Analyzing the Golden State Warriors at the All Star Break as Season Winds Down with FS1’s Ric Bucher

Analyzing the Golden State Warriors at the All Star Break as Season Winds Down with FS1’s Ric Bucher

The Golden State Warriors are at the All-Star break they’re a game above 500 it’s been a crazy season we still have a lot to go and I thought who better to bring on this program than the man the myth The Legend Rick buer he’s been covering this game for decades still is

For FS1 among many Publications and he joins me next to talk Warriors this is locked on Warriors you are locked on Warriors your daily Golden State Warriors podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every Day thank you for making locked on Warriors your first listen every day we’re free and available wherever you get Podcast and and on YouTube We’re part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day it is an absolute pleasure to have my next guest join the

Program he’s with FS1 he’s been with ESPN I believe the Washington Post if I’m not mistaken he is a master of his craft I respect you so much Rick I’m wearing a collared shirt how the hell are you doing sir welcome to the program

And I I I I don’t want to hold you too long we just before we started recording you said you’re going surfing M respect you I’m sure you know I’m I’ve been been a surfer most of my life um but what is your what is your initial reaction and

The and I mean you’re you’re again you’re excellent when it comes to being a Wordsmith so in your words how are the Warriors doing it to the all-star break one game above 500 a lot of different narratives this year it’s been a crazy year your thoughts sir take it away

They’re figuring it out they are they are work in progress and and are making progress that so you know the the what they run of eight out of the last 10 is better than the way it was going earlier where you could tell that they just weren’t

Sure who was going to play with who and how they could get the most out of out of this team now I I do think that their margin for error is is very small and so Steve cerr is trying to Fig figure out how do we put reputations egos feelings

How do we put all of that aside and just figure out who has to play when in order for us to squeeze the absolute most out of this team because if they don’t do that I think what they’ve discovered is they may not be in the playoffs or

They’re in the play in and who knows what happen so uh I I they’ve they’re figuring some things out um and and they’re making progress and where that leaves them at the end of the year remains to be seen but I I think that they can go into the All-Star

Break feeling as good about themselves as they have all year like we’ve figured out a few things do we think it’s Championship level no but like we’re moving in the right direction and I wouldn’t put anything more more on it than that and and I will say this too

Like I I do believe I that there’s reason to take uh Solace uh or satisfaction out of what Klay Thompson has had to go through and what Andrew Wiggins being benched and playing and and then you get you know the pkis who were showing you something and you’re

Getting the evolution of of Jonathan kaminga and you think Chris Paul’s out and Draymond Green was out and so like you know there’s reason for cautious optimism that that that they are going to be they’re going to be okay they’re going to be in the playoff picture and

Once you get in the playoff picture then you have a chance as the the Lakers demonstrated last year going through the playin and winding up in the Western Conference Finals so it can happen this has been I don’t know if you agree with me or not this Warriors team especially if you’re

Covering them as a journalist like you have been um you know this is of all the years it’s always entertaining it’s always a wild ride there’s usually a lot of drama and you know when you have Draymond Green in this cast that’s part of the territory but this year it’s been

Borderline exhausting I mean because like you said the identity has not really been figured out every day it’s a new story have you ever in all your years covering this when I say this I mean the NBA and then maybe more specifically the Warriors has it have you ever experienced a more tumultuous

Season oh oh yeah oh yeah examples please the at the very beginning of my career when I covered them when they acquired Chris Weber and then oh yeah they they they he didn’t want to stay after his first year first year was that was tumultuous that was very tumultuous

And then yeah the start of the next year when he held out and they started out seven and one and then they ended up like 14 and whatever like um I don’t know maybe they they won a couple more games than 14 but maybe 21 I

Don’t know at any rate fell off a cliff and then Nelly basically resigned got fired at the All-Star break and that team was those two years were very very chaotic so this is not that yeah I think what makes this but I do agree with you I think that the season has been

