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00:00I'm really starting to love this consistent minutes for Moses Moody thing.
00:06And I do think that the way Moses Moody is playing might have just a sliver of this making
00:16Jonathan Kaminga more expendable.
00:20Because the whole idea that's been in my head for weeks, any trade where someone's like,
00:26no Wiggins and Kaminga.
00:28I'm like, I'm out.
00:29I'm out.
00:30We're not doing that.
00:31Now you have no wings.
00:34But we've arrived at, oh wait, now I'm listening.
00:39Because the other name is Kevin Durant, and because Moses Moody is becoming a very consistent
00:44three point shooter and it's what the Warriors need.
00:47And I don't know if y'all watched last night, but he made the bucket of the night.
00:52Like it was the bucket of the night.
00:55Orlando makes their fourth quarter run, they take a two point lead, the Warriors tie the
01:00thing back up, Draymond got a fun bounce, ball goes in, but Orlando is coming at you
01:06in the final two minutes.
01:08Ball in Steph Curry's hands, and instead of trying to force something up, he penetrates,
01:13he finds Moody for the open three, knock it down, dagger ball game, Warriors win.
01:20That's what they need.
01:21So let me ask you this.
01:24What wing grouping do you like better?
01:26Wiggins and Kaminga or Durant and Moody?
01:30For me it's Wiggins and Kaminga.
01:31Really?
01:32Yes, because I do think that that grouping gets you to the foul line a little bit more.
01:36And you know, Moses has had a great 12 game run and I'm looking at it now and he's gotten
01:4124 minutes a night and 11 points a game.
01:44This is maybe his best stretch as a Warrior in his career.
01:48He's shooting it from 40 percent from three.
01:50He's been great, and Kevin Durant is spectacular.
01:54If you want to rank the four in that group, I do think that it's going to be Moody is
01:58four and Durant is one, and Wiggins and Kaminga are probably two and three, however you want
02:03to see it.
02:04So it's like a little tournament.
02:05It's a great tournament.
02:06One and four versus two and three.
02:07Which would you do?
02:08And I like the upside of Kaminga as the three seed, even if you put Wiggins at the two seed.
02:13And I do think that what you said about Wiggins is right.
02:16He's been really consistent of late.
02:19He's been playing great.
02:20So for me, the difference between KD and Wiggins is less than the difference between Kaminga
02:26and Moody.
02:29I mean, Moody right now, he's the flavor of the month and he's been playing great.
02:32Well, so is Wiggins.
02:33I mean, Wiggins has been playing awesome too.
02:35And I've always believed in that little fun thing we do about does absence make the heart
02:41grow fonder or does absence make the heart grow fonder for someone else?
02:45I think that absence makes the heart grow fonder for someone else.
02:49I've always thought that.
02:50And unfortunate timing with this Jonathan Kaminga injury.
02:54But let's be real, we're kind of forgetting about him for right now.
02:58We don't even know how to answer that question of would the Warriors be better right now
03:03if Kaminga hadn't gotten hurt?
03:06Would their record be better than it is if Kaminga hadn't gotten hurt?
03:10My answer is unequivocally, I don't know.
03:13Which is not a compliment to Jonathan Kaminga.
03:16That's kind of my point today.
03:20If the Warriors are not looking at him as their acquisition, if they don't feel like
03:25they're any worse off with him gone, well, there's your answer.
03:29There's your answer.
03:30That's not a $40 million player.
03:31Well, they don't have to pay him $40 million.
03:34Or not a $30 million player.
03:35Well, they might pay him $30.
03:37They might.
03:38But he is more tradable, I believe, than he was even before the injury.
03:44Well, if you look at who they are with him and who they are without him, there's been
03:48enough of a sample throughout the year.
03:50He's played in 32 of the 49, and they're 18 and 14 when he plays, and they're 7 and 10
03:56when he doesn't.
03:57So that to me is a big enough sample where you could look at that and say they're better
04:01when he plays, even when he doesn't play well.
04:04But when he doesn't play, and even over the last, and it's been 3, 6, 9, it's been 15
04:11games that he hasn't played, and they're 7 and 8 in those games.
04:15I can't argue with you, but we all know that it's not like he was driving the bus when
04:19they were 12 and 3 early.
04:21And he was playing in those games, and so that goes to his record.
04:26Like when he was really driving the bus was for the 10 games before he left.
04:30He was driving the bus.
04:31He was averaging over 20 a game for those 10 games.
04:34He was driving the bus.
04:36They were fine.
04:37They were the same that they are now.
04:38They were just kind of eh.
04:39You know what I mean?
