• 2 days ago
Transcript
00:00I know we're thrilled to have him, so thankful.
00:03Andrew Bogut joining us here on Willard & Debs 95.7 The Game.
00:07Hey, Andrew, how you doing, man?
00:09Good, how are you?
00:10Oh, we're doing great, man.
00:12First of all, just want to sort of like,
00:15because you didn't get to do it in person last night,
00:18kind of like send along the love from the entire Warrior
00:21fan base and the organization about the 2015 team.
00:25Were you following along with that in any way
00:27or talking to any of the guys?
00:31Not really, to be honest with you.
00:32I had the invite, which only came to me about a month ago.
00:37So as our American friends don't usually realize,
00:41Australia's a pretty far place to just jump
00:43on a quick flight for a game.
00:45So I couldn't organizationally get down there,
00:48but it was obviously a great night and a very special time.
00:51And I texted with a few other teammates
00:54that weren't there on the night as well
00:56and would have liked to have been there.
00:57But it just, yeah, scheduling being this far away from the US
01:00just didn't work.
01:01That's great to hear you.
01:02And I'm sure Bay Area fans, Warrior fans,
01:04are loving this, because you instantly
01:06became a fan favorite, because the way you played
01:09and your personality.
01:10When you think about that season, 2015,
01:13that culminated in a title, what are some of the things
01:16that you remember and some of your takeaways from that year?
01:21I think just the way it all came together,
01:23I think it was just an anomaly, really.
01:25We had a pretty decent squad that was building
01:29into something special, had a good mix of youth,
01:33good mix of veteran leadership.
01:35We had great role players and just started the season off
01:38pretty well.
01:39And everything just kind of fell together perfectly.
01:42Our roles were established just naturally.
01:44And it just was an enjoyable way.
01:46I mean, when you can play basketball the way
01:50that squad did, obviously, later on, KD came
01:54and the system was a little bit different.
01:55But I believe, and I'm not being biased,
01:57that those two years that I played there
02:00were two of the best years of professional basketball
02:04I've played as far as enjoyment.
02:05And just the way everything was in sync, and the ball moves,
02:09and we didn't have to overthink things.
02:11Everyone kind of knew each other's strengths and weaknesses,
02:14had each other's backs.
02:15It was just all automatic.
02:16It wasn't some sort of intro offense
02:18that we put together or defense.
02:19It was literally just having guys
02:21that was high basketball, like you guys, playing together
02:24and having time to make mistakes over the course of the years
02:28and play together and go through ups and downs.
02:30And it all just came together.
02:31And it was just a beautiful way to play, in my opinion.
02:33Yeah, it really was beautiful basketball to watch.
02:36And Andrew, I don't know if this comment got back to you.
02:38But last night, Steve Kerr was asked about the team
02:40and said who was kind of the underrated or unsung
02:43hero of this whole thing.
02:45And he mentioned your name.
02:46Did you know that?
02:48Yeah, Raymond Reuters sent me the clip.
02:50So, yeah, pretty cool.
02:52Big compliment from Steve and appreciate that.
02:56Had ups and downs all throughout my warrior times
02:58as well with injuries and whatnot.
02:59But I felt like I provided something
03:01that was lacking before I got to Golden State.
03:04And that was physical presence.
03:06Wasn't afraid of people, set hard screens, rebound block
03:09shots, and it fit in as a perfect piece of the puzzle.
03:13So just getting through the playoffs that year
03:16and having a battle with Ibo and Gasol and Dwight Howard
03:19and some of these big guys.
03:20And then, obviously, in the Cleveland series,
03:22a little bit of a different matchup didn't play as much.
03:24But providing kind of what I could was really cool
03:27and nice to get that notoriety.
03:30Also, in just thinking back to those times,
03:34I don't know what word you'd use for it.
03:36I want to ask you if it's surprising to you
03:38or how would you describe the fact
03:41that some of those teammates, they're still here
03:44and they're still playing at a high level.
03:46Would you have foreseen that then?
03:51Um, yeah.
03:52I mean, Steph just doesn't age, right?
03:54Like, usually guards have a pretty steep decline
03:59once it's hit, just because speed goes.
04:00And then you lose your quickness and it's pretty hard
04:02to keep up with these young guys coming into the league.
04:05And then Draymond, probably a little bit more unsurprising,
04:09just because he's not, you know, this isn't a knock,
04:13but he was never a guy that played strictly
04:15on athleticism or speed.
04:17He plays a lot on basketball IQ.
04:19He's got really long arms, multi-positional,
04:22and he's just a gritty guy.
04:23So you would see him playing later on to his 30s,
04:26but Steph's just been fantastic.
