?

Thompson: I mean it’s greedy, right? It would be greedy to like look at this roster and say, oh you could use this and kind of nitpick it. It’s like Halle Berry saying maybe I should be 8 inches taller. It’s like, whatever you’re already perfect, shut up. I think they’d need someone off the bench who could get to the bucket at will. That’s what they need. Somebody who could draw free throws and get to the bucket at will off the bench. Second unit sometimes has a hard time scoring and really they added two shooters. So you want somebody that can get to the rim when times get rough. They still don’t have that. They still have other pieces to lean on but if you want a perfect roster I think that’s what they need. 

So will the Warriors go for Paul George next year? 

Thompson: Don’t bite. Don’t bite. Don’t fall for it. They don’t need him. Where would they put him? Where would he play? 

Exactly. How would that even work financially?

Thompson: It wouldn’t work. The only way it work is they have to give up Klay Thompson. But they ain’t giving up Klay. They’re not giving up Klay. The Paul George thing I remember, Paul George – and I wrote this a while ago – would be something they would do if they didn’t get KD. So that’s the conversation. But the thinking is that Joe Lacob is one of those owners who he’s gonna go after the best player available on the market if he can. That’s Joe Lacob’s thinking. He went after LeBron James, he went after Dwight Howard, he went after Kevin Durant. If you’re a big name on the market Joe Lacob probably has interest. But in this situation, if Paul George is the best player on the market, they’re kind of already stocked in his position so they kind of don’t need to. Why would they do it? Unless Klay is like, I’m out. But I don’t think Klay’s gonna do that. And if they have their choice, I think they’d take Klay over Paul George because Klay fits with what they’re doing better than Paul George. It’s all like offseason, let’s see if anythinf sticks, let’s get hype about whatever little detail we have. No, Paul George is not coming to the Warriors – unless Klay leaves.

Did you expect that KD would offer to take less money to keep Iguodala and Shaun Livingston?

Thompson: I knew he would take a little less. His max could have been $34 million but if he insisted that they would have had to cut some people to be able to pay him that. So I knew he would take the lower max, which was $31 million, we all knew he was taking that. I didn’t know he was gonna take another $6 million off. I didn’t see that coming. I didn’t expect that. I still don’t kind of understand why he did it. I mean, it was a great gesture that you just don’t see players make that much anymore. He took less money because the ownership was thinking the price was getting pretty high. If he didn’t take that money, you don’t keep Iguodala. Not because of salary cap reasons, but because ownership has set a limit. Like, alright this is the most I’ll spend. So KD working with that, said alright I’ll take less. So it was a self-imposed salary cap that KD helped them meet. And you just don’t see that happen too often. Now if it was like, if you take less money so we can keep Andre because the cap won’t allow it, and it’s not to in essence help the owners, alright. But basically all he did was help the owners save money. And it was partially noble, and I’m sure other people are like, what are you doing? Why are you trying to save this team money? But because he did it, they were able to keep everybody. Once he took that, he had a choice between a full max, which would have required the Warriors to cut players to fit his salary, but once he took the – basically it was an extension, it’s just a regular extension, a 20% raise on his last deal because they don’t have his Bird Rights. Once he did that they don’t have to cut anybody so they all – Andre, Shaun – they all got Bird Rights. So the Warriors can spend whatever on them. They could’ve given Andre Iguodala $30 million if they wanted to. It’s just a matter of how much do they wanna pay? So clearly at some point, the Warriors made it clear there was a limit on how much they were gonna pay. And that limit meant probably Shaun Livingston or Andre Iguodala wouldn’t be back. And so Kevin Durant said, okay you know what, I’m going to help you. I’m going to take $25 million. That way you can stay under your self-imposed limit and keep those two. So it was a really noble and also head-scratching gesture by KD. 

What is your take on Nick Young’s entry? I’ve heard you say before that the Warriors are becoming some sort of career-rehabilitation center.

Thompson: Right. They turned around JaVale McGee’s career and they turned around really how people view him, which affects your career. People look at JaVale McGee differently. Now Nick Young is a guy who people see as kind of wild, selfish, maybe not the best team guy. And the Warriors are like yeah bring him on. We got this. What it shows is that they’re really secure in their locker room. They’re secure with the guys they have around. They don’t think Nick Young will come in there and harm anybody. He won’t be a bad influence that will impress on anybody. They believe their locker room will impress on Nick Young. That wasn’t always the case. Now it is. It just shows how much they’ve grown. If you’re causing problems in the Warriors locker room, they probably would just get rid of you. They likelihood is Steph, KD, Draymond, Andre, guys like David West, they’ll handle all that stuff internally. So you don’t really have to worry. And if you don’t listen to those guys, you probably don’t have the spot on the roster anyway. 

