- 2 months ago
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00:00Now, back to Willard and Dibbs.
00:03I mean, Mark, it's so good to hear y'all's voices.
00:05And Mr. Dibbs, I mean, it's just been way too damn long.
00:09So, it puts a smile on my face.
00:12On 95-7, the game.
00:14Hold on, let me see if I can get this straight.
00:16Let me see if I can get this.
00:17The Warriors are 3-1.
00:18Yeah.
00:19They look really, really good.
00:21They look, look, look really good.
00:22Strength in numbers is back.
00:24Draymond Green now works for Odyssey.
00:28Let's see, what else?
00:29Oh, Jonathan Kaminga rebounds.
00:31Uh-huh.
00:32And Nick Fridell is here in the room.
00:34That's right.
00:35And he was greeted by his own walk-up song.
00:38Because he's got that much au jus in the building.
00:41Damn right.
00:41It's a good day.
00:43Hey, Nick.
00:44What's going on?
00:44It's a damn good day.
00:45It's a damn good day.
00:47River Island's guest line, the athletic Nick Fridell covering the Dibbs.
00:51What's good, man?
00:52How's it going so far?
00:53They look pretty damn good.
00:55They look pretty damn good, don't they?
00:56You know, it is early and a lot of different things can happen.
01:00But Steve Kerr said he liked the depth all along, all through training camp.
01:05The depth has shown through over the course of the first couple weeks here.
01:09And when you start to go into that locker room postgame, guys, as was the case last night,
01:14and you see how happy everybody is, that stuff permeates all season.
01:22Now, there are a lot of different variables that can pop up and change things.
01:26But when you start to see the camaraderie spilling out off the floor and you see guys having fun off the floor
01:34and you see the way they're playing on it, you go, hmm, okay.
01:41The early returns are very, very good.
01:44I'm supposed to be fancy and official here.
01:46So I'm supposed to say that Odyssey Sports NBA insider Nick Fridell is with us.
01:51Check out all of Odyssey's newest sports podcast on Spotify and or Apple Podcasts.
01:58Okay, so where does that come from?
02:00I know it's right.
02:01We always do this with sports and teams and that chemistry off the field.
02:06It's hard to figure out where it goes when you can't find it.
02:09How do you find it?
02:10But who are the particular personalities that have made this ship go?
02:15I think the best answer to that, Mark, is that Steph is Steph.
02:21And there is such a respect for that guy in that room.
02:24And it's not just the younger guys who want to take a picture with him on media day.
02:29It is crazy to think.
02:30That was pretty fun.
02:30Like a few weeks ago, you've got Will Richard, who at that point nobody knew on the whole.
02:36Yep.
02:37And he's getting a picture with Steph and sending it immediately to his parents.
02:41Like, oh my gosh, I'm here.
02:42And now we're a week and a half into the regular season and he is a rotation piece.
02:47He is a solid player who's going to improve throughout the year, who can really help the group.
02:53But, Mark, I think the answer is nobody wants to disappoint Steph Curry.
02:58And when you have that type of respect and everything filters down, Draymond knows what Steph represents.
03:06All those guys love Draymond because of what he represents and what kind of career he's carved out.
03:11A huge piece to this puzzle is Jimmy.
03:15I think Jimmy is in a great place right now.
03:18Of course, that can change as the season goes on.
03:21But he got paid.
03:22He's in a place where he doesn't have to be the face anymore at this stage of his career.
03:27And he knows that this team has at least a chance to win the title that he's never won.
03:32And so then you start breaking down the rest of the roster and all the pieces seem to fit together.
03:38I think they all really like Horford, although he hasn't played in like five days already because of the no back-to-back things.
03:45But he's fit in well.
03:47And then the rest of those reserves, they know their role.
03:50They know what they're supposed to do.
03:52And they're going out and getting the job done most nights.
03:55It's never going to stay the way it always feels so good that it is early.
04:00The key will be can you get different contributions throughout.
04:04And that's why I think last night was such a great sign because here comes Pods.
04:08Here comes Moody.
04:09And the one guy I haven't mentioned yet who's been awesome to start the year is Jonathan Kaminga.