04:28And considering, you know, where his body started
04:31in his NBA career with all the injuries that he had
04:33and issues of just getting healthy to where he is now
04:35is predominant, just a testament to how much time
04:38and effort he puts in to be a professional.
04:40And to that end, Andrew, and Andrew Bogut here on 95.7,
04:43the game on that championship team,
04:45you had Draymond in his second year,
04:46Clay in his third, Steph in his fifth.
04:48Did you, at that moment, project out
04:51what these three guys would eventually be 10 years later?
04:56Oh, it's always hard to figure out, kind of,
05:00the trajectory.
05:00You knew, obviously, Steph come from NBP,
05:03was from NBP years and whatnot,
05:04so you kind of knew that his star was at the top
05:08and continuing to rise.
05:11Seeing Clay, yeah, definitely just his scoring ability
05:14and Draymond, and we had other guys too,
05:16you know, Harrison Barnes is still floating around the league
05:19and, you know, yeah, it's definitely cool to see
05:23when you're retiring, you know, five, six years
05:26post-retirement, you still got ex-teammates floating around.
05:29Really, really cool.
05:30Andrew Bogut with us, and Andrew,
05:32I know you do still follow the league,
05:34and so certainly curious about your take
05:37on the trade deadline, how that is filtered
05:40through the Western Conference,
05:42and do you sort of buy the talk that's happening
05:44around here, courtesy of Draymond,
05:47that this is now a championship contender?
05:51Well, when they made the trade,
05:52I was wondering how it was gonna work,
05:54just from a shooting point of view,
05:55because, you know, Jimmy's not a, you know,
05:57your classic catch-and-shoot three-point guy
05:59that you can kind of, defensively, you can muck off him,
06:02so I thought with him and Draymond,
06:03and line up at times, is that gonna work,
06:05but it's been a great fit, you know?
06:08I think it's given life to Draymond,
06:09it's given life to Steph.
06:11I think they feel like they've got a genuine chance now.
06:14I saw Dunleavy Jr.'s interview after the trade,
06:18a couple of weeks back,
06:20and he mentioned that the big thing they wanted from Jimmy
06:22was that they got an issue
06:23of not getting the free-throw line,
06:24which has kind of always been an issue for the Warriors,
06:26just with the run-and-gun style
06:27and so many three-point attempts.
06:29Even when I was there,
06:30we just didn't get to the free-throw line a lot,
06:32and Jimmy just fills that beautifully, you know?
06:34He's an eight-to-10 free-throw-a-night guy.
06:37When you've got clunky, crappy offensive possessions,
06:39he'll get to the line and knock down some shots
06:41and calm things down, and he's an elite defender,
06:43so now you've got an elite perimeter defender
06:46and an elite inside defender with Draymond.
06:49Put some pieces around that.
06:51You know, I'll tell you what,
06:52I think they'll finish higher than they are now,
06:53but if they happen to get an 8C in your OKC,
06:57I don't think you want to see them in the first round.
06:59Yeah, no doubt, and especially with the experience.
07:01Jimmy's been to the finals a couple times,
07:03and you mentioned Steph and Draymond
07:05have four titles apiece,
07:07and your first title run,
07:09you had some veterans as well with Iguodala and David Lee,
07:13Leandro Barbosa.
07:14How important is that veteran experience
07:16when you get down into the playoffs?
07:20Really important.
07:22Andre was obviously just having his jersey retired
07:25for a reason.
07:26He was a stabilizing presence for us.
07:30As far as a veteran goes,
07:31he was the leader of our bench unit,
07:33bought into that role.
07:34We had Sean Livingston, who provided so much for us.
07:38At times, people forget we won a series
07:40without Steph against Portland.
07:43I think it was the second year, maybe,
07:46and Livingston was huge in that series.
07:49So you need a mix,
07:51and I think most teams that are successful,
07:54we often see these young teams
07:55that you probably look at OKC last season,
07:58took the world by storm,
08:00but I always kind of had a say on that
08:02and saying, I don't think they'll win it yet.
08:04I don't think they're there yet.
08:05They need a few more pieces.
08:06They need some more time together,
08:08and you can't beat father time.
08:11The battles that these veterans go through,
08:13and then you sprinkle a couple of those into your team,
08:15and then you have what you have with the Warriors,
08:18those runs, and they're a very similar unit.
08:20They've got a bit of youth now,
08:22Mingo and whatnot.
08:23They've got some shooting and yield,
08:24and then you've still got those veterans,
08:26but it's just amazing that Golden State,
08:30only one really down, horrible year
08:32out of the last decade-plus,
08:34considering all the championships, is pretty impressive.
08:36They just haven't had that downward spiral
08:39over a long period like most teams do
08:41after a championship and kind of a breakup.