What are your thoughts on the rest of the league making big moves? Like they’re all joining forces to beat the Warriors?

Thompson: Does it matter? Will they? 

You don’t think anybody could at this point?

Thompson: I think it’s gonna require an injury, like if the Warriors have an injury.  

Not even Houston?

Thompson: All they did was add a player that can’t beat the Warriors to a team that couldn’t beat the Warriors. I mean, I’m not lying, it is what it is. The Warriors are not scared of the Rockets. They’re probably more scared of the Timberwolves. That’s a team that gives them problems. But they’ve kind of figured out the Chris Paul thing, they’ve beaten James Harden in two playoffs now. They’ve shown they can handle him. Chris Paul, he definitely helps that team, they’re better. But I don’t think he solves their problems. They just gained another dude that frankly the Warriors are pretty confident against. 

So you think it’ll be a dominant season again or will it be a little more difficult to the title this year?

Thompson: The only thing I’m thinking is that some of the playoff match-ups should be pretty…it won’t be hard but they’ll be more difficult. Like they have Portland and Utah before San Antonio and San Antonio didn’t have Kawhi Leonard. They won’t get the easy road this time. Whoever the 8th seed is, is probably a team that I will guess it’ll be a team that puts up more of a fight defensively. Then the second round team should probably be better. And then whoever they meet in the Western Conference Finals will be better than San Antonio without Kawhi. It’s gonna be a tougher road, the West is deeper. I mean if Minnesota is at the 8th seed, that’s gonna be a tough series. They won’t go 16-1. And if they have a tougher road, will that make the Finals a little bit more difficult? Perhaps. I think that’s what we’re looking at. Like how hard would it be, I’m thinking it’ll be a little bit harder. And in the same token, the Warriors should be better. Not because they added pieces, but they have a year together under their belt. One more year with KD and coach Steve Kerr, one more year of developing chemistry, so they won’t be worse. I think without an injury they’re gonna win a championship. 

Focusing now on Steph Curry’s golf career, what was it like watching him live? Was he a natural?

Thompson: First off he looks the part. He looks like a golfer. He could put on them little tight pants and the polo shirt and the hat and he looks like a golfer. But he also looks like one when he’s playing. I don’t even think he understands how impressive it is what he did. I think he looks like it like, man I should’ve done better. But it’s kind of ridiculous that he went out there on a pro tour, first time ever, and shot two 74s. He’s kind of a freak. I wrote about this on The Athletic and he was just a freak, man. He’s a freak of nature. He’s just weird. Something wrong with him. There’s something wrong with his body that he’s able to do that. I was dying after that course. 

You emphasized in your book that Steph thrives when he’s the underdog. Did he take to heart that everyone was second guessing him?

Thompson: No question. No question. All them golfers who were like talking trash, he shouldn’t be out there, he’s gonna shoot an 80 – he heard all that and that totally motivated him. No question about it. And he’d let Ayesha talk trash for him on Twitter. 

In your book you also differentiated the various personas of Steph. There’s Steph and then there’s Stephen, so what side of Curry did you see playing golf?

Thompson: Oh that’s Steph. It’s the fun-loving super competitor. He’s the athlete that just loves to compete. That’s Steph to a T. That’s the same dude that’s like trying 35-foot left-handed 3-pointers just for fun, the one who takes tunnel shots from the corner before the game. That’s definitely Steph. If you tell him to try bowling, it’s gonna be Steph bowling. If you tell him to play cricket, it’s gonna be Steph playing cricket. That’s the side of him that loves to compete at whatever he does. 

What sport do you think he should try next?

Thompson: I think basketball is enough. I mean, why does he have to be great at everything? Stop hogging. 

Not even football? He likes the Panthers.

Thompson: Football. Steph’s got a great arm. He’s got a cannon for an arm. He’s a natural quarterback, probably. High IQ, great athlete, tougher than people think. He can probably be a quarterback. Steph is huge. Steph is physically superior to Tom Brady, without question. Superior physically than Aaron Rodgers. No question about it. Steph takes off his shirt, and Aaron Rodgers takes off his shirt, I’ll bet you’ll point to Steph as the more complete athlete. He says he keeps his body weight between 190 and 192 lbs. So 6-3 and 190-192, and he can move. Steph, no question. – Rappler.com 

This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

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