- 15 hours ago
Audacy NBA Insider and The Athletic Warriors reporter Nick Friedell joined The Morning Roast to discuss a potentially watershed offseason for the Warriors.
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00:00Nick Friedle joins us on the River Islands guest line.
00:04He is an Odyssey Sports NBA insider, and Insider Calls are brought to you by Hyundai
00:08and the all-new Hyundai-Palisade Hybrid.
00:11Also covers the Warriors for the athletic.
00:13Nick, great to have you on here this morning.
00:16I don't really want to ask a whole lot of Steve Kerr questions,
00:19because I'm sure you've gotten plenty of those already.
00:23So I would say get into it right here with you.
00:25When do you expect to get the news on the following off-season situations?
00:32Steph's contract extension, Steve Kerr's future, Draymond's player option contract,
00:37and then Chris stops Porzingis' next contract.
00:40You got a pen? You write that down?
00:41Oh, man. Sammy coming in hot to start. I love it.
00:46I love it.
00:47Hopefully that's my only Steve Kerr question for you.
00:50I mean, I figured we would get into a lot more than just that,
00:54but we got some time here. Let's go.
00:56Okay, I think Kerr comes down first.
00:58I would expect it within the next week.
01:02So he said a week or two.
01:04I know that Warriors personnel are getting peppered with the same questions
01:10that we're talking about all the time.
01:11It would surprise me, guys, if this thing is not done within the next week here,
01:17because everybody's got to move forward.
01:19If Steve's coming back, then they've got to know he's coming back.
01:23If he's not, they've got to start the search to get the new person in here.
01:29So I don't think it would last that much longer than one more week.
01:35That would surprise me.
01:36All right, Steph's potential extension.
01:40If it does happen, I would think it happens in the next couple months here.
01:46But, Sammy, all he said the other night in Phoenix was he's open to talking about it.
01:51I think he wants to see, and the read on that, at least for me,
01:56was that he wants to see what happens.
01:58You know, what direction is everything going in?
02:01Who is the coach going to be?
02:04Who else is going to be around going into next year?
02:07So I would pump the brakes on, all right, well, they're going to say,
02:12Steph, here's a zillion dollars on your name.
02:15I think there are a few more steps in between there.
02:18I'm glad you bring that up.
02:20Let me stop you right there.
02:21Can I stop you right there?
02:22Okay, well, what about Porzingis?
02:24We'll get to them.
02:25We'll get to them.
02:26You got the two important ones there, Nick.
02:27Let's get to Steph for a second.
02:29You famously had the courage to ask Kelly Oubre on a Zoom,
02:34hey, are you willing to take less money to play with Steph Curry?
02:39And I thought it was so courageous.
02:41I mean, just Braveheart, my man, Nick Friedle.
02:43Do you have the same courage to ask Steph Curry if he's willing to take less
02:49than the max to help out himself and the team for the next couple of years?
02:55I'm curious.
02:56Like, no, I don't mean it to you.
02:58I'm curious to see how much money they sign him for because I do feel that's an indication
03:04of what kind of team they could feel possibly over the next couple of years.
03:09And, Joe, I'm with you.
03:11I would say, first of all, courage in asking Kelly Oubre if he was.
03:16There are a lot more courageous things out there in the world.
03:19To your point, though, I'll ask Steph.
03:22I don't think we're going to speak to Steph openly, though,
03:26probably until he goes and plays in that tournament in Tahoe that he loves so much
03:31over the summer.
03:32That would be the next time I would think he'd be in a press conference setting.
03:36I've gone back and forth on this, though, even in the last couple of days,
03:40because, as Sammy pointed out, when you're looking at Steph,
03:44you're thinking the other night, all right, well,
03:46when is this extension potentially going to happen?
03:49But if you're Steph Curry, Joe, and you take a lot less or a fraction less,
03:54the players' union is going to go absolutely nuts.
03:59They're going to go crazy because he is everything for this organization.
04:06And the three of us have gone to these games, no matter where you go,
04:10all across the world.
04:11I mean, hell, I went to China covering this team,
04:16and there are Steph Curry jerseys lined up all over the place.
04:19I say that because no matter what they were to pay Steph, he's underpaid.
04:23Well, we agree.