08:44Andrew Bogut with us, and his podcast,
08:46which is really good, by the way,
08:47is called Rogue Bogues, so you can check that out
08:50and get all of the analysis and entertainment
08:52and everything from Andrew all the time.
08:55Andrew, you mentioned Jonathan Kaminga's name there.
08:58This is a huge hot-button thing on the weekly
09:01here in the Bay Area right now,
09:02which is sort of projecting who he's going to be.
09:06What do you see as the possibilities
09:09for Jonathan Kaminga's future career?
09:14These things are so hard to call.
09:15You just don't know.
09:16Sometimes they get a big contract,
09:19and it settles guys down, and they play even better.
09:21Sometimes guys like that can get a good contract
09:23and then not play as well because of all the pressure.
09:26Sometimes guys like that can benefit
09:28from a change of scenery.
09:30There's so many factors that go into it.
09:31Look, he's very unique athletically,
09:34can definitely get to the basket
09:36and get you some points.
09:38I think he's still young and learning defensively.
09:41He's got all the tools to be a good defender.
09:43He's not there yet, but I think he's a young
09:45and up-and-coming player.
09:47You can see why the Warriors were hesitant
09:48on including him in any trades
09:51or any deals that they were going to do,
09:52but it's just a matter of how fast
09:55can he progress into that,
09:56because you're looking down the barrel,
09:58like we just spoke about, to open this.
10:00You've got a lot of older guys on that team
10:01that are going to start to transition
10:03into lesser roles or even move on.
10:07He's probably the one that you're looking
10:08in your telescope saying that's kind of the future
10:10beyond those guys.
10:11And I guess this is a time to see
10:13and he can really grow into a valuable
10:17fourth, third, fourth, fifth role player right now.
10:20They can have nights where he scores 20, 25,
10:23but then look into two or three years,
10:24take over the range.
10:25So yeah, I don't know where his feeling sits,
10:29but he's got all the tools to be a very good player.
10:31How tough is it for younger players
10:33to have a role like this,
10:35where you might play 18 minutes a night,
10:37you might be expected to play 34 another.
10:40Moses Moody's kind of in that bucket as well.
10:42Is that really difficult for young players
10:44to have that sort of a yo-yo role from night to night?
10:50Yeah, it can be frustrating.
10:51I know Comingu's had some issues,
10:52where he's close to DNPs, if not DNPs at times,
10:55and being benched, and Steve's trying to use
10:59the minutes as currency to make sure
11:01that he's doing the right thing.
11:02And that can be frustrating,
11:04but you have to understand that's the coach's
11:06only currency they have, really.
11:08They don't pay your bills, they don't pay your contract,
11:11they don't negotiate your contract.
11:12All they can really motivate you with is playing time.
11:16And I think Comingu's responded well.
11:17I think he's had ups and downs,
11:20but he's bounced back and he continues
11:21to try to get better.
11:22So I think he's gonna be a great player.
11:25It's just a matter of how great.
11:27The question, I guess, for you guys and most Warriors fans,
11:31move on from Steph and Draymond, and even Jimmy,
11:34can he be the one, can he be the guy?
11:36Can he lead Golden State for the next decade plus?
11:39That's the question that he's gotta answer,
11:42and that's the question the Golden State's gotta ask itself
11:46in regards to the contract extension and whatnot.
11:48And that's, yeah, that's arguable both ways.
11:51Speaking of young guys, Andrew,
11:53what did the Warriors just get
11:55in this 23-year-old Australian Taron Armstrong?
12:01Yeah, played in the NBL last season.
12:05Very, very, very, very good player.
12:07Very good out of the pick and roll.
12:09Kind of, he's a high usage guy,
12:12so I'm not sure how that's gonna fit in
12:14with Golden State.
12:15You obviously like to move the ball more
12:17than just play out of the pick and roll,
12:18but very good at getting in the lane,
12:20kind of a bigger guard,
12:22deceivingly quicker than he looks.
12:25Gets in the paint at will, can get to the free-throw line,
12:27but he just has, he has some fire to him.
12:32He'll fight, he'll fight ya.
12:34So that's what we like about him in Australia.
12:37He's not afraid to back down.
12:39He's ever-improving.
12:40He's still a young guy, a lot to learn,
12:42but he's got, and any guy that has passion
12:45and will step nose-to-nose to you and fight you
12:47and not let you just walk over him has a chance.
12:49And I think it's a great pick-up for Golden State.
12:52In our worst case, he's a G League player for this season,
12:55and then you've got him in training camp.
12:57You can keep him around in the summer,
12:58play some league.
12:59I think it's a great opportunity for him
13:00and the Warriors to get a,
13:02he's a pure, natural playing guard,
13:03so we're just gonna see where he goes
13:07over the course of the year.