04:41The 14 games before he got hurt, he averaged 20.5 a game.
04:45And in those games, in those 14 games, they were 6 and 8.
04:49To your point.
04:50So, I mean, was he driving the bus?
04:53Yeah.
04:54But was the bus going anywhere?
04:55No.
04:56I mean, the bus was not really going anywhere.
04:59He had a couple of monster games.
05:01He had 34 against the Clippers.
05:03They lost.
05:04He had 34 against Phoenix.
05:05They won.
05:06So it's really not about Kaminga.
05:09It's about Steph Curry.
05:11When Steph plays really well, they win.
05:13When Steph doesn't play well, they usually lose.
05:16Well, sure.
05:17And that's the way it's supposed to be with your number one.
05:21Like a lot of people look at this Phoenix situation with Durant right now and they're
05:24like, hey, Durant's on Phoenix and they have the same record as the Warriors.
05:28They've lost back-to-back nights in Portland.
05:30They lost both those games in a trip to Portland.
05:32Yeah.
05:33Wow.
05:34Okay.
05:35But go look at their record when Durant plays.
05:37They literally lose when Durant's not in.
05:39They lose when he's not in.
05:41And they are a 650 team when he plays.
05:45So you're supposed to be much better when your best player plays well.
05:48But my question is, I really think that this is a fair way to look at Jonathan Kaminga.
05:54If you're telling me that the Warriors right now are essentially the same with or without
05:58him, and I do feel that way, that's not a compliment.
06:02That's not a, hey, we better hold on to this guy for the future.
06:06Again, I like him.
06:08I'm not saying dump him for nothing, but he is not, he's touchable.
06:15He's very, very touchable.
06:17They're all touchable.
06:18And you want to talk about Andrew Wiggins, and he's played in 43 of their 49.
06:26And when he plays, they're 21 and 22.
06:28So they are the exact same team when he plays as when they don't.
06:33And he missed two games early.
06:34They won them both, New Orleans games, fine, grain of salt.
06:38And then he missed Minnesota and Houston.
06:40That was a split.
06:41He missed Detroit and Indiana.
06:43That was a split.
06:44So there's really no difference maker if you want to look at it like that.
06:47Like who aids to you winning games?
06:50Well, that matters to me.
06:52If you're saying he's not a difference maker, then he is.
06:55None of them are.
06:56Like no matter who you have, you're a 500 team.
06:59Well, then all the more reason that you should be all about now, because that means you have
07:02no difference makers other than Steph Curry.
07:04So I'm all about now.
07:05But for me, if I'm all about now, trading a $7 million Jonathan Kuminga doesn't do as
07:10much as trading a $28 million Andrew Wiggins.
07:12No, of course.
07:13And I understand that part of it, although it does maybe in the eyes of the receiver,
07:18but not in making the finances match.
07:20And I wonder who would command more on the market right now, Andrew Wiggins, a better
07:24player.
07:25You're talking about financially or in the eyes of another team?
07:27In the eyes of a trade.
07:28Like if you want to trade with the Warriors, who would you rather have?
07:32Wiggins, who is earning less money than what he is playing at, or Kuminga, who is well
07:39out playing his contract now, but is facing a pretty big bump up.
07:44I could only answer that if I knew which team I was, because if I was trying to win right
07:48now, I want Andrew Wiggins.
07:50If I'm a rebuilding team, then I want Jonathan Kuminga.
07:53That's how I'd answer that.
07:54That's a fair answer.
07:55I like that.
07:56Let's go.
07:57888-957-9570.
07:58Rich in Fremont on Willard and Dibbs.
08:02Rich, thanks for calling.
08:03Hey, guys.
08:04Thanks for taking my call.
08:05I'm out here trying to stay dry, which I'm failing miserably.
08:10Yeah.
08:11So this is my whole take.
08:14I mean, any type of deal the Warriors make, you know, it better be either Kevin Durant
08:20or Cam Johnson, because other than that, the rest of those guys out there, it's not going
08:25to do anything for what the Warriors need.
08:27The Warriors need to realize, and I'm sure they do, that the Steph Curry era is closing.
08:33Okay?
08:34They cannot ignore that.
08:35And so that being said, it's like, if you pick up Kevin Durant, okay, great pick up
08:41because it's Kevin Durant.
08:43And you know what the nucleus is when he's in the locker room with the Warriors once
08:48they get on the floor.
08:50That's great.
08:51And the idea that they could possibly pick up another title, that stock goes up because
08:55they get Kevin Durant.
08:56But it's like, if they don't get Kevin Durant and it's like, they start fishing around for
09:01another one.
