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00:00You would never have guessed that this text message was going to start a damn fire. I had no idea
00:06okay, first of all, Matt Barrow is gonna join us in 20 minutes and
00:10Also want to let everyone know that all guests like Matt
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00:38You sent a text that you thought was gonna be innocuous completely. You thought it was just gonna be a little
00:45nice little
00:47just throw it up in the air like a little cupcake and
00:51It started something even though you didn't really have anything to do with the follow-up
00:56But I'd love for you to sort of explain to people the background of why you're thinking this
01:02Because we all as a group we talk things out throughout the morning and whatnot. This is hitting me. That's hitting me
01:08Why don't we talk about this? Did you see that over there? We do that all morning long every day
01:13it's a preparation sensation and
01:17You text it
01:19Thank You mark at
01:21Exactly 10 o'clock this morning. Yep. You said cominga could be sixth man of the year
01:27They meeting the Warriors should be beating that drum as a way to make him feel good
01:34About the move and the move is referring to him not starting anymore right being on the bench. All right
01:41Explain yourself. I will explain it and I will explain it and justify it to the extent that
01:48This was a very brief and terse text, which was going to lead to a bigger conversation and for me him going to the bench
01:55Is something that could be uncomfortable for a player in a contract year?
02:00Jonathan cominga who wants to play a lot score a lot do a lot and get that bag
02:06I think all those things are fair to say that he wants Jonathan cominga is a player who in the past when things
02:14Haven't gone his way vis-a-vis
02:16Going from the starting lineup to a bench role. He hasn't necessarily handled it openly publicly
02:24privately in a very mature fashion
02:26And then I looked at it from this standpoint where he is a great sixth man since he's gone to the bench
02:32He's averaging almost 18 points a game. I'm looking at the odds right now according to fan duel
02:38He is at 15 to 1 which puts him as the fifth
02:43best odds to win six man of the year and I also think about this from the Warriors standpoint where
02:49Raymond Ritter the best in the business in
02:52PR and we know this yes, and we know that the Warriors are not shy about
02:57Certain campaigns such as hey everybody. We want to tip our cap to clay when he comes back
03:03They got ahead of it. We had Brendan Schneider on we talked about it. We got hats
03:08We helped to get everybody on board. They are really good at these sorts of campaigns
03:14So you have a player who might be a little sensitive coming off the bench you have a player doing great
03:20Coming off the bench and you have a wonderful PR arm that tends to get ahead of the curve on these things
03:27So I thought not so much like we need to wrap our arms around Jonathan
03:32but this would be a good thing for a young player to start to to hear this as a thing like
03:38Jonathan Kaminga, he might be the best six-man in the league and the undertone of that is hey Jonathan
03:45You're really good at this and Steve Kerr has said it and he Jonathan himself is probably seeing
03:50This is good
03:51And if we added this this extra layer to it
03:54I felt like that might be a good way if we started to beat this drum
03:59This might be a good way for him to more embrace this new role. So here's why this bothers me
04:05Okay, and you would I explain that properly you did great you did great cuz I didn't have time to text all that I
04:10Was getting in the car for an hour job perfect
04:11And and and what what got hot just to let the listeners know is is you know?
04:16I kind of my immediate response was that's interesting
04:18Why do you think they need to stroke Jonathan's ego?
