Stephen A. Smith Explains Why Klay May Leave the Warriors

Stephen A. Smith Explains Why Klay May Leave the Warriors

but there was also a lot of other stuff in there with regard to uh to the Warriors and I wonder if his answer about Steph Curry doesn’t maybe open some eyes a little bit with regard to just kind of how things work in in the NBA whether we agree with them or not you know we asked him what does Joe lob owe Steph Curry and without hesitation he said whatever the hell he wants and and he says that because that’s kind of how it works in these circles you know that’s kind of how it works um here’s the answer what is Joe lob what are the Warriors oh Steph Curry they owe Steph Curry whatever the hell Steph Curry wants now I’m a Christian and I I’m not I don’t compare any man to God or anything like that but that man Steph Curry is the closest thing to a Godlike figure that you got in that area you make no mistake about it too invaluable too Untouchable and oh by the way still a star that man need no more Talent go get him more talent that man need a better roster go get him a better roster he need Steve cerr reup for years to come I know Steve CT sign this yeah you do that too you give Steph Curry whatever the hell he needs in order to keep him as a team meaning as a team relevant in a championship equation he deserves no less he’s still a superstar in this league he’s still playing like a superstar and the brother is the epitome of perfection when it comes to a professional athlete in terms of his greatness as a talent and his marketability and the sizzle that he brings to the table and and just everything in between it don’t get no better than Steph Curry you give him what the hell he needs yeah I mean you could have answered it uh even more simply and more mathematically Stephen A eloquent there and I love that he even evoked his own status as a religious man and uh I’m not saying that Steph Curry’s a God but he’s as close to a God as you could possibly want and the answer is when Joe lob and company bought the Warriors they paid 450 million and right now the Warriors are worth $8.2 billion second only to the Dallas Cowboys so if you want to talk about what you owe Steph Curry now you don’t owe him the entire $7.6 billion that the franchise has gone up because a lot of things have gone into that including the new building Etc on the four championships but Steph has been probably the number one biggest uh value ad in this organization since he purchased it and I know Steph was here before he bought it and the rest of it but what Steph has become what this team has become a lot of it is because of Steph Curry so just from a financial standpoint yeah Stephen A is not wrong you do owe Steph Curry just about everything he asks for okay so let’s think about that for second apron bye-bye well um I think it’s important for people to hear and this isn’t about what you think or I think or even what Stephen A thinks it’s more about the way an NBA franchise views a person like that because there are very few of them we use Steph’s name next to LeBron’s all the time however they’re not the same because LeBron has worn four different jerseys if you count Cleveland as two different times okay it’s won four different jerseys four different eras if you will Kevin Durant has now worn do we count the sonics one two three four five five did I get that right five warri Brooklyn Seattle OKC and Phoenix okay so this is more like um asking and and he’s not even there yet cuz Steph has achieved so much more and been there so much longer but it’s probably Milwaukee feels about Giannis right what what what do we owe Giannis everything he wants Lillard get Lillard you want to fire the coach mid-season fire the coach midseason you do anything for that man because that man is everything and so what does that mean for the Warriors off season and all of the opinions that we’ve sat here and shared together all of don’t you don’t trade kaminga don’t you you dare we’re going to need those picks someday right the picks the first letter of future is f and that’s what you can do with the future f it I’m telling you and what is f rhyme with um duck Steph oh F rhymes with Steph so if Steph it does says F if Steph is a guy saying you know what F those picks Joe because I got two years maybe three if you’re lucky uh if you show me that you want to win now I’ll sign an extension I’ll stay as long as you want if you show me I know he doesn’t need to say it but I think that it’s it’s really the rat on the table brought to you by at goz control if you’re going to keep this team being competitive Steph is going to stay and keep trying to win here well right and so I like I just when when we when we have conversations like this I think it ends up being a coaching tool for all of us really it we’re almost done with May and you know exactly what happens as soon as June is over it’s open season and here we go and whatever it is that’s going to happen is going to happen and so we can start coaching ourselves now whatever the hell is supposed to go on in 2027 does not matter it doesn’t matter 2026 doesn’t matter and I hate saying this but even there are even names now I think they’re going to be a part of this and so they can be a part of this they probably will be a part of this but in the larger discussion