04:24But no one's saying play for free, okay?
04:27I'm saying, like, let's just end this hypothetical.
04:29I think the max is attached to the salary cap,
04:32and it would be about $65 to $70 million.
04:34He takes $45 to $50 million.
04:38Like, that's a big haircut relative to the max,
04:42but he's still making, like, $50 million a year.
04:45He's made $500 million.
04:47But the flip side to that, Joe, and I see what you're saying.
04:50I see fans who say that and understand.
04:53He's Steph Curry.
04:55I mean, he's the second best player in this era,
04:59and he's one of the greatest players we've ever seen in the game.
05:03And if you're Steph Curry, you're looking around every night,
05:06and you're saying the reason people are walking into these arenas
05:10is because of me.
05:11They all have my jersey.
05:13I have had this impact.
05:15So I see what you're saying.
05:18The flip side is if you're Steph, you've earned every single dollar and more.
05:23So even if he took $10, $15, whatever the number is we came up with,
05:29how big of a difference would that be in the long run?
05:34Knowing Steph, I think he would take a little less.
05:37I think that's a lot to ask, though, for somebody who has done all that he's done
05:43on top of, let's go back in time.
05:45He was on a way below market deal.
05:47No doubt.
05:48You know, before.
05:49Nick, meet me here, though.
05:52Meet me here, though.
05:52Like, he is 39.
05:54If this were baseball arbitration, right, and this went to a mediator,
05:58they'd say, you played 43 games.
06:00You know what I mean?
06:01Like, you're getting the max next year.
06:03We're talking about years 40 and 41, where I know on the front end,
06:07you're not playing back-to-backs.
06:08And I know that, like, if I give you full amounts of money,
06:12that does restrict the other team-building aspects, you know,
06:17when it comes to the puzzle pieces of putting things together.
06:19So there's, like, a line of demarcation in terms of the more you make,
06:24it does make it more difficult for us to pay a Kristoff's,
06:28I'm just hypothetically, or to pay for, you know, these.
06:32Part of why they're where they're at is they're, you know,
06:35Jimmy and Steph takes up 80% of the salary cap.
06:37They've earned that, but with that comes the difficulty of rounding out
06:42the rest of the roster because of the CBA restrictions.
06:45Joe, you are 100% right, but that's where the line of demarcation
06:50is going to be not only this summer, but kind of moving ahead
06:53with whatever happens here with what we're talking about.
06:55And I think you nailed it a few days ago last week.
06:59Somebody said this phrase, the Kobe zone.
07:02And that's what we are veering into because even if, I mean,
07:08let's play this out.
07:10Even to your point, let's say they sit down with Steph,
07:12and Steph's such a damn nice guy that he's like, hey,
07:15I'll take a little less.
07:17I want better players around me.
07:19They're still probably not good enough.
07:22Let's be real about the conversation here.
07:24It is Steph.
07:26He is the show.
07:27Everybody will come out to see him whenever he does play,
07:31and they'll have other pieces around.
07:33But that's part of why they're stuck in the place that they are.
07:36I mean, Jimmy's knee injury changed everything, as Kurt said.
07:41But, guys, they just don't have enough capitalized to get back to the level
07:47that they're at.
07:48So I think I agree with you in that that would make a difference.
07:52Where I get stuck with however this builds out moving forward is this team is
07:58multiple pieces away to getting close to where they've been in the past.
08:05We agree on that.
08:06And I know that we're dominating this on Steph, but I do think he's, to me,
08:09he's the biggest domino.
08:11If not, even though he's not the first in the timeline,
08:13Kerr will be, he's still the biggest domino.
08:16And I will also acknowledge to you, it is ridiculously unfair to Steph,
08:20because he has earned every dollar.
08:22And if we're going relative to value with the team, with the league,
08:26he's ridiculously underpaid.
08:28But this goes back to the CBA, and this goes back to the players' union,
08:32which they agreed to.
08:33And I would say, guys, this entire system is upside down.
08:39I am with you, but that's why this stuff is collectively barred.
08:44I know.
08:45Joe, I mean, that's the issue.
08:47You want to get mad, like the CJ McCollum of the world.
08:51I know.
08:52That he got to this point.