04:21And then you went off to do a podcast and Grandy jumped in and kind of took your place
04:27I guess if you will first time ever he had my back because he really kind of cool. Yeah, he really was like to it
04:33I don't love Mark granny, but I respect it. Yeah. Well, it's Friday. We'll see ask you get it six. It's early anyway
04:42He kind of took up for like what's what's so bad about this and
04:47The quick answer is nothing. This is not an offensive thing that you're saying and I want to also
04:54Get this out front of the conversation
04:58Jonathan's doing really well
05:01Especially off the bench
05:03Jonathan is averaging over 17 a game off of the bench in eight games
05:08That's a very small sample, but that's great and Jonathan also
05:15Has not publicly complained and that is also great
05:20So this is a hypothetical conversation that we're having and I really hope that none of it sounds
05:28Like I am in any way being critical of Jonathan cominga because I'm not he's doing all the right things
05:35Your suggestion though is that the Warriors started drumbeat for six man of the year and it bothers me because it's too soon
05:44That's why it bothers me and I would love if we could for once in our lives
05:50could we let Jonathan cominga earn something as
05:54Opposed to what I keep hearing which is wanting to give him things that he has not earned yet. I
06:01Don't think there's anything wrong with that
06:05Have the courage to let cominga earn it
06:10Like look at his career arc in four years
06:13So many of you wanted Steve Kerr to play him when it wasn't the right thing to play him. Oh
06:19Mark come on develop the young people. It's not like they're gonna oops. They want a championship
06:26Why do we need to give him a starting spot before he's earned it
06:31Why do we need to give him 30 minutes a night before he's earned it now we get to this year
06:38We got to give him a contract
06:40before he's earned it and
06:42now
06:43Now we want to start a drumbeat for sixth man of the year dot dot dot
06:51Before he's earned it. That's all I'm saying. The only thing that bothers me about this is the order
06:57It's just the order and I think it's a bad message for a young player and for other young players
07:04that if you do have your agent call shams or whatever you can start to
07:10Sort of like create a path for yourself, which is well, I'm sensitive and I want a lot of money
07:16So now you as an organization you should start doing things. You should start bending over backward. You should give me minutes
07:23I haven't earned you should give me money. I haven't earned and if I haven't learned that you're not gonna give me the money yet
07:28well, then at least let's campaign for an award that I
07:32Wasn't even thought of to be eligible for until eight games ago when you made a move to send me to the bench
07:38Which was clearly the right thing to do. Your team is nine and two. You guys are awesome. This is all working
07:46Everybody else is super happy and not saying a damn word about their roles
07:49and by the way, he's done a great job of not saying anything about his I
07:54Don't have any problem if you win sixth man of the year, but that's organic like to me
07:59Well, nothing's organic when it comes to this. No, but he'll earn it like we there's plenty of time come January
08:06To start as you say a drumbeat if indeed
08:10Jonathan is like averaging 18 points a night off of the bench. Yep
08:1517.3 right now any a time 14.7 overall. Yeah, there's plenty of time for that
08:21I just don't understand why so many people want to hand Jonathan things
08:27Before he's earned them because there's some sort of fear that Jonathan's gonna be upset
08:33Yeah, I don't think that we're handing it to him it's just a simple drumbeat and you know
08:38I'm not saying we needed to print out flyers and we need to call every voter and an openly campaign
08:44I just thought that it was an interesting
08:46Idea and then I looked at the odds and I see him fifth in the odds and actually the the text
08:52I should have sent is what I was thinking also, which is this might be my best bet
08:58Right now at 18 to 1 and if you look at a team, that's an interest
09:03I mean that's interesting to me
09:04this team is good and if this team has a
09:07Good year and this player does this as a sixth man and as this kind of a year
09:13There's value at 18 to 1 right now for him to be sixth man of the year
09:17So with that maybe me calling for a drumbeat was a little bit hasty and misguided and I see that part of it
09:24But I also was just thinking about the Raymond Ritter if occasion of this sort of thing where you know
09:31We will openly
09:33Campaign for our rookies to be on the all-rookie team and for our defender to be DPO why and we do these things
09:40Maybe those players earned it more than this player
09:43But I also think about the general sensitivity of cominga and I you know
09:48Grandi some of the things you actually were sharing on the thread. I was like, yeah Grandi cuz I'm I'm in my car
09:54And I was like, no Grandi every time a text comes in it goes
09:59So I can I can read them on my on my car story car screen, right?
10:02So instead of ignore I was hitting read and then my car will read it like and so I'm listening to every and then
10:09And so I'm like that includes Lucas Mark and Mark Mark said well
10:14What's funny is Mark and you wouldn't know what Lucas thought and Lucas is great about this Lucas just waited
10:20No
10:21He waits until he knows like where the majority is and then he piles on on that side
10:26So known as not paying attention to our thread because he of course has very very important other things
10:32You know what? I call him. I'm reading this what late hit Luke
10:36It's like the tackles already happened and then here comes Lucas on top of the pile to make sure he gets a piece of the
10:42Tackle Randy. What do you want to say?
10:44I'm just gonna ask does it does it matter what?
10:46Kaminga deserves if you think that a drumbeat for him for six man of the year makes him feel better and makes him more
10:54Appreciative of his role and maybe makes him play a little looser and freer and that helps the team
10:59Isn't that worth doing it?