04:14Yeah, and I think that his fit also comes from a lot of the same places, which is you got the bag.
04:20You didn't get the gigantic, big, black, glad garbage bag, but you got a nice-sized bag, which will take care of him for a year, maybe two.
04:29And I do think that being with those veterans, they've allowed him to just, hey, come in here, do what the unks want you to do.
04:38Because now they're all the unks, and you got the youngsters, and so you're paid, and you're paid for now.
04:44And if you play the right way, you're going to get the really big bag either here and be the future, or you're going to get it elsewhere.
04:51And I don't know if he needed all this to happen for it to crystallize, but my God, Nick, just watching it from afar,
04:57he's doing every last thing that we spent the whole summer wondering if he would ever do.
05:03Mr. Dibbs, Jonathan Kaminga deserves all the credit in the world in the first few weeks here.
05:09Because he came into camp, and it was such a distraction.
05:12I mean, media day was insane.
05:15The Warriors, who are so forward-facing and want a good rapport with the media and go out of their way more than any pro sports team I've ever seen,
05:23trying to get people interviews and do different things.
05:28Steve Kerr, who is the most media-friendly coach there is, doesn't go to the podium.
05:33Mike Dunleavy, who has been around the league his whole life,
05:36they don't go to the podium because they don't want the questions that came with,
05:40is Kaminga going to sign, what does the rest of the roster look like?
05:44It just hadn't been finalized.
05:46I would give the veterans credit for this as well, though.
05:49Jimmy Butler, Steph, Draymond, they all said,
05:52when Jonathan comes in here, we believe that he'll be focused and he'll be ready.
05:57To everyone's credit, that is exactly what has happened.
06:01Kaminga comes in looking like a different player.
06:04Mark, you mentioned he's playing defense, he's getting up and down the floor,
06:07he's rebounding, his rebounding numbers the first week have been awesome.
06:11He is playing at a different level.
06:14When you're getting that on top of what Steph and Jimmy and Draymond can give you,
06:19then you start to go, okay, it's coming together a little bit.
06:22But the reason why they're off to such a good start, in large part,
06:26goes back to what Kaminga is providing for them every night.
06:31Because he's been the most consistent guy alongside Steph of the whole group,
06:36which is pretty impressive given he was coming into camp.
06:39And I remember I asked him, I said, do you really want to be here long term?
06:43And the answer was, I'm here now.
06:46I'm here now, yeah.
06:47And everybody in that room went, oh boy, this could get real ugly.
06:52If you win and the guy who was at the center of all the contract issues,
06:56negotiations throughout the summer is playing well,
06:59all those issues fade away real fast.
07:02I'll tell you what, it's fascinating and we want to talk about it a little bit more.
07:05Odyssey Sports NBA insider Nick Friedle.
07:07Check out all of Odyssey's newest sports podcasts on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
07:12Before I play this for everybody,
07:14were you in the room when JK was talking at the podium last night?
07:17Yes.
07:17Okay, so you'll know this.
07:20This was part of the Q&A.
07:22And I really want to ask you a few questions about this.
07:26This is Jonathan talking about what he did in the offseason to sort of change his game.
07:31It's just one of those aspects of my game that I think I just needed to work on
07:36and just to improve on.
07:37And just going throughout the summer, you know,
07:39I sat down, really thought about what can I have on my game that's not scoring,
07:43that's not just playing defense, or how can I impact winning.
07:46And I think this adding a rebounding mindset, I think,
07:50is just a big part of what I just had to go through the summer and just think about it
07:54and just, you know, just trying to apply as much as I can.
07:57You know, some nights I probably won't grab some,
07:59but just having that mindset of just crashing every time,
08:02just going out there.
08:04Even if I don't get those, you know,
08:05my presence will help somebody else grab those rebounds.
08:08So I think it's just something I've been thinking about,
08:10and I think I'm doing pretty well so far.
08:13And there's just the only way to go and just keeping up that same, you know,
08:17that same work.
08:18You said he deserves so much credit.
08:19He clearly does.