Exhausting because there’s always been drama around this team there’s always been you know flashes of personality but it never got in the way of them winning and and that’s the difference here is that you’ve got all of this conflict and controversy and they’re not a ble to seal the deal on

The court the way they once could and that’s what makes it exhausting because you’re like ah can can we just stop some of the drama and and maybe we’ll get a little more of what has made them exciting and uh has given fans a desire to embrace

Them in spite of whatever’s going on it’s just like you know when you’re a 500 team and you got lots of turmoil like that’s for for for what the expectations are for the Warriors that’s that’s that’s exhausting absolutely um you know I want to I want to get into

Some of the nitty-gritty in a moment but um let’s start with Clay because you mentioned to me before we started recording that you’re writing a book on him if I’m not mistaken about him correct no not really oh I’m sorry well well explain please I don’t want I’m writing a book uh the

Working title is coachable the difference between good and great and it is talking to um some of the greatest athletes ever some athletes that you may not be familiar with who um John ston the Fourth is a was a walk- on a two-time walk- on walked on at Sanford

University worked his way up the ladder then was a walk on at the University of georia which was always where his dream was to play and ended up playing starting on special team teams and winning a championship with them in 2022 two-time walk- on uh and it’s really about identifying what being coachable

Means and the 10 truths of it and how do you synthesize your vision of who and what you are and want to be with someone else’s vision of who and what you can be um and that is the essence of being being coachable and Michael Jordan said

That was the defining difference for me for all of my athleticism for for everything that I that I had my temperament the reason that I reached the level that I did was because I was coachable that I was willing to accept someone else’s idea of how I should play

And so I mentioned that to you when when in reference to Clay because I’m just I literally just signed the contract for the book congratulations that’s awesome earlier today congrats just in the throws of starting but um Clay’s what Clay’s experiencing right now Rings true to a lot of the elements

To this book which is like you get one of the 10 truths is at some point everyone is a scrub like and it’s we you know it could be at the beginning like when you’re when you’re working your way up and you want to be a star but that’s

Not your role right now and you’re not good enough to be that or it’s on the tail end the the Grant Hills and the Jason kids who one time stars and then it’s like yeah but you’re not that anymore can you accept the new reality for you and what you’re being asked to

Do um I just had this conversation with Brandy Chastain who will probably be in the book and I didn’t really know this but you know a glimpse into into this is she like she will tell you I could have scored as many goals as me a hand to

This day she believes I am like I I’m I’m one of the greatest goal scorers ever as a as an American woman but for her to beat on the national team she had to Play Def they wanted to her to be a defensive midfielder and so that was her so she

Accepted that accepted that she was going to be different and then lo and behold she scores one of the most iconic goals in US Women’s soccer history which would have never happened if she had stuck to no this is who I am and not accepted someone else’s idea of

But this is who we need you to be and right now Clay is having to come to accept this is who we need you to be you can be a dynamic scor for this team coming off the bench playing against second units we’re not sure you can be

That kind of guy playing against first units at this point especially with Steph your Splash brother looking over and like God I gotta get clay going I gotta get clay going well if he’s not starting then Steph doesn’t feel that responsibility to try to make that

Happen and then the team is just playing and trying and and and playing it at it at at its optimal so um that’s why when you you know the the the subject of clay came up like what he’s experiencing is is is some of the fodder for for this

Book and I’m planning at some point to to sit down and talk with him about that to see what his you know H how he’s dealing with this because that’s what I ultimately want is I want this book to be for athletes and parents and coaches of of athletes today coming up to

Understand this is how the great ones made them allowed themselves to be coachable and this is what being coachable means because I’m not sure that everybody understands like I think today it’s like yeah I’m coachable when the coach is telling me to do what I want to do and

Giv the role that I want and if I’m and if not then I need to be go be coachable for somebody else who’s going to do that for me yeah that’s not uh that’s not how it works Rick in this day and age getting a book deal is harder than ever