Jonathan kaminga doesn’t matter Brandon psky doesn’t matter Trace Jackson Davis and Moses Moody they don’t matter and please don’t clip that Lucas because if you just if there’s no context that sounds awful and also inaccurate of course they matter because they can be successful teammates for Steph Curry but that’s literally what their role is successful teammates for Steph Curry that’s what matters and whoever those names are that’s who they are if it’s an audition make it an audition the only thing that matters to this this conversation to this organization right now who are successful teammates for Steph Curry right that’s the only question they’re trying to answer and if it means you have to move off of future assets to bring in those successful parts to be here for the next year or the next two years or hopefully you make it so that Steph Curry doesn’t want to be anywhere else because you got Draymond here and you’ve got a core and you’ve got pieces that he thinks that he can win with because that ultimately is all Steph Curry wants I would imagine he wants to still be a warrior but more than that he wants to be able to play in April May and June and I know that he is a guy and I’m sure draymond’s the same you got the playoffs going on and you’re probably sick to your stomach that you’re not there it’s one of the rare times that you haven’t been a part of this um right and even though Steph this is another thing I always think about with him when you hear him talk and you look at his face and everything is always just like so nice right and everything is just it’s all hunky and Dory all at the same time always um but I don’t think it is this probably Burns him up like nobody’s business you know these guys don’t take kindly to this they don’t take easily to this the idea I mean they know whether you want to whatever word you want to use the word we always usually use is Legacy right you know we talked yesterday about how many times LeBron James had missed the playoffs in his career and uh and again we often forget the bad you know so first two years Well Steph has missed uh let’s see I can think of there was the injured year and and then there were two playin game losses and then obviously there was stuff at the very very beginning of his career when he was a pup so what do we got five that sounds about right is that about right you know what I mean but the ones that happen at the beginning of their of their career before they really get going I sort of blow that off like you’re in building mode I get it once you’ve built the Empire how often does it fall a a and the answer is very very rarely and uh and a as as rarely as possible in their power um you know when Dr that’s why that conversation was interesting in the crossover oh Draymond Green says we could just lose for five more years and he’s fine I don’t think that’s what he was saying I don’t think he’d be fine I know Steph would not be fine they are not okay with missing the playoffs and so if anybody’s mind is in build it mode just my suggestion you don’t have to take it but get your mind out of build it mode because that’s not what’s going on it’s not who they are it’s not what they’re going to be it’s not what they’re trying to do the answer for Steph is actually six six he missed his first three 10 11 and 12 then he went 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 they missed 20 and 21 20 was the injury year you got wisman and 21 was the playing year and then 24 was the playing year so that’s actually six years of uh the chef missing out uh on the playoffs although I think most people would probably put two like actually sort of on the full resume sure because again the first three are build it years and then the fourth one he wasn’t there right he didn’t play yeah I mean played a tiny bit and then that was it how many games uh that year only like six five yeah five games y yeah so that do really I mean I’m not putting that on a against Legacy but you know you I mean I mean if if it was going to be a perfect resume and I I wonder if there is a player who went who played more than 15 years and never missed the playoffs you’d have to probably go all the way back to the the Boston Celtics to to find that it’s incredibly rare to find somebody who plays that long and just doesn’t miss the playoffs 8 8957 9570 Stephen A also said this and we can get into this conversation because you’re not hearing a lot of people with a with a big NBA platform form say this listen to what he said about Klay Thompson I’m not advocating for you to get rid of Klay Thompson because even on a bad year remember it’s a bad year to his stand you talking about 42 43% shooting 37 38% from three-point rank you know how many teams in the league would love to have a Klay Thompson on this squad so I can’t poo poo that the problem is you’ve got the kingas and moodies of the world and and and pinis of the world and others who have shown they can come in and make a contribution Klay Thompson might have to go because he’s the one person with value for you to go out there and to get another component that you may need in order to supplement and elongate the illustrious career of a Steph Curry okay you know what was interesting about everything he said Klay Thompson related he made it sound like a signing trade yeah he made it sound like an