08:21Here's one of the things I've got to be thinking is going through Steve Kerr's mind, though,
08:24which is this is awesome,
08:27but like everything you just said is literally everything the organization
08:31has been begging you to think for four years.
08:34So why now?
08:36What happened?
08:37Why did the light bulb finally go on?
08:39I think the very easy answer, Mark, is he knows he wants to get paid in the future.
08:45And when you have the carrot that is that hefty NBA deal, extension,
08:51next contract hanging there, that should motivate anybody.
08:56It's the reason why I think all his teammates were like,
08:59eh, business is business.
09:01And when the basketball starts,
09:03we believe he will ramp things up to a different place.
09:07And he has, but I don't think there's any question.
09:10When he came into camp,
09:13there was lingering doubt all over the organization.
09:17Does this guy actually want to be here?
09:19Not only now, but in the future.
09:21Because the thought always was,
09:23it seems like he wants to go somewhere else,
09:26try to have a bigger role.
09:28What somebody got across to him,
09:30and in listening to all the different press conferences
09:32to start the year,
09:35my guess right now would be that it was probably Jimmy Butler.
09:39Because he's gone through his own contract negotiations
09:42in different parts in time.
09:44But I think somebody said to him,
09:46listen, if you want to get paid,
09:49and you want a bigger role,
09:51the best thing you can do
09:53is do what Steve Kerr and this coaching staff
09:56are asking of you now.
09:58And either it's going to work here in the Bay long term,
10:01or you're going to get to go somewhere
10:02where they're going to pay you a bunch of more money,
10:05and you can do whatever the hell you want.
10:07And at least early on,
10:09he is absolutely buying into that.
10:11But Mark, I think it's crucial,
10:13because we knew the athleticism was there.
10:15We knew he could get to the bucket.
10:17You just didn't know if he was going to
10:18put in the work defensively and rebound.
10:21And those are the differences.
10:22And I'd say Kerr also said it was the passing
10:24that has been the adjustment for Kaminga
10:26between last season and the season before that
10:29and what you see now.
10:31And you're seeing it in many big ways and small ways.
10:35Nick Friedle here with us,
10:36Willard and Dibbs, on 95-70 game.
10:39And for me, it's not only the passing.
10:40And I was talking to Mark about opening night
10:42where it was the penetrate, the ha-ha,
10:45and normally it'd be I'm going up on two or three guys.
10:48And in the first half, he had a couple tough follow-aways.
10:51In the second half, penetrate, pivot, and pitch.
10:54He pitched one to Steph.
10:55He got one to Pods.
10:57Just guys who were open,
10:58because he drew the defense in
11:00and he was able to pitch it back out.
11:01Those little, subtle, high-IQ plays,
11:04which you're seeing now,
11:06and they're becoming super common,
11:08and it makes you start to dream a little.
11:10Because we talked about, Mark and I,
11:11if you were going to trade him at the deadline,
11:14you'd want somebody who can get you 18-8.
11:17And right now, you have a guy getting you 18-8.
11:19So the whole idea about,
11:20ooh, the deadline.
11:21When's the deadline?
11:22Forget the deadline.
11:23You've got your acquisition,
11:24and it's the real Jonathan Kaminga.
11:26And it's the guy, Mark, to your point,
11:30that the Warriors were hoping to see all along.
11:32Right.
11:32That is where everybody kind of goes,
11:34ah, the light bulb dib,
11:37flicker on,
11:38and everyone went,
11:40this is the player we thought he could become.
11:44Dibs, he's got to show the consistency.
11:46And we're four games into 82 games,
11:4982 more than 82,
11:50because they're going to go to the playoffs,
11:52assuming something catastrophic doesn't happen.
11:54Possible bonus game in the cup, too,
11:55if things go right.
11:57Oh, my God.
11:58I love the cup.
11:59He's the one.
12:00I was going to say,
12:01there's only two.
12:02It's Mr. Dibs and Timmy Bontemps.
12:04There are two people in the universe.
12:07Maybe Adam Silver.
12:08Maybe Adam Silver,
12:08the checks to come in.
12:10Okay, so three people in the world are into the cup.