So I can’t be uh begin to express my my happiness for you and that’s phenomenal news tremendous congratulations on that let’s definitely get you back on once you’re ready to publish the book so we can promote it all right let’s show some love to some of the folks who pay the bills here

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Of the locked on podcast Network your team every day locked on has launched the first ever National Sports 247 streaming Channel on YouTube and now it’s also available on Amazon Fire TV in the free Fire TV channels app locked on sports today is here for you 247 covering the

Top sports stories of the day with the local Experts of locked on plus our national shows covering every League find the locked on sports today now available on the free Fire TV channels app and you can follow Rick buer with FS1 the man has been all over the place

When it comes to the media landscape follow him on Twitter at Rick buer that’s Rick without a k it’s r i c bu u c h r you know on the flip side of the Klay Thompson coin in terms of of being a coachable player especially at this

Stage of his career is Jonathan kaminga who uh has had his own gripes in terms of being a player and the way he’s coached um you know in my humble opinion he’s a phenomenal Talent it’s remarkable that his public complaints worked it’s it’s I mean that’s not every day that

You see that where you know a player especially of his age uh publicly criticizes his coach and his and his role and then he ends up getting more more playing time and he actually delivered um but he also hasn’t finished the last three games and then there’s another young player named Moses Moody

Who I think is phenomenally talented who’s getting dnps what is your opinion on that side of the coin with these younger players for the Warriors yeah I mean they’re in they’re in a tough spot and I and I do like with kaminga I think they’ve given him opportunities and sometimes he’s coming

Through come through and sometimes he hasn’t and and the reality is for where the Warriors are again with their margin of error they’re trying to you know they’re trying to milk every bit that they can out of this team but they don’t have that that margin of error they don’t have it there

To go through growing pains and you know with Moody I think with Moody it’s more a case of it’s not that he ha there’s just limited minutes in the role that he’s playing and psky has been such a revelation that I think that that’s what has hurt has has hurt

Moses and it’s and it’s it’s the little Dynamic things like psky and his remarkable rebounding gets you extra extra possessions like Moses can shoot the hell out of it psky shoots it well Andy gets me extra possessions and he’s making plays and Steph and Draymond trust him

Like it’s hard as a coach like it’s nothing against Moses it’s just like everybody’s responding to this guy and this guy is doing more than you are doing I gotta I gotta I have to give him minutes it’s it’s the thing that kind of drives me a little nutty when I see fans

Talking about so and so should get more minutes okay hold on Whose minutes are you taking and you can’t just this isn’t fantasy so it’s not like you you have a you have an a lotted number of minutes and you have an a lotted number of minutes at particular positions I I see

The same thing with Lakers fans they’re all up in arms about T and prince playing as many minutes as he does and how come Ru hamura doesn’t play more minutes and I’m like ruy ruy hatam mura plays the same position as Anthony Davis and LeBron James ruy can’t guard per

Perimeter players like he’s not playing Wing so it’s not Taran Prince’s minutes he’s not taking minutes from ruie LeBron is taking minutes from ruie and you saw the other night like LeBron sat against Utah fing R had R had 35 get a big night that so it it it’s it’s not that Steve’s

Got something against Moses it’s like I I I don’t have a whole lot of wiggle room here and this guy is doing more in his minutes on the floor than you are so I that’s the guy I’ve got to play yeah and Rick let me know if agree or

Disagree with with my it is an opinion obviously most of this is that I think Steve Kerr has a crutch when it comes to point guards and you bring up the minutes and like last night’s game for example and I love Lester kones I think his his rise to Ascension here he’s

Probably going to get a guaranteed deal uh next week but when you talk about the minutes he got almost 17 minutes in last night’s game and I feel like that’s a player that maybe Moody should be taking minutes from uh in a game that’s position lless um that’s where I kind of

