After a week of free agencyit is an understatement to say that the Warriors have been calm in the market. For now, they have only recruited Donte DiVincenzo (Kings) and rookie Patrick Baldwin Jr. At the same time, four of their players have left (Gary Payton II, Otto Porter Jr, Damion Lee and Nemanja Bjelica) , weakening Steve Kerr’s rotation somewhat.
On the other hand, the reigning champions managed to re-sign Kevon Looney for three more years. It was no small feat, however, when you remember that he was one of the most coveted pivots of the offseason, but an offer of nearly $26 million convinced him to extend the adventure to Golden. State.
To the delight of Joe Lacob, the majority owner of the “Dubs”.
« It was our priority, honestly », he admits to start. ” He’s one of us, we felt we had to bring him back. Already, he has done a great job. Then he is in the category of players who are there [depuis longtemps], seven years now. He’s one of the most loyal players in the league right now, people don’t stay on a team that long these days. »
With a Kevon Looney – James Wiseman doublet, the Warriors now seem sufficiently armed at post 5 to aim for the double. Provided, of course, that the 2nd choice of the 2020 Draft can finally play without physical glitches…
« With the return of James Wiseman, [le poste de pivot] looks great “, adds Joe Lacob. ” We’re incredibly excited, but you can’t have just one pivot. And until James actually plays again, I don’t think we can start the season without [Kevon] Looney. »
Regrettable but logical departures
It is therefore a free agency quite mixed delivered by the “Dubs”, able to re-sign their priority Kevon Looney, but unable to extend Gary Payton II, Otto Porter Jr, Damion Lee and other Nemanja Bjelica.
« I wasn’t exactly optimistic when free agency opened that we could retain all these guys. », recognize a realistic Joe Lacob. ” We thought we could keep one or two, but it didn’t turn out that way. It was even worse than expected for us… »
And it is obviously the departures of Gary Payton II and Otto Porter Jr. who have most pained the big boss of Golden State.
« As Gary Payton II had a great year, it was very unlikely that we would be able to re-sign him if he received a big offer, no matter how much we like him. “, he says at first. ” And we love it very much. But he got a bigger offer than we imagined. Much larger. And I’m not saying he doesn’t deserve it or he isn’t worth it. But it was a substantial offer and we couldn’t afford to match it. »
Then Joe Lacob brought up the Otto Porter Jr. case: “ He also had a great season with us. I’m also not saying that he doesn’t deserve what he received, because he deserves it. But if he got such an offer, we knew it would be a problem. And that’s what happened. Somehow these players played really well, they turned out to be more valuable [qu’imaginé] and we made them more valuable [que jamais]. Unfortunately, in such a situation, they have to move on and we have to bring other guys back. »
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