asset and man if we had had another half hour totally I would have loved to be to to follow up with like okay tell me what the exit strategy is because if Clay’s going somewhere else I’m pretty sure he can drive himself right he can go wherever he wants to go so what is it that they you know like Stephen A’s building him as a valuable piece which I agree he is I think there’s a lot of places where he fits and uh and and could help put teams over the top and all of that it’s almost like what Draymond said to Shaq with regard to the idea of ever not being a warrior where he said look if I felt like I could be the missing piece to push someone over the top clay may feel that way somebody needs a sharpshooter he but absolutely he could be that for a team so maybe he wants to do that for the Warriors and and that might be a piece of the follow-up question would have been you know Stephen A do you think that that’s something that clay would want to do because Kevin Durant famously did that he did the Warriors a solid and had them do a sign and trade which begat D’Angelo Russell which got Wiggins and kaminga so maybe clay sees that and thinks you know if I do want to go somewhere else can I make it so that my the team that I’m leaving gets an asset back for me um it’s an interesting thought you know I hadn’t thought about that until Stephen A laid that out no doubt and if Kevin did it would clay absolutely right absolutely wouldn’t that help to mitigate some of the guilt you might feel if you’re clay and you do realize that you probably want to try something else or maybe the money’s not right wouldn’t that be a good way to at least kind of smooth it over with your departing team the the the thing that’s so hard with this is that everybody’s wants need to be the same and I don’t know that they are right so for instance let’s look at the two sides does Klay Thompson want to leave the Warriors probably not does he want to start and make a lot of money probably do those things match I don’t know the Warriors might secretly not really really want clay to stay but they certainly need to act like they do right and if they bring him back it’s got to be in a certain mold and he’s got to be on board with that and I just think all of those things need to match and they may not match and if they don’t match the feelings start getting hurt and then now we’re not doing each other any favors right like I I could see it going that way or I’m sorry I could see it having already gone that way I have no doubt that these conversations are already well underway sure in terms of what the Warriors want and how they’re going to present that to him and I think that if the Warriors and Clay both kind of agree that it’s time for him to go elsewhere and there are multiple teams interested that’s where the Warriors might be able to make it more of a sign in trade to where if there’s Orlando and another team that both want clay at about the same price well then it could come down to what team is willing to offer something back in a sign and trade to have the preferred route for clay to go there right yeah and that’s that’s what’ll unfold in the weeks to come now what about this one more from Stephen A Smith who joined us earlier and if you missed it uh Odyssey app YouTube it’s available there we’ll have it for you in full later on in a couple hours on our show Willard and dibs glad you’re here this is where you may really agree or disagree and this is the hard part for so many fans who feel like Draymond Green has worn out his welcome we spent a lot of time this year dibs talking about the Warriors and the need for a two um they do they need a they need someone consistently when we say that though we’re usually talking about somebody else who can consistently put up the point numbers the offensive numbers that are necessary so that so much pressure is not on Steph Curry I that’s all well said and and I agree with all of it but listen to this comment do you agree or disagree I’ll tell you right now before he even says it or before we play it for you I agree the second most important player on the golden Warriors is Draymond Green can’t get rid of Draymond Green because you ain’t gonna win without him you say whatever you want about Draymond Green you’re not winning without him because what he brings to the table is everything Steph Curry doesn’t want to bring to the table in terms of vocal leadership in terms of accountability on the defensive side of the ball and everything in between Steph Curry needs Draymond Green more than he needs anybody outside of his family and I mean that I’m not talking about Steve I’m not talk Steve C’s great phenomenal coach okay Joe lob phenomenal owner and his group you couldn’t ask for better because they going to do what it takes to win they going to spend that money but as a player I’m telling you right now you cannot lose Draymond Green if you have Steph Curry Steph Curry needs Draymond Green make no mistake about it so you need Draymond Green you got step then you got to look at the other components you don’t want to let go of a young kaminga you don’t want to let go of a young kajinski you don’t you might not even want to let go of Moody that’s the only reason I bring up you might have to unload clay because I can tell you right now if I’m a team with picks and I got