Understand the gripes and I and I agree with the gripes I just I I’m totally with you though too I don’t think Steve C has anything personal against these individuals um but it’s but it’s just about your approach right it’s about what you think is is best for the team I

Guess what are your thoughts on that yeah well I think there’s there’s there’s also like so how are you gonna find out whether Lester can give you any like what he can be before you have to make a decision on the contract interesting right interesting yes you

Know you this this may be that little Gap where you do that you know what you have in Moses right and the team is now playing well so now I can like I can win a game and find out what Lester might be or not be or whether I can use him or

What whatever so there’s always a lot of layers going on to like again the Evol especially this team right this year it’s like we’re in Discovery so how do we win games but find out what we really have and what guys can really do and so I look I’m a

Big Moses Moody fan and there’s been times where I felt like yeah he’s he was shorted you know but it was it was let’s try to get clay going right and and and so you have that I mean you see what an evolution it has been to get clay to

This place where he’s accepting coming off the bench you can’t just you can’t just go from zero to 60 on that you just can’t go from you’re starting playing 35 minutes till you coming off the bench like you gotta massage your way there not just for clay but the entire

Team so I I I and and this is not to say that Steve’s pushed every button correctly or that there haven’t been times where you go yeah I mean he would admit that I I I have no doubt like yeah I probably should have played so and so

But I gotta say too man having coached um having a daughter who’s playing collegiately now and being very aware of the minutes she’s down in down in Florida at a uh a D2 congrats that’s awesome H um but K like so I’m watching their team and I’m watching you know I mean

She’s she she plays a lot she’s third most on the team on minutes but I’m watching the coach like trying to manage the minutes with his team and injuries and everything and and I’ve coached so like I know like there’s times where you just like your mind is on how do I make

This work not like is so and so getting enough minutes right you you get to the end of the game and you look at the at the box score and you go oh man I probably should have found a way to get so and so more minutes or done something

Different but that’s that is not at the top of your prior priority list When You’re In the Heat of the battle absolutely and my coaching experience was more on the youth side so a lot of my headaches were with parents um addition in addition to trying to make

It work and being successful making everyone happy it is a complex uh uh Paradigm and there’s also so many perspectives because as from my experience as a former player like I hated it when coaches would put me in positions that I wasn’t comfortable in often times coaches wanted me to play uh

In the post trying play forward and I’m like a little guy I’m like what are you doing to me so it’s just it’s there’s so many perspectives there’s so many different angles to look at this from um Rick I know got that by the way is like

That’s they asked me who I was writing the book for when I when I discussed it with with the various Publishers and I said I’m writing it for the athlete but the parents and the coaches are in the room next door listening to the conversation right because in your

Instance like what would be important is the coach explaining to you why he needs you to play that position exactly within the concept of the team like I know this is uncomfortable for you I know I’m asking you to step outside of your comfort zone but this is why I’m asking

You to do this uh Brandy said the same thing she was like man like At first I’m thinking why are you making me play defensive midfielder and then it was like she thought you know what they must think I’m pretty good if they if they want to like put me in a different

Position in order to have me on the team and on the floor right right but if that conversation doesn’t happen and if the parents don’t recognize like you know it’s not about your kid what your vision is of how they become a star it’s your it’s your kid

Learning how to take on challenges and adapt to them that ultimately should be the thing that Sports teaches all of us it it teaches us so much Rick no doubt about that did you know that even if you have a 41k for retirement you can still have

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Your first Liston everyday for the every dayers I hope you have a great weekend it’s Allstar the All-Star break is here uh and next week while the team is on vacation while the NBA is on Hiatus uh we’re going to be having some guests Mark Jones the voice of the NBA

Alongside Mike Breen will be joining the program uh musician ble from uh New Zealand huge Warriors fan I’m gonna bring him on just to get some fresh perspective uh should be a good time we’re it’s GNA be a guest uh driven uh uh uh show I’m also going to dedicate

