SAN FRANCISCO — Andre Iguodala delivered a message last Friday that pleased the entire Warriors organization. He will enter his 8th season as a Warrior and his 19th and final campaign in the NBA.
In addition to the play Iguodala still has to offer the Warriors, his knowledge of the game and mentorship of Golden State’s youth movement knows no bounds. He reminded me of his humor and rigor in his presentations, especially regarding Jonathan Cuminga and Moses Moody.
Iguodala, 38, shouted that the two 20-year-old Warriors are expected to play a bigger role in their hopes of becoming champions again, and what if he’s on the court in front of them? I said it was funny.
As always, when it comes to Iguodala, everything he says and does has a purpose.
“Yeah, I was joking,” Iguodala said Monday at the Chase Center after officially signing a one-year contract. I don’t know if they don’t.” [play] They fail, but that’s kind of how leagues work.
“One year can be a good year, and the next year can be a completely different experience. You can’t play the way you want, you can get another player through free agency, you can get a trade. But now you’re out of the loop on what you thought was going to happen for the season. But be ready for whatever happens and keep them on their toes.
“That’s the reality of the league, not the other way around.”
With Iguodala back in action, all eyes were on Kuminga, who won’t turn 20 until next week. There is a reason why two lockers are next to each other. They shared the same bus during the Warriors’ championship parade.
A week after the Warriors selected Kuminga with the No. 7 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Iguodala returned to The Bay after a two-season stint with the Miami Heat. There is no coincidence there. The Warriors couldn’t pass up his 18-year-old talent and knew the perfect player to coach him.
This offseason, Iguodala once again stood by Kuminga. This time around, there was criticism that Kuminga was being questioned about his maturity and work ethic. We’ve seen players who outnumber their underdog teammates in the FIBA World Cup.
For Iguodala, it’s not the person “short-changing” the Warriors and his teammates.
Iguodala said on Monday, “I think we’re trying to let the third-person narrative become the perception of the man.” If that person was that smart, they would be running the team and wouldn’t have made the statement in the first place.They would just be running the team.
“And I think that happens to him sometimes.”
Kuminga is so athletic and so naturally talented that fans are overwhelmed just thinking of his abilities. There is no ceiling to his potential. For example, Iguodala used a tweet the Warriors sent him in August as an example.
This tweet was a mixtape of Kuminga’s rookie dunks. It lasted over 5 minutes. He’s a highlight waiting to happen. Along with that, “Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo”
The same goes for the armchair experts waiting to honor and criticize teenagers. Kuminga isn’t the only one out there, Iguodala recognizes a bigger issue worth listening to and digesting when looking at the NBA as a whole.
“There were clips. I think the Warriors had clips of all of his dunks last season. It’s not the same way of saying,” Iguodala said. “A lot of his dunks were cuts, backdoors, dunkers and kind of the little things. That’s how he succeeded, but someone else said, ‘He has to have the ball.’ I hear you say yes. If the usage is high, you should use it in pick and roll and you should shoot threes. It’s not their IQ dropping, but these young kids, their careers are getting shorter, and there’s a reason for it.
“It’s because they’re trying to stop it before it happens. It’s like evolution. I had a really good conversation with one of the league executives and said, ‘We have to raise the bar. No. We’re at the bottom of our league because we have too much sales and we expect too much.”
Who did Iguodala give as a prime example of what the evolution of a young player is and should be like? is a player.
Kobe Bryant was 17 when he was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets and traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in 1996. As a rookie, he started six games, averaging 15.6 minutes and 7.6 points per game. Cuminga started 12 games as a rookie, averaging 9.3 points in 16.9 minutes.
The Lakers legend went through trial and error. He failed, he evolved, and all of his talent poured into hardwood.
“It took a few years for Kobe Bryant to really become Kobe Bryant,” Iguodala said. “He entered the league at 17, made the finals at 21, 22 and has had success. We will not let these children fail.. They have no opportunity because they are failing and we are only criticizing and writing them down.
“We kicked guys out of the league at the age of 21, 22. This is crazy. I think you’re making them grow up, go through real hardships, go through rookie poise. They think he’s focused. I’m not going through a rookie lull, and I’m not.
“We all have to go through it. It’s just part of the maturation process for young players.”
Just look at how the Warriors have operated over the last few years. They put 19-year-old center James Wiseman, who was the No. 2 pick in the draft two years ago, into the starting lineup two years ago without training camp or summer league. Giraffe baby thrown by wolves, Warriors coach Steve Kerr admits regret
Since then, Wiseman has appeared in 39 games as a rookie before outsiders called Wiseman a bust before a knee injury cost him the rest of his rookie year and all of last season. , Weisman, who observes the champion from afar, is raved about in training camp. And at 21, his evolution as a player isn’t over yet.
Jordan Poole went from being considered the 28th overall reach in the 2019 NBA Draft to bankruptcy a year into his career. He looked underwhelmed as a rookie he couldn’t shoot less than 28% of his from 3-point range. That second season saw him take a big step forward, but that was until his G League required him to play 11 games. In his third year, he proved to be a star at the age of 22.
Now he has a big payday in store, and if his future home court isn’t San Francisco, it’s going to be a franchise fiasco. had. For the Warriors, that means his five players under the age of 21.
RELATED: The Andre Iguodala Program Is Exactly What Warriors Want And Need
Growing up in Congo, Kuminga fell in love with basketball after watching Bryant highlights at an internet cafe. He marveled at his talent and his championship. If Iguodala can keep instilling in him that Kobe got there by getting to the court first, being the most focused and the most dedicated, he realizes how badly he wanted it. If he can, that could be his process.
Kuminga is able to take all the opportunities that are presented to him. Failure gets in the way. It is up to him to make it successful.
Download and follow the Dubs Talk podcast
Comments
Post a Comment