a player or two that I can forfeit to get Clay Thompson oh I’m gonna do that again he presents the clay idea as a trade not as a walk and also everything now think about the way he also presented Draymond whenever we’re talking about it it’s often well we know cuz we’re Warrior fans the defense the smarts the way he sets up Steph Curry in the offense I like the way Stephen A put it it’s also that Draymond does all the things that Steph Curry doesn’t want to do yeah when it comes to Leading a team he does all of the negative he does all of the the the grunt work he does all the I don’t care if I score I’ll go rebound I’ll pass I’ll talk to the refs I’ll take all of the bullets in public for you and um that is something that I feel with all of the negativity surrounding Draymond all the frustration that he hands out to fans I think we forget that I really do I think we forget that he does all of the crap that needs to be done y that no other Warrior can or will do the dirty work and it’s not to say that Steph isn’t a leader but when it comes time to get in the Huddle and maybe undress somebody or bark at somebody Draymond does that when it comes time to set a hard screen to get Steph open Draymond does that Draymond does a lot of the things that make Steph’s life a lot easier and you could see it when draymond’s out and you watch Steph play forget the leadership and all the rest of the stuff that Draymond does bring just the basketball part of it when draymond’s not out there Steph has a harder time getting open on the ball or off the ball because Draymond knows better than any other player how to get the chef open and how to make sure that he’s able to to do what he does m whole thing’s super interesting I mean I if I were you know what I mean somebody landed here from Mars and they’re like tell me about the conversation uh as far as what this all means going forward you know what what what happens next we asked him what is there a path what is the path and um I think the quick response is Stephen A Smith thinks the Warriors are still viable provided that they sign and trade Klay Thompson right that’s what I heard yeah and he’s talking about getting a player back or a player or two and some picks and you know the idea of getting something for clay we’ve talked about can you get something for Chris Paul and it’s 30 million maybe it becomes the Klay Thompson piece that they’re able to use to get something back as opposed to Chris Paul um or both right or both true but if I’m a an acquiring team I’d much rather trade for Klay Thompson in a signning trade than I would take Chris Paul’s contract and just write it off depending on the team obviously team different needs you might yeah you might be able to shed money and acquire Klay Thompson and maybe that’s attractive to people that might be really really attractive to people especially if it’s early in free agency and you clear money to go do something else so that you’ve added Klay Thompson and something else on the open market this is going to be an offseason of extreme aggression in the NBA I believe you have so many rumors out there you can’t even keep track of all of them there do do you know how few stars there are in the NBA right now that are not involved in movement rumors I like not many how many are you counting sheay gilis Alexander is not going anywhere right joic is not going Edwards is not going anywhere ant’s not going anywhere Tatum and brown probably not going anywhere Luca’s not going anywhere Jimmy Butler rumors for sure rumors Durant I mean step’s not going anywhere Paul George he’s going somewhere he’s going somewhere LeBron Whispers how about two guys in Cleveland Donovan Mitchell Darius Garland both or one probably on the Move 100 they just fired their coach today yep yep I mean all of this and and we’re leaving a ton of names off I mean Brandon Ingram and uh like on and on Z maybe probably not probably not but I mean you’ve heard his name out marinin Trey young like I mean the whole thing really feels like a massive deck shuffle and uh and the Warriors being as aggressive as they are I have a hard time believing that they’re not going to at least try to be incredibly involved in it and how do you go about doing that is the question we’ve all been asking and it probably involves some really hard maneuvering and and this would this would qualify as that really really hard maneuvering that you may feel like you have to do yeah I mean you have to if you’re the Warriors there’s one of two ways you can go and we’ve talked about this a lot you can stand Pat and hope to bring back clay at a workable number and then just basically run it back with what you have with a couple of new vet mins for Char and whoever else you’re going to lose or you can get bold and we love the phrase maximize Steph Curry’s win window and that’s what Stephen A Smith said to us without using that exact phrase he said basically Steph Curry is as close to a deity as possible and hell yes you’ll do everything you can to maximize a Steph Curry window

Willard and Dibs continue to react to what Stephen A. Smith told them earlier in the show. He said that the Warriors owe Steph Curry whatever he wants, shares why it may be time for Klay Thompson and the Warriors to part ways, and more.

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