One episode just to Jonathan kaminga uh his background is fascinating uh I don’t think people understand who he is as an individual especially his upbringing leading up to where he is with the Warriors now so I’m going to dedicate one episode to the Future Superstar of the Golden State Warriors the current

Star of the Golden State Warriors Jonathan kaminga but for now I have the man the myth The Legend Rick buer joining me you can follow him on Twitter at Rick buer Rick with no K so it’s R I bu c h r here’s Rick and the last time

You were on this program by the way you I respect your opinion so much you you were astute in correctly saying that we were discussing clay what to expect and you said the biggest flag is going to be the drop off defensively and you’re spoton with that because I feel like

That’s the biggest liability with dealing with Clays the defense isn’t there anymore you know um anyways I know you got to go uh let’s promote everything you got going on I want you’ve got a lot I mean you’re contributing regularly to FS1 you’re a Barry presence you’re the

Former host of The Morning Show for the Warriors Flagship 957 the game you you’ve been you’ve covered everything and I respect you tremendously sir what do you have going on I know you got a podcast you have your book promote away please so I have the book uh should be

Coming well when will it come out it’ll come out in 2025 we’re ways away um okay uh I’ve got uh the on the ball podcast uh so check that out that comes out on a weekly basis latest one will be we’ll be posting uh later today uh what

What is it like an interview based show or are you just analyzing the game what it’s me picking a subject that I think needs to be address some hot hot hot button subject that everybody’s talking about at the time and trying to to to give you my view on it uh this episode

Will be about the uh the All-Star selection process and the debate over do we change it do you expand to 15 and if you look at it historically it’s changed a lot lot over the years and ultimately we’ve given it far more Credence or legitimacy as a reflection of greatness

Than it really deserves it’s it’s a marketing gimmick okay that’s what it is it is trying to draw interest and engagement from fans that’s it all right so uh when we think he’s an eight-time Allstar and if many of you really kind of examine like the eight times how the

Guy was on like how many times was he rep an injury replacement how many times was he a starter which under the fan vote was just a popularity contest like if you really break it down you’re like man he he had he was an eight-time Allstar and he had three Good Seasons

Like so um getting into getting into that you can read me on uh foxsports.com and the Fox Sports app and you can see me on on FS FS one on our various afternoon shows I think that’s basically it hopefully you won’t see me won’t see me in the water later today getting

Pummeled so it’s cold right now man I I’ve in my now older years I don’t go in the water from uh basically December through February so wow kudos to you I take and you gotta get it in before the winds kick up and well i’ I’ve got a few spots where

The even in the spring the winds don’t affect it that much so that’s fortunately for for me not a deterrent but I totally hear what you’re saying um have fun out there Rick I I look forward to bumping into you at Warriors games I’m I don’t go much these days I don’t

Know how often you’re going but I was at the Clippers I was at the Clippers game just just here right what a game that was my Lord um and congrats on your daughter I know you got you got more than just one kid but congrats you must

Be a proud papa my man that’s uh I’ve been flying to Florida a lot to see gam love it it’s been it’s been both of my kids had great High School careers uh here in the Bay Area and uh and I told them I said if you want to play in

College great if you don’t you’ve already given me like the most joy in being able to just watch them compete and compete at a high level and they’re both playing playing in college so I feel like I got four more years Bravo sir Bravo on everything it’s impressive

Your entire body of work is very impressive Rick buer follow him on Twitter Rick buer it’s Rick with a c no K uh and thank you sir hope to get you back on soon you got it thank you Cyrus thank thank you Rick and thank you everyone we’ll be back at this soon

Bye-bye

FS1’s Ric Bucher joined Cyrus Saatsaz with the Golden State Warriors entering the All Star break to discuss where the team is at in the big picture, including whether they’re a legitimate title contending team, Klay Thompson’s coachability and the approach Steve Kerr is taking with his young players including Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody.

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