08:53But I think this is where the reality check is hitting for the fan base,
08:59because we can sit here all day long and go through the different
09:03ramifications.
09:04And is there enough for Porzingis?
09:07What happens moving forward with this piece?
09:10And is Draymond going to get moved?
09:11Is he coming back?
09:13There's only so much they can do.
09:15And you just hit on this, but it's worth amplifying for weeks now,
09:19because Steph is at the level he's at cap-wise,
09:23and Jimmy is at the level he's at cap-wise.
09:26That is your team.
09:27And when one of those guys blows out his knee,
09:31and he's going to miss at least half of next year,
09:33and the other guy is going to be 39 next year,
09:37and he's got a knee problem already, you have big, big problems.
09:42And they are stuck at least going into next year
09:46with what they're actually able to do.
09:47That voice you're hearing is out of Nick Fridell,
09:50our Odyssey NBA insider.
09:51Insider calls are brought to you by Hyundai
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10:02Nick, you mentioned Jimmy there.
10:04Is there, again, I know he's injured,
10:06not going to be back until February.
10:07The Warriors have said in the past
10:09they have no inclinations to trade him.
10:12Is there any world where they maybe go back on that
10:15and are able to find a way to move off of Jimmy?
10:18Or do they, you know, buy him out
10:21and aggregate the salary over a period of time?
10:23Or is it just we're waiting to have him back
10:24until next February and then go from there?
10:27Sammy, I think there's a chance they can move him for sure.
10:29But it would have to be a team that's like,
10:32hey, we just want to get off a lot of money.
10:34Because you're not trading for Jimmy
10:37thinking he can add that much value to your team next year.
10:41And again, that's why that injury,
10:44when it happened and who it happened to,
10:46changed everything for this team.
10:48The idea that he can't be traded,
10:52I mean, anybody can be traded in the league.
10:54Attach enough picks, move it into enough spaces
10:59where it makes sense.
11:01You can move him.
11:02And the hope certainly internally remains
11:05that Jimmy comes back next year
11:07and he can help them and he can pair with Steph
11:11and they can make a little bit of a push.
11:13But again, guys, and this goes back to Kerr,
11:16if you're moving, if Kerr's moving on,
11:19no matter who, which side you're on,
11:21if he's not the coach next year,
11:23there is no better reason if you're the Warriors
11:27to say, hey, let's clean this out.
11:30If Kerr moves on, in my opinion,
11:33it should be Steph is here,
11:36you figure out what you're doing with Draymond,
11:38and pretty much everybody else,
11:41maybe they want to re-up pods
11:43and they'll figure that out in the next couple months here,
11:46but everybody else should be headed somewhere else.
11:51Because you, as a team, are not good enough.
11:54And the standard has been the standard of titles for so long
11:59and they can't hit it right now.
12:01And at least if they're all on the same page
12:05and, hey, let's start fresh, we'll get a new coach,
12:08we'll get some new pieces around,
12:10and we'll build from there.
12:12That's what Steph was hinting at the other night, guys.
12:14They've got to redo how they build up from the beginning.
12:19And I don't know if he meant a complete roster overhaul.
12:22I just think that's the best course of action
12:25for where they're at right now.
12:27I think the big unknown is the influence of Joe.
12:33And I guess a lot of people are saying his family.
12:37How much is he a factor in curse,
12:43maybe wavering right now?
12:46If you were to put a percentage on it,
12:48how much is it just how difficult he is,
12:51not saying that he's the best or the worst or whatever,
12:53but just how difficult it is to work with him
12:56for a long period of time?
12:58I think the best way to answer that question, Joe,
13:00is if there were no issues,
13:02if there were no reasons why it shouldn't continue
13:09between Steve and Joe, the deal would be signed.
13:14I mean, that would be it.
13:17They'd keep going.
13:19Clearly, there is something going on,
13:22and there's something that both sides want to hear
13:25whenever they do sit down here in the next couple days.
13:28And I would tell you this,
13:30and we've been talking about it all season,
13:32a month ago, if you had asked me, is Kirk coming back?
13:35I would have said, 70-30, absolutely, he's coming back.
13:39He loves Steph, he still loves coaching,
13:42and he wants to be here.
13:44The week of the play-in, I would have said it was 60-40 still
13:47that he's coming back.