09:02The only other one that will be reasonable would be Kevin Johnson.
09:04Because why?
09:05Well, because like I said, the Steph era is closing.
09:08So any deal you make, you need to look at the long-term effect of that deal as opposed
09:12to the short term, unless you were doing something, you know, static as a Kevin Durant.
09:17And then as far as, you know, the rest of the league, you know, with all these different
09:23changes in the whole Luka Donchus thing, in my opinion, all it really is, is, you know,
09:28Dallas realizing that, hey, the guy they thought they had, they realized they didn't have.
09:33And so that's kind of the reason why they made a move like that.
09:36The AD pickup, perfect for them.
09:38Thanks guys.
09:39Rich, thank you.
09:40Listen, to my death, I'm not going to really know if any of us really know what Dallas
09:47was thinking or what happened with that relationship.
09:50Obviously it was stunning and nobody inside the NBA seems to understand it.
09:57So I don't know why those of us outside the NBA feel like we understand it.
10:00I get that we can sort of act like we think this must be what happened with Dallas, but
10:06I won't really know.
10:08Outside of that, the players that Rich brings up, I really, really like what he just said
10:13there, which is Kevin Durant, that's a different kind of target if what you want to do is
10:20prioritize now.
10:22But if you can't do that, then I would lower the expectations, lower what's going out and
10:29go for a guy like Cam Johnson.
10:31And there may be plenty of you listening who don't even know who that is, but Cam Johnson
10:35is a young-ish, like mid to late twenties player who is currently on the Brooklyn Nets,
10:41averaging about 19 a game, shooting over 40% from three.
10:45He's a three and D genius, plays on both sides of the court.
10:50Really good offensive player, having his best year, and is like restaurant-quality
10:56locker room guy.
10:57Like a good, good dude.
10:59And we've got all of that on good authority.
11:01So does that make you a contender?
11:03Is that a wow acquisition?
11:05No.
11:06But he's relatively cheap for two more years after this year, he's a really good player.
11:11I like those names.
11:12I do too.
11:13And you know, he's 29 coming up here in about three weeks, and he's making $20 million next
11:19year and then $22,500, which is a bargain considering how good he is.
11:22And you mentioned it, two-way player.
11:24I do think that he is going to cost whoever trades for him if the deal is there.
11:29He's going to cost you a first round pick, whether or not it's this year or next year
11:33or the year after.
11:34I'm not sure.
11:35And that's what Brooklyn's trying to accumulate is picks.
11:39So yeah, I like that move.
11:42If you can get it done for a couple of salary matches and a pick or a pick and a pick swap,
11:48whatever it is, because he is under control and he is that guy.
11:52But if you want to talk about a big swing for Kevin Durant, then yeah, you're going
11:56all in on the next, probably not even this year, but probably next year only.
12:00Well, that's what his contract is.
12:02Right.
12:03That's what his contract is.
12:04And even if you brought him in now, I don't know if you bring him in now and you can get
12:08from where you are 10 seed up to where you're a 5 or a 6, and now you can really make a
12:13push in the playoffs.
12:14I don't know about 5 or 6, but I do feel good about like, for instance, 7, which is,
12:19that's a thing.
12:20I know the Warriors have found their way out of the play in tournament, even when they
12:25had home court advantage.
12:26I think they were the 8 the first time, right?
12:28Didn't they have to play once at home and then once on the road or whatever it was.
12:34I can't remember.
12:35Yeah, Memphis was the one that knocked them out.
12:36Anyway, and they lost a game where they were favored and got sent out.
12:40But you know, the 6 is like three games away, but the 7 seed is like a game, it's like a
12:47game and a half away.
12:48Like I do think Kevin Durant swings that.
12:51I do.
12:52I do.
12:53I think the Warriors, with Kevin Durant, at least get to 7.
12:55For whoever that matters.
12:56If that matters to you, great.
12:57To me, it matters.
12:59Some people are like, why the hell would we care about the 7 seed?
13:02I think there's value to getting Steph Curry and Kevin Durant together into a playoff series.
13:06I think that that would be scary for other teams.
13:07I think that there's value.
13:08For me, the bigger value is having Kevin and Steph into the offseason and then you can
13:13figure out what you do around them in the offseason through the draft and through free
13:18agency and you know, maybe LeBron opts out and wants to be a part of it.
13:22I know that's a pipe dream and there's a lot of other things that would have to happen
13:25to make that a reality.
13:27But for me, that's a move that, yeah, in the short term, it might get you from right now
13:31you're tied for the 9 with Sacramento and Phoenix.
