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Mike & Mike: “The Golden State Warriors Have Become Completely Unlikable And Completely Annoying”
Stugotz was on ESPN’s Mike & Mike and completely went off on the Golden State Warriors. He said:
“The Golden State Warriors for me have become completely unlikable and completely annoying. It’s unearned arrogance. Kevin Durant, what he decided to do, was he decided ‘hey, I can’t beat them with Russell Westbrook, so I’m just gonna join them,’ So Kevin Durant should just keep his mouth shut and enjoy the ride and take the ring when they put it on his finger.”
Is it true though?
It seems like just yesterday, that a young Golden State Warriors squad had become the new heros of the NBA and the media’s most beloved team. A Stephen Curry without ankle problems shooting lights out, a Klay Thompson who was improving every game, so it seemed, a young talented defender and vocal leader in Draymond Green, all the side stories, Shaun Livingston finally playing on a higher level again, Andre Iguodala, a former All-Star accepting his 6th man of the year role, and so on.
It was a Cinderella story. An underdog team becoming contenders. People love these kind of stories.
But after only 2.5 years, the honeymoon seems to be over. The Cinderella story has turned into a horror movie. At least for the other NBA teams, and some fans. Ever since the Golden State Warriors signed Kevin Durant this past offseason, the general NBA fan turned away from them in despise.
I personally blame Durant for the move, not the Warriors.. If you have the chance to sign a player like Durant, one of the top 3 superstars in this league, you take it and sign him.
Sure, the Warriors kind of destoryed the NBA. But it isn’t their fault.
They drafted extremely well, developed their picks extremely well, and also had a lot of luck with timing in both Stephen Curry’s injury free breakout as well as the salary cap jump happening the same year Durant was a Free Agent. Other teams far less succesful, like the Toronto Raptors are paying just as much luxury tax for their roster.
You have to take chances to get lucky too.
Before the Warriors resigned Klay Thompson, he was inconsistent and many people didn’t think he deserved a max contract. The Warriors took a chance and offered him a max nontheless. At the time, the Warriros had the best offer for Kevin Love; David Lee, Harrison Barnes, and a first round pick, but the Minnesota Timberwolves countered by including Kevin Martin and requesting Klay Thompson. Most people thought they should’ve jumped on that trade. They didn’t and it paid off.
Before resigning Draymond Green, he had just broken out and most people and teams thought he already had reached his ceiling was as good as he was going to get. A developement like his in the last 2 years wasn’t predictable. The Warriors though, had a feeling about him developing even more, took yet another chance and resigned him.
Before signing Shaun Livingston, he had only played more than 65 games in two seasons of his career: 2011 and 2014. He had a long history of injury, was way past his prime, and only had one really productive season in a decade. The Warriors again took their chances and it paid off again.
Ian Clark was an undrafted player who was waived by the Utah Jazz. The Warriors liked him, signed him to be the guy at the end of the bench, not necessarily with the expectation that he’d work his way into the rotation, which he did.
You can hate the Warriors as much as you want, I do too at times, but a series of smart moves and great decisions has led them to the top of the NBA – well deserved and rightfully so.