12:13One more opportunity to gamble.
12:15Yeah.
12:15And that's what Adam and I like.
12:19So there you go.
12:19Yeah, exactly.
12:20There it is.
12:20But when you start seeing these performances,
12:24especially from a guy like Kaminga,
12:26you go, oh, boy.
12:28Dibs, to your point, though, about the deal,
12:30it was always, all right, well,
12:31if Kaminga plays well,
12:33then maybe they can move him at the deadline
12:35and get a couple more pieces in return.
12:37If Kaminga's playing at this level, guys,
12:40there's no reason.
12:41Right.
12:41Because you have, in theory,
12:44everything that you're going to need behind Steph.
12:47So it's what makes this season,
12:50especially the starts of the season,
12:51so fascinating.
12:52Because everybody was kind of wondering,
12:54all right, what does this look like
12:56with a team that is so top-heavy age-wise with stars?
13:01And what it looks like early on is
13:03a team that is deep as hell
13:05that can hit you in a lot of different directions
13:07that is banking on players like Kaminga
13:10and Pajemski and Moody
13:13to take a little bit of a step.
13:15The person who has taken a step early on
13:17is very clear.
13:18It's Jonathan Kaminga.
13:19Okay, so the next question
13:21that's probably too early
13:23to really have a good answer to,
13:24but I want to ask it anyway.
13:26Where do you think he is
13:28on wanting to stay with the Warriors?
13:30Well, I'd want to stay right where
13:32I am getting to start most of the time,
13:36have a huge role,
13:37and play with Hall of Famers.
13:39When you listen to Kaminga
13:41before camp really got going, Mark,
13:44it didn't sound like he wanted to be here.
13:46It didn't sound like he wanted to
13:48have a future in the Bay,
13:51and he wanted a bigger role somewhere else.
13:53As you listen to Kaminga a month later,
13:56and you start to see him after these games
13:58where he's had these great performances,
14:00I think it's becoming very clear to him,
14:03hey, it's not so bad here.
14:04It's kind of fun,
14:06and I know that if I keep playing like this,
14:09I am going to make so much money
14:11from whether it's here,
14:13from Joe Lacob,
14:14or from some other team,
14:16that it's going to happen.
14:17So I think the pressure
14:18that he had to be putting on himself early,
14:21that's all kind of faded away in the moment.
14:24So does he want to stay here long term?
14:26We'll see.
14:27But I think his feeling has to have changed
14:30from when he got in to now
14:32because everyone's having success.
14:34And when you're winning,
14:35everything becomes possible.
14:36And when you are getting to cook and play,
14:38these are the things he wanted.
14:40I was thinking about,
14:40when is payday for the Warriors?
14:42Has he had his first payday?
14:44Every Friday.
14:45Every Friday?
14:46Has he had his first new contract check come in?
14:50I'm sure that it's dropped by now.
14:52Yeah.
14:52I'm sure.
14:53I wonder if that was a moment.
14:54Yeah.
14:55You look at that direct deposit,
14:57you go,
14:57ah, things aren't so bad here.
14:59That's three and a half times
15:00as much as it used to be.
15:02Exactly, tripling.
15:02Yeah.
15:03It's certainly,
15:03and these are two letters
15:04I haven't said in a month,
15:05but it's more than the QO would have been.
15:08The QO.
15:09The QO.
15:10I spent the whole summer
15:11talking about Q's and O's.
15:13Get out of here,
15:14and P.O.
15:15I mean,
15:15that was a mess,
15:17but that all feels like a distant memory.
15:19Totally.
15:20Because he's taking care of business on the floor,
15:23and when you combine
15:24what he's been able to do,
15:26guys,
15:27the person that we haven't even really gotten into much yet
15:30also is Steph.
15:33Steph is awesome still.
15:36He is that good.
15:37But when you have a player of his caliber
15:40playing at that level,
15:42of course you can start to dream.
15:44Yeah.
15:44Because you look at this team
15:46and you go,
15:47whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
15:48So, let me get this straight.
15:49The young guys that we were hoping to see some progress from,
15:52we've seen early.