13:50After that Phoenix game,
13:51when everybody saw the hug on the sidelines,
13:54and everybody was talking about,
13:56oh, man, this could be it.
13:57I would still have said, ah, I'm leaning towards him coming back,
14:00but it certainly felt more 50-50 than it had been.
14:04As we sit here right now,
14:06especially with all the different things that are popping out,
14:09it sure sounds like Steve's going to be somewhere else
14:12that's not with the Warriors next year.
14:14And the only thing I can think
14:17is that there's something going on in that relationship
14:22where there's hesitation on both sides.
14:25I don't think it's just Steve sitting there saying,
14:27ah, I want to hear this and this and this from Joe.
14:30I think Joe's sitting there going,
14:32hey, I want to hear this from Steve.
14:34We've been together a long time.
14:36I think it's in both parties' best interest
14:40to keep this thing going,
14:41because I don't care who you plug in there.
14:44They're not going to be Steve Kerr.
14:45Agreed.
14:46And they're not going to know everything about this roster
14:48and these players that you need.
14:51But to your question, Joe,
14:54if there were no issues at all,
14:57then this thing would have already been done.
14:59It wouldn't have become what it's become.
14:59What are the grievances, though?
15:01Like, okay, from Lakeup's point of view,
15:04just rat-a-tat-tat,
15:05and then I'll ask you, Kurt,
15:06what are his grievances, hypothetically?
15:10I mean, I couldn't tell you I know for certain
15:13and that's part of the issue.
15:15Only those two guys have the answer that you're looking for.
15:19Okay, then where does Dunleavy side in all this?
15:22I think Dunleavy would be happy if Kerr is back,
15:26and I think there's a piece of Dunleavy
15:29where he's sitting there going,
15:31okay, well, if you're not sure if you want to come back,
15:34then now is the time to make the shift.
15:36Gotcha.
15:37And it ties back into what we're saying.
15:38So Dunleavy absolutely factors into this,
15:42but the larger question to me is it's Steve and Joe,
15:47and it's always been Steve and Joe
15:49because of the length they've been together professionally.
15:52If Steph's knee was not where it's at today,
15:57would this dynamic be different
16:00between Kerr, Lakeup, Dunleavy, et cetera?
16:04I think it would be much harder for Steve to walk away.
16:08One of the most telling comments the other night in Phoenix, Joe,
16:11was that Steve sat there and said,
16:15look, Steph's 38 years old.
16:17He's got some problems with his knees.
16:20It's all part of getting older.
16:21And he went, whoa,
16:22because nobody, nobody professionally loves Steph Curry more than Steve Kerr.
16:29He is his biggest fan on every level professionally.
16:35The fact that he's acknowledging, hey, this kind of is what it is right now,
16:40I thought that part was very telling.
16:42And the fact that it got to this point, I mean, guys,
16:45we wouldn't know it had reached this point if Steve hadn't huddled them up and had the hug,
16:52if he hadn't been as open as he was after the game, that, hey, this might be it, it might
16:58not.
16:58He was very honest in his dealings, but it all could have been handled behind the curtain,
17:04and we wouldn't know what was going on.
17:07But the fact that it has become so outward and the questions are piling up seemingly every day,
17:14again, that leads you to believe that something has been bubbling just underneath the surface.
17:21And the only way to get those two guys back on track together is to sit down and to walk
17:27through it.
17:28Nick Fidel joining us here on the Morning Rose, courtesy of the River Island's guest line.
17:32Nick, if Steve Kerr is not back next year, is it more likely, less likely,
17:37that Draymond is on the roster next season as well?
17:39You kind of alluded to this earlier, but.
17:41I would think it is, if Steve's not back, it's less likely, Sammy,
17:46because if you're going to make the switch, the only person that stays is Steph.
17:53And the fact that Draymond knows that he was in those trade conversations,
17:58and it's been documented, he knows that that could be it.
18:02It's why he spoke the way he did, not only to us in the media on Friday,
18:07but then he goes on the podcast and he's like, hey, if you're asking me, Steve might be gone.
18:13And if you're asking me, I know there's a chance I might be gone.
18:16And it was a hell of a run.
18:18So, if Steve goes, I think a whole hell of a lot can change.
