Dub Hub: Steph Curry acknowledges 'tweaks' will be made to the Warriors' roster

29/04/2024 17:00

Rounding up all Warriors and NBA related news for Monday, April 29th.

In today's Dub Hub:

• Steph Curry says the Warriors are "not that far off", acknowledges tweaks will be made to the roster
• Why Warriors' head coach Steve Kerr is not on the hot seat
• Timberwolves sweep the Suns after 122-116 Game 4 victory on Sunday night

It's safe to say Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry isn't satisfied with watching the postseason from home this year. However, if there's a silver lining, it's that the early end to Golden State's season gives them extra time to plan for what should be a busy offseason.

In an interview with TNT's Inside the NBA, Curry acknowledged that the Warriors will need to make some "tweaks" to the roster in order to become legitimate title contenders once again.

For more on this and other news around the NBA, here is our latest news round-up for Monday, April 29th:

Warriors News:

Steph confident Warriors 'not that far off,' will make roster tweaks | NBC Sports Bay Area

"The sad part was just missing three wins to get out of the play-in and have yourself in a playoff series," Curry said Thursday on TNT's "Inside the NBA," after being named the 2023-24 NBA Clutch Player of the Year. "Even a game like in Sacramento in the play-in tournament we had, you're like 'OK, we're down one and can game plan to try to get back into the series.' Obviously, early in the year, we had a lot of missteps and some absences. But you do realize we're not that far off, even [trying] to stay at this level, at this peak for so long, there's going to be some tweaks, we know.

"When you lose, you have to look yourself in the mirror and say 'What can we do to get better? What holes can we fill?' And thankfully we have some time to figure that out, so lot of conversations with upstairs, with coach Kerr to try to figure out how to get back to the level we expect. I didn't answer anything specific about what we need but we're going to figure that out over this summer."

Why Kerr's seat with Warriors stays cool even as others heat up | NBC Sports Bay Area

A vocal segment of fans spent the season blasting away at Kerr. Outside observers, including media, questioned some of Kerr's decisions. There were times when Warriors CEO Joe Lacob, sitting courtside, simply could not conceal his displeasure with the product he was seeing.

And yet, Lacob, whose ears are open to the vets, presented Kerr with a lucrative two-year contract extension in February.

"That's a lot of money," Green said at the time. "I think it's incredible. I wouldn't want to finish my time here with any other coach. What he's meant to this franchise, what he's done for us as players, the ways he brought here, you can't replace that.

Golden State Warriors offseason roundup: The latest on Klay, Moses Moody's future and more | The Athletic

Speaking of Payton, he indicated in his exit interview a desire to possibly rework his current deal and extend on a longer-term contract. Payton has leverage, carrying a $9.1 million player option for next season.

If he opts out and extends at a lower number, that'll generate extra space for the Warriors to operate under the second apron or tax, while providing Payton (who has struggled with injury issues) with some more long-term security.

Kevin Durant continues to fall woefully short in attempt to replicate Warriors success | CBS Sports

But the particular players that Durant has chosen to partner with are mostly smaller versions of himself. Devin Booker and Kyrie Irving are bucket getters who create largely for themselves. Bradley Beal is an overqualified spot-up shooter but isn't good enough to command equal creative rights in Phoenix.

Booker, in particular, is midrange obsessed. He and Durant together can only add up to their own scoring totals, which is to say, other than the obvious fact that they draw attention away from one another as any two superstars do, they don't necessarily make anything easier for each other. The Warriors, talented as they were individually, added up to more than the sum of their parts with their ball and player movement. The Curry factor was, is and forever will be exponential.

The Best Gary Payton II Mic'd Up Moments from the 2023-24 Season | Golden State Warriors

NBA News:

Phoenix Suns swept: What went wrong, what's next for Frank Vogel, Big 3 and more | The Athletic

Meanwhile, Durant, among the best scorers in NBA history, was not always happy with how he was used. Sources briefed on the matter told The Athletic that Durant never felt comfortable with his role in Phoenix's offense alongside Booker and Beal this season. Those sources said Durant had persistent issues with the offense, feeling that he was being relegated to the corner far too often and not having the proper designs to play to his strengths as the offense was built around pick-and-rolls. At the same time, some teammates and people close to the organization believed Durant needed to voice his concerns more adamantly and directly with Vogel and his coaching staff.

Embiid: 'Disappointing' Knicks fans flooded Philly's arena | ESPN

"Disappointing," Embiid said, when asked about the Knicks' fan support Sunday. "I love our fans. Think it's unfortunate, and I'm not calling them out, but it is disappointing. Obviously, you got a lot of Knicks fans, and they're down the road.

"[But] I've never seen it, and I've been here for 10 years. Yeah, it kind of pisses me off, especially because Philly is considered a sports town. They've always shown up, and I don't think that should happen. Yeah, it's not OK."

Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault named NBA's Coach of the Year

In case you missed it at Golden State of Mind:

Is the Chris Paul effect still a real thing after a season with Warriors?

Did you know the Warriors were 33-25 in games Paul played this season? That's a win percentage of 56%! That's also Golden State's overall win percentage this season, which was good bad enough for a 10th seed. CP3 missed a large chunk of the season with injuries, we can only imagine how good the Dubs would have been if he were available.

Funny enough, Golden State won 44 games last season for a win percentage of 53% and were the 6th seed. So technically, one could argue that CP3 did in fact boost the Warriors this season (the CP3 effect lives on!).

Follow@unstoppablebaby on Twitter for all the latest news on the Golden State Warriors.