11:00Even if you think coming it doesn't deserve it. That's a lot of ifs first of all and and I just to me
11:05It's a bad message. It's a it's a bad message at the wrong time. I
11:10Don't want the golden again. I have no problem with him winning the award
11:13I have no problem with the Warriors campaigning for the award
11:16I have a problem with the idea of them doing it now because he has been on the bench for eight games
11:22Everything's going great and nobody should have to placate anybody when you're nine and two you don't owe anybody
11:29Anything when you're nine and two it's working
11:32Y'all are playing well
11:33And you should trust that you're gonna get paid what you deserved if you fit within a winning system and score a lot of points
11:42That's the way it should be so to me
11:45It's a bad message to simply say like because earlier you guys were saying well everybody needs to be coached differently
11:51I have no problem if Steve wants to do things behind the scenes with Jonathan that help if he is actually an overly sensitive
11:59Guy but sending the Warriors out to the streets to start talking about six man of the year before Thanksgiving
12:06When Jonathan's only even done this for eight games to me
12:09It's just a bad message particularly because of where we've been with Jonathan. Let him earn it
12:15Yeah, if he does 18 points a night for two months now, we're talking but that to me is an arbitrary
12:22Time in an arbitrary level and I think halfway through the season when awards are starting to be talked about what Steve is already doing
12:29I think is priming the pump for this conversation when he talks about you know
12:33How great Jonathan's been off the bench and how much he likes Jonathan coming off the bench
12:38I do think that they're already priming the pump for Jonathan. They're signaling that this is going to continue
12:45So for me, this is just further signaling about just how good
12:49Jonathan has been off the bench and you know, maybe the next thing that said is, you know
12:53When you look around the league, he's one of the best bench players
12:56he's one of the best guys coming off the bench in the league and you slowly start to get to that point where you know,
13:03The idea of a sixth man starts to get connected with coming. I mean we do 408 just texted in
13:09Comcast business text line. Thank you for listening. Jonathan would hate that idea because he doesn't want to be the sixth man
13:16Interesting perspective, I don't know. Yeah, maybe let's go to Bob and Marin. Hey Bob. Thanks for calling. What's up?
13:24Hey, I just want to say Mark you're completely right, I think he's got to earn the right I think
13:30Guys like Jordan Clarkson, Lou Williams and Jamal Crawford. They didn't they didn't have to be coddled to be the sixth man of the year
13:36They're always answering the bell and this is a this is a contract year
13:42For coming up that he needs to forget about where he's starting whether he's starting where he's coming off the bench
13:47Play the game go get yourself some money
13:49So you don't need to coddle players to and and prime them as so to speak to become the sixth man of the year
13:55He's got to do his job and he's got to earn the right to be the sixth man or in that contract Bob. Thanks
14:01I'll admit examples why because those are veterans
14:05This is a 22 year old who is in a contract year his first contract year
14:09So you could talk about Jordan Clarkson who's a veteran and you could talk about all these other names you threw out
14:15These are guys who've been there gotten paid and they're on the back nine of their career
14:20This is Jonathan Kaminga who needs to feel good about something in a contract year where he's trying to get that bag
14:26Yeah, see I look at it exactly the opposite
14:28I those are guys who have proven who they are and what they can do in the NBA
14:34Again, I want to be very careful to say it this way. Jonathan has done publicly the right things
14:39I just also know if you really really follow warrior basketball
14:42There have been about 12 insiders who have already written that behind the scenes Jonathan is not terribly pleased
14:48So I don't know that to be true
14:50Based on what we see in the public and Jonathan deserves credit for that if he is mad
14:54He's kept it largely to himself or at least to himself Anthony Slater Monty Poole
15:00Tim Calicami we could go on but they they they are in the know and I don't think Jonathan loves this and that's
15:07Okay, as long as he still is a professional and goes and does his job
15:12What what gets me about it though? Is this idea that in the professional world?
15:19There starts to be a little bit of a chain-link fence
15:24one thing after another
15:26Where Jonathan before being 20 points a night or before being six-man?
15:33Consistently for two three months or even back when he wasn't playing defense and wasn't rebounding
15:38Call shams. I should be starting based on what dude
15:43Based on what you like? I'm I know you're young but what what the Warriors are trying to teach Jonathan
15:49I think right now is how to be a professional
15:52Not not like how we can make you feel good
15:56Because you want to be X even though we see you as why but that's all I'm talking
16:01I get that but I do think part of coaching is
16:04coaching everyone differently and also putting your player in the best position to do what you want and do what he wants which is
16:11Play well, and maybe Jonathan cominga hearing this hearing this sort of a drumbeat would make him feel better about the role and thus
16:19Make him feel better about playing good basketball as opposed to geez
16:24I need to start and get my minutes in order to eat