18:23And I know that Laker really loves Draymond,
18:28but Draymond at this stage for this team is not going to help the same way night to night
18:35as he would for a different team that has something to play for every night.
18:40And then also, regarding a guy who I think could be back next year,
18:44Brandon Pajemski, everyone's favorite warrior,
18:46how do you expect his contract extension talks to play out this summer?
18:50This will go calm.
18:52Sammy, I think that Pajemski couldn't have made it clear the other day he wants to be back.
18:57It all ties back into money.
18:59And it always does in these conversations.
19:01And it's funny, guys, because we started the conversation on Steph,
19:05and would he take a little less?
19:07And, you know, only he knows.
19:09But if I'm Steph, I'm sitting there saying, hey, you guys owe me so much money.
19:14You know, we'll see.
19:15The guy who I think could take a little bit less and stay here, if he really likes it here,
19:20is Potts.
19:21The Warriors like him.
19:23I think there's a feel to bring him back.
19:26But the question is, how much will he be looking for when the time comes?
19:31Because as much as he is really disliked by a lot of people in the fan base at times,
19:38let me tell you something, Potts got a lot better, especially in the last couple months,
19:42and there will be money waiting for him somewhere.
19:46A lot of these teams aren't getting anybody.
19:48They would love to throw Potts out there and say, hey, we'll give you 35 minutes a night.
19:55Go do your thing.
19:56You're durable.
19:57You just played 82 games.
19:59So, he's going to get paid somewhere.
20:02If he'll take a little bit less, I think he can stay.
20:05But I wouldn't expect, Sammy, anything with that deal to happen until much closer to that deadline in October.
20:12Nick, are you planning on taking a vacation somewhere?
20:15I'm just curious.
20:16I wanted to, but then all this stuff happened.
20:19I wanted to go to San Diego, go see the Cubs next week.
20:22But this team does not stop making nudes.
20:26Okay, well, don't worry about that.
20:27Let's say you're sitting on the beach in San Diego.
20:29Okay, you're sitting there, your girl's there, and you're having a cocktail, and someone comes up to you.
20:34What would be more triggering, a Jonathan Kaminga question or a Brandon Pajemski question?
20:41Are you kidding me?
20:42That's not even close.
20:44Would you throw your drink in their face?
20:46No, no, no.
20:47Which question would get the drink?
20:49No, no, no, no, no, no.
20:50But here's the key, and this is something I have to remind myself, too.
20:56Kaminga's actually a really good dude, and Pods is a good dude.
20:59Of course.
20:59They're both really good guys, and I think that got lost at times in the hoopla with the Kaminga stuff,
21:06and now will he sign or won't he with Pods?
21:10I've been around some bad dudes.
21:12Those two are not bad dudes.
21:13They just got in the media cycle, and they wanted different things, and they went about it in very different
21:21ways.
21:22But they're both good guys, and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens with Kaminga,
21:30because there's a chance he's going to get really paid in the summer if they redo that deal.
21:36But there's no question, Joe, the Kaminga questions over the first four or five months of the season,
21:43they piled up more than anything I've ever been asked about for a player who wasn't on the level of
21:52being asked about something every single day.
21:55That was wild.
21:57Awesome.
21:58Nick, so glad to have had you on this year.
22:01It's been a lot of fun, and we'll have you on at times throughout the summer to talk about this
22:05exciting Pods contract extension saga that I'm sure we're going to get.
22:08I'm sure it will never get as toxic as it did last year with Jonathan Kaminga.
22:12No way, right?
22:13I don't think that's possible, Sammy.
22:16Oh, Nick, anything is possible, as Kevin Garnett once said.
22:19Thank you so much, bud.
22:20So glad we could have you on.
22:21Great to be with you all.
22:22I'll talk to you soon.
22:23Wait, Joe, I have something else.
22:24Love you.
22:24Love you, buddy.
22:25Quick, Jonathan Kaminga questions.
22:27Oh, just a drink in the face.
22:29Get out of here.
22:30Love you, buddy.
22:31Go Cubs.
22:32See you soon, pal.
22:33All right.
22:33That was Aussie Sports NBA Insider Nick Friedle.
22:36Insider calls are brought to you by Hyundai and the all-new Hyundai Palisade Hybrid.
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