Dub Hub: Warriors ranked second-most valuable team in the world

Rounding up all Warriors and NBA related news for Thursday, February 22nd.

Warriors News:

Sportico lists the Warriors as the second-most valuable sports franchise in the world

Stephen Curry, Steve Kerr and a Golden State Warriors dynasty at a crossroads | ESPN

A greener staff led by an inexperienced head coach, one source said, might’ve tried to forge ahead with the approach. But Kerr and his veteran staff of assistants, which included former head coaches Mike Brown and Kenny Atkinson, along with three-plus decades of NBA coaching experience from Ron Adams, possessed extensive NBA résumés. They knew full well, the source said, that it would be virtually unprecedented for the Warriors to push for another title while meaningfully developing the young players.

Lacob acknowledges that viewpoint. “There’s truth to that,” he said. “There’s also truth to the second point, which is that we had these three great players that wanted to try to continue to win right away. They’re a factor. The coaching staff is a factor in all of that. Then you have an owner — and, quite frankly, I’m very involved — who doesn’t want to ever be in the lottery, ever. We don’t want to be bad. We don’t want to go through a transition. I just can’t do that. So you put those factors together, and it was going to be a tough path.”

How Jonathan Kuminga made the most of a golden opportunity | Yahoo Sports

“I just told him how I feel, he told me how he feels. Things he wanted me to do more to get more playing time. After that, just going out there and just enjoying it, enjoying playing for him,” Kuminga told Yahoo Sports. “He’s coaching me harder. Sometimes you don’t understand things until it comes to your eyes. Somebody wants great things for you, that’s why they coach you harder. I think that’s what it was, just him coaching me harder every time because he wants great things from me. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be on this court. I wouldn’t have this type of spirit to go out there and play.”

The Warriors Plus Minus Podcast debate Chris Paul and Brandin Podziemski playing time

Chris Paul was a full participant during Wednesday’s practice

NBA News:

Durant, Vogel react to Charles Barkley’s talk on KD leadership | ESPN

In a wide-ranging interview for Boardroom — a platform owned by Durant — KD was asked by his agent, Rich Kleiman, about Barkley’s most recent comments and his image in the league.

“I don’t feel like I want people to call me a leader, but I also don’t want people to say I’m not one either, because they don’t see what goes on behind the scenes of what I talk about or my intentions or relationships that I’ve built with my teammates and my support staff,” Durant said.

He described those critical of his leadership as “not being aware” of his leadership style.

The Athletic’s Shams Charania reports on the Isaiah Stewart-Drew Eubanks incident prior to the All-Star Break

Former NBA player JJ Redick gives his take on the state of basketball content

In case you missed it at Golden State of Mind:

Golden State of Mind reacts: Will the Warriors trade Andrew Wiggins this summer?

But will they revisit a Wiggins trade down the road? With the emergence of Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski — not to mention the exciting potential and smooth play of Moses Moody and Lester Quiñones — the Warriors might be happy to get off of Wiggins’ contract. He’s owed $26.3 million next season, $28.2 million the next year, and $30.2 million in 2026-27.

It’s hard to feel confident in what direction the Dubs will take without knowing how the rest of the season plays out. If they stay around .500 and get knocked out of the play-in tournament, expect bigger changes than if they continue their recent hot play and make another run to the NBA Finals.

So what’ll it be, Dub Nation? Does Wiggins get traded this summer?

Warriors sign lacrosse star to two-way contract

Spencer was a surprise revelation at Summer League in 2022, earning himself an Exhibit 10 deal and a training camp invitation. He had a unique background, playing just a single, graduate year of college basketball at Northwestern after a standout lacrosse career Loyola University in Maryland.

“Standout” may be an understatement. Spencer was a four-time All-American and set the career record for assists, while ending up second all-time in goals scored. He won the Tewaaraton Award in 2019, the lacrosse equivalent of the Heisman Trophy, and was the No. 1 overall pick in that year’s Premier Lacrosse League draft. But he chose to play basketball instead, a decision that paid off when he signed with the Capital City Go-Gos, the G League franchise of the Washington Wizards.

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