13:09Bones, before you go, I just wonder what your thought is
13:12on everything that's happened with Luka Doncic
13:14over the last three weeks.
13:18It's been interesting.
13:20Yeah.
13:21It's been interesting.
13:22You don't often have basketball news
13:24talked about by non-basketball people,
13:26which this has brought on.
13:29People here don't really follow the game,
13:31ask me questions about it, so that was interesting.
13:33But look, I look at it two ways.
13:36I think, first and foremost,
13:38I think it's a bad deal for Dallas,
13:39regardless of how you look at it.
13:40I don't think it was a great deal.
13:42I think they only spoke to,
13:44reportedly only spoke to two teams.
13:45It was just mind-boggling, absolutely mind-boggling.
13:49And, you know, but from my other hat on,
13:53and is it finally time where teams are saying,
13:57we're gonna, in the era of player empowerment,
14:00are we not gonna tolerate this stuff
14:02no matter how good you are now?
14:03You know, so that's where you get on the other side.
14:06You look at someone like probably Zion Williamson,
14:07it's probably a similar situation, right?
14:09Not as big a star as Luka,
14:11but he's had issues with injuries,
14:13with weight and all that kind of stuff.
14:16Do teams start saying,
14:18we don't wanna go on a second, third apron on a Supermax
14:21because we don't wanna pay you because of X, Y, Z,
14:24and we just let you go like that?
14:26Kind of, not cheaply,
14:27but didn't get a whole lot back what they should have.
14:29That's interesting in itself now.
14:31So I think that there's a lot of dynamics
14:33that you can look at in this,
14:34but I think it's the fact that Dallas did it,
14:38I think took a lot of, you know, steel, you know what,
14:41you know, so big move by them.
14:44But yeah, I just think that, I think it's very interesting.
14:47Well, and it almost feels like,
14:49I don't know if you feel this way,
14:50but The Athletic today has a bunch of,
14:53there's all these sourced comments, right?
14:55And now it's talking about his,
14:58not just his weight, but his smoking,
15:00and it did beer and all this.
15:01It sort of feels like there's a smear campaign going on
15:06after the trade.
15:10Look, man, there's NBA players that go out
15:13till five in the morning
15:14and go out and drop 40 the next night,
15:16like, you know, vices off the floor to me in the NBA,
15:20unless they're super detrimental,
15:22where you're on hard drugs
15:24or doing something absolutely diabolical,
15:26like, everyone's got a vice.
15:27And yes, could he be in better shape, for sure.
15:31I think there's no doubt about that,
15:32especially with his injury history.
15:34But, you know, it's just the fact
15:36that they're going to those lengths to try to,
15:38it's just sad to see Dallas go into those lengths
15:41to leak that kind of stuff.
15:42It's like, you made the trade, put your big boy pants on,
15:46move on with life.
15:47You know, I think Dallas,
15:48the only way they can salvage this
15:49as being a half-pausable deal, in my opinion,
15:52is if they get a championship in the next two seasons.
15:54But with Eddie's injury, that's, you know, who knows?
15:57I think that's the only way they can salvage it.
15:58It's somewhat okay.
16:00But yeah, kind of, I just find it,
16:03the fact that you're doing that smear campaign,
16:05you're kind of, if you're playing poker,
16:07you're showing your hand that you messed up.
16:10That's what it's telling me if you're Dallas.
16:12We messed up, now we're going to try to smear this guy
16:14as much as possible to show that our trade process
16:17was not inept, like most people think.
16:20Man, it's wonderful to have your perspective,
16:22and we really, really appreciate your time.
16:24And we also wanted to ask who we should bet on tonight,
16:27since it's Thursday there,
16:28and you probably know what happened.
16:31Yeah, we got to get you Americans
16:34to figure out dollar and pound numbers first.
16:36You guys struggled with dollar and pound numbers,
16:38but no, no, no, as a team owner now,
16:42apparently I'm not allowed to even talk about betting.
16:45Oh, that's right.
16:47How's your team doing, by the way?
16:49Aren't you in the playoffs or something?
16:52Well, softball, man, thanks for that.
16:53No, we got knocked out of the Plains about a week ago.
16:57Darn it.
16:58So we're in rebuild, not rebuild mode,
17:01but we're in restructure mode for next season
17:03for agency.
17:03We'll start in roughly three weeks,
17:06three weeks out, about a month.
17:08So a very, very busy time of year for us.
17:13So we're trying to rebuild next season.
17:15Okay, great stuff.
17:16Well, best of luck with it, Andrew,
17:18and again, really appreciate your time.
17:19Thank you so much.
17:22Easy, guys, thank you.
17:22All right, there it is.
17:23Bogues!
17:24Andrew Bogut, right here on Weatherden Dibs.