15:54Draymond defensively is still incredible.
15:57Horford fits.
15:58Jimmy,
15:59that first game in L.A.
16:00was a complete dominator
16:02and can slow down the game
16:03when things get off track
16:04and get to the line.
16:06And then,
16:06oh, by the way,
16:08we've got this 37-year-old dude
16:10who's the baddest,
16:11you know what,
16:12on the block,
16:13who scares the living,
16:14you know what,
16:15out of all these teams around the league,
16:17who's dropping 35-footers
16:19to beat up on Jokic.
16:22Yeah,
16:23people should be happy watching this team,
16:25but as I get dropped back into being around this team day to day,
16:29I cannot stress to you enough
16:31just how interesting it is being around Steph at this stage
16:35and watching the rest of his teammates
16:37watch how he prepares
16:39because they know without any shadow of a doubt, guys,
16:43that he is still that dude.
16:45And when you have that dude at the top of your team,
16:49you feel like you always are going to have a shot to win
16:53every night no matter what happens.
16:55And if you watch that dude do what he does,
16:58not only in the offseason
16:59where he puts in more work than almost anybody,
17:02but the way he goes about his day-to-day,
17:04forget how much you want to win for him
17:06and give him one for the thumb,
17:08but you watch how he goes about it,
17:10the fact that he's still this good at 37,
17:13and it's infectious.
17:14And maybe that's part of the Kaminga story
17:16and certainly all the other youngsters.
17:18It's like, how do I not work as hard as this guy
17:22who is 15 years older than me?
17:24You need to go out there and lead by example.
17:27He's always done that,
17:28but when it comes to work ethic
17:29and all the things that he's done
17:31and the hunger he has,
17:33that's got to permeate the whole locker room.
17:35Dibs, you nailed it
17:35because they just don't want to let that guy down.
17:38Yeah.
17:38And it's so much more
17:41they're learning from what they see
17:43rather than what Steph says.
17:45It's not that Steph doesn't speak and isn't vocal,
17:48but that's always been the Draymond role.
17:50Draymond's like the big brother protector
17:52and he's going to scream and yell at somebody
17:54who gets in the face of one of his teammates.
17:57Steph is the lead by example.
18:00He's the best shooter we've ever seen.
18:02He's going to the Hall of Fame the second his career ends.
18:05But they see the regiment that it takes
18:09to stay at the level that he's at.
18:12And this goes to everything
18:13that the Warriors have been built around
18:16since Steph has been here
18:18and certainly since Steve Kerr got here
18:20and they kind of combined forces.
18:23Steph sets the tone in that building
18:26every single day.
18:28And when you know that that tone
18:30is what it is from one of the all-time greats,
18:32anybody else who walks in there
18:34has to think to themselves,
18:36I am not going to let this guy down.
18:40I'm going to put the work in I need
18:43to get better so that I can play
18:45at the level he needs me to be at.
18:48And personally, being around this team,
18:51I absolutely think that's why they're off
18:53to such a hot start
18:54because Steph is awesome still
18:57and everybody else is watching that going,
19:00ah, I got to do my part too.
19:02Yep, and he has to do a little bit less,
19:04seemingly at least,
19:05than he's had to do in the recent past.
19:07Odyssey NBA insider Nick Friedle,
19:10our friend with the athletic cover
19:11and the Warriors is with us here in studio.
19:13Willard and Dibbs, 95-7 the game.
19:15Hey, what's the plan when Melton is ready to go?
19:18That is a hell of a great option
19:20if you're in this front office.
19:22Mark, I don't think they've figured it out yet.
19:24They just figure, let's get him back on the floor
19:27and we'll see where the minutes line up.
19:29But that's why, again,
19:31it's scary to be so positive early in the year
19:36because so many things can happen.
19:38But Melton, we haven't even seen yet
19:42and he's still a hell of a player
19:43if his body can hold up.
19:45Horford is off and on,
19:48but he is going to be right there
19:49when they need him,
19:50assuming that he stays healthy.
19:52You still have Seth Curry
19:53as like the 13th, 14th guy
19:55you can drop into a game
19:56when you need some offense.