13:34It's a three-way log jam and you're a half game back at Dallas in the 8 and it's kind
13:38of just a morass of teams and so are you going to separate from any of those teams?
13:44Maybe.
13:45These are all teams that are making huge swings right now.
13:47Like the Kings no longer have De'Aaron Fox.
13:49The Mavs no longer have Luka and we're literally talking about the Suns and Warriors getting
13:53together on a deal and Jimmy Butler, Kevin Durant, like who knows when the dust settles.
13:58Like some of those teams really may fall.
14:00Spurs may catch you from behind.
14:01I don't know.
14:03But there's a lot going on here in the next 48 hours.
14:05Tim is in North Carolina.
14:06Hi, Tim.
14:07Thanks for calling.
14:08Hey, what's up, man?
14:09Hey, hey, Willard.
14:10I appreciate you trying to hold up the fort, but it's absolutely fascinating, Willard,
14:16to hear you completely be so impressed with the consistency of Moses Moody's 11 points
14:23a game when he gets 24 minutes.
14:25But we were going to downplay a guy that over his career, 40 game sample size, when he's
14:31given 30 minutes a game, gets you 21 points, six rebounds and three assists on 41% three
14:38point shooting that goes back three years.
14:41When he gets 30 minutes a game, that is what he gives you.
14:45We're not impressed over December when he played 30 minutes a game, he gave you 25 points.
14:51We're not impressed with you won the Phoenix game because of him.
14:54You won the Houston game without Draymond and Steph because of him.
14:58You actually won the Houston game in Houston when he put three daggers in overtime because
15:03of him.
15:04And he's 22 and getting nothing but better year by year.
15:08We act like, oh, that's really nothing.
15:1121, six and three is nothing.
15:15So I mean, Willard, I don't know.
15:17It just sounds like it's an agenda when it comes to this young man.
15:21You're raving about Moses Moody, 11 points a game or 24 minutes.
15:27And the only scenario you give is, why not give the scenario of Durant and Kaminga on
15:32the court together?
15:33Because that'll be a hellfire combination.
15:36Why does it have to be Kaminga leaving, Willard?
15:39I don't understand.
15:40All right.
15:41Now, let me answer, Tim.
15:42These are really good points and it's a good call.
15:43Thank you very much.
15:44I'd love to answer all of that.
15:45The reason that I wouldn't talk about Kaminga and Durant on the floor together is it is
15:51my perception based on what we're seeing right now that Kaminga would have to go in that
15:55deal.
15:56Secondly, I am very impressed by Jonathan Kaminga and it's always hard to have these
16:01conversations because it's so immediate in sports radio where when you have any opinion
16:06like this, you immediately become a hater.
16:09You hate Jonathan Kaminga, you have an agenda, try to run him out of town.
16:13I've literally never even met the kid.
16:15I got nothing against Jonathan Kaminga, but they're not on equal footing, Tim.
16:22Moses Moody is signed for three more years at 13 million a year.
16:26Jonathan Kaminga reportedly six months ago was asking for a max rookie extension.
16:31So we have to look at them through different glasses.
16:35I very much like Jonathan Kaminga.
16:37I think he's a wonderful, young, 22-year-old rising player, but the question about Jonathan
16:44that I think the Warriors are trying to answer is, is he a star?
16:49Is he a perennial all-star?
16:51Is he someone who could someday be a one?
16:54I don't think he can be.
16:56That's just me.
16:57Could be wrong.
16:59But we're not talking about that with Moses Moody.
17:02What I'm saying about Moses is that I like what I'm seeing with his first consistent
17:07minutes of his career.
17:09I like what I'm seeing.
17:11And I also think it fits what the Warriors are trying to do.
17:14He's a knockdown three-point shooter.
17:15Jonathan is not.
17:16Yeah, I don't know if I'd call him a knockdown three-point shooter, but I do think the idea
17:20of him being your four, your power forward, is a short-lived experiment.
17:25If he is your four, then I think you've got big problems on the defensive end.
17:29Doesn't it feel like everybody is your four?
17:31The Warriors, just everybody.
17:32The Kaminga, four.
17:34Moody, four.
17:35Draymond, four.
17:36It's because you don't have a four.
17:37Draymond should be your four with a real five, but you don't have a five, so Draymond plays
17:42the five.
17:43I don't even know.
17:44And you don't have a four, so these guys play your four.
17:45I don't even know what a four is in the NBA anymore.
17:47And Moody said last week, two, three, and four is the same thing.
17:50So like, you know, basketball is different now.
17:52It is.