19:58I think for Melton, though, specifically,
20:00they just figure, all right,
20:02we'll let these young guys continue to play
20:04to find their rhythm
20:05and get their footing underneath them.
20:08And when Melton's ready,
20:09he's going to get his shot
20:11because they know what he can do.
20:13But as far as holes on the roster,
20:16everything lines up pretty well right now.
20:19The thing that scares me the most is
20:21big men depth.
20:24TJD posts,
20:25they have their moments,
20:26but are those guys
20:28you're going to rely on
20:30when the games matter the most?
20:31That's what would scare me
20:33at least early,
20:34but those are the kind of moves
20:35that we can talk about more
20:36in January, February.
20:38As far as wing depth goes, though,
20:41they've got so many different ways
20:42they can hit you.
20:43And with Richard coming on
20:45the way he has early
20:46and providing that stability
20:48sometimes defensively,
20:49you plug Melton into what they got
20:52and you go,
20:52okay, things are lining up.
20:55And it's a mix and match
20:56depending on who you face.
20:57Do you need your defensive guys
20:59or do you need more shooting?
21:00Do you need Seth and Buddy more?
21:02Or do you need, you know,
21:03GP2 and Melton with a dash of Richard?
21:06So that's what makes this fascinating.
21:08And I'm sure it's a problem
21:09that Steve Kerr is relishing.
21:11But tonight, small sample,
21:13old guys against slightly older guys.
21:16Who do you think that they start?
21:17Do you think you keep coming
21:18with Horford off the bench?
21:20Yeah, because,
21:21if you're only going to play
21:23Horford 20 minutes
21:24and they've stuck to that
21:25at least outwardly all along,
21:28then there's no use to,
21:30and Kerr has mentioned this,
21:31you're going to start him,
21:33there's going to be a break
21:34when you pull him
21:34to get the minutes under control,
21:36then he's going to come back,
21:37but is he going to be out there to close?
21:39Well, if he starts and he closes,
21:41then you worry,
21:42is his body just going to be sitting there
21:44getting ice cold on the bench?
21:46I would expect him
21:47to kind of stay with what they got.
21:49The matchup that I'm curious about
21:50and the person to focus on to me
21:53is Kaminga.
21:55Can he maintain what he's been doing?
21:58How does he look against
21:59the guys that the Clippers
22:01can throw out there?
22:02And if Kaminga becomes this guy
22:04that you can count on every night,
22:06and certainly you guys know better than I do,
22:08that has not been the case
22:10the last few years since he's been here.
22:12But if you're counting on Kaminga
22:14every night,
22:15the rest of that roster opens up
22:17in a major way.
22:17Because, Dibs, this goes back to your point.
22:19You can pick and choose
22:21which way you want to go night to night.
22:22All right, somebody doesn't have it going?
22:24All right, we'll throw this guy in there.
22:25We'll see what happens.
22:27If Kaminga becomes that type of stalwart
22:30for the group
22:31as far as their preparation goes,
22:34I think the sky could be the limit
22:36for this team.
22:38But, and here's the caveat,
22:40as we all know,
22:41you've got all these guys
22:42who are 35 and over.
22:44What happens the first time
22:45one of those guys goes down?
22:47Because it all looks good right now
22:48because you've got everybody playing,
22:50everybody's feeling good.
22:51How does the dynamic change
22:53if and when somebody gets that injury
22:56and everything has to shift?
22:57And they need to stay up late tonight.
22:59Very late.
23:00Yeah, I don't know if they're ready for that.
23:02Old guys like to go to bed,
23:03and this game doesn't start until later.
23:04And they've got to figure out
23:05who guards Zubats.
23:07That's the big question.
23:08Here comes Big Al,
23:09at least for his 20 minutes.
23:11For 20 minutes.
23:12Great to see you, buddy.
23:13Always, guys.
23:14Always enjoy it.
23:14Can't wait to do it every week.
23:15That's Nick Fridell,
23:16Odyssey Sports NBA Insider.
23:19Check out all of Odyssey's
23:21newest sports podcast
23:22on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
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