When the Warriors said their habitually malignant headache would disappear for a while, they meant a week.  Never mind that Steve Kerr said the pop shot on Jordan Poole was the “biggest crisis” his team’s ever had.  The Warriors are going to sweep Draymond Green’s mess under the rug and throw accountability out the back door. 

Before Draymond left on Oct. 6, he said the relationship with his teammate had “splintered.” One has to wonder, what changed so quickly in a week that execs thought bringing him back was a good idea? 

Draymond’s quick return is risky.  On the one hand, Kevon Looney, an eight-year vet with the team, said he’s got work to do to earn back trust.  And on the other, you have Green admitting he still has difficulty approaching Poole. 

Yet, everything looked normal during the preseason game against Denver on Friday.  He looked in sync with the group, feeding open teammates shielded by pindowns, making cuts to the basket after the catch, and on some occasions, guarding multiple Nuggets per possession.  

To the naked eye, it looked like one of the team’s pillars was in midseason form, ready to defend the throne. But what the surface reveals may not tell the whole story.  It was an exhibition with no stakes behind it.  I am still curious to see how Green and Poole share the floor in a game that matters.  That will be the ultimate test to see if they can keep working together, not an abundance of quotes to the press that sound like the right things.  

After the game, Poole spoke to reporters for the first time since the incident.

“He apologized [professionally].  We plan on handling ourselves that way.  We’re here to play basketball… we’re here to win a championship and keep winning banners.”  

Poole is a pro who keeps it all business.  It’s impossible to know now if he harbors any resentment, but if he did, it would be warranted.

 It shouldn’t surprise anyone the Warriors are soft on discipline.  Six years ago, Bob Myers said he had blindspots for Green, and then Kerr shared his concerns for “tempering” him because his player might lose an edge. What? This was after #23 threatened his coach, and teammates had to get between them during halftime of a game at OKC.

This time, management has set a dangerous precedent for the club.  A player assaulted a teammate and basically received no repercussions.  

It grinds me gears the team has said the decision for Green to take his brief leave of absence, which has concluded, was a mutual decision.  Where in the world does a guilty subordinate get to decide his punishment?  Corrupt governments do not count.

“He’s been fined, but I won’t talk about the amount on that,” Kerr said Thursday. Green will earn $25.8 million this year. I’m sure he’ll be OK on that front.

The Dubs failed to do the minimum in holding Draymond up to the standards of his station.  It’s unclear why he’s getting this pass when some of the worst offenses on his rap sheet, just with the team, include pissing away a championship and threatening his instructor.  A season later, former teammate Marreese Speights, then a Clipper, said Green also disrupted practice that day, and the effects lingered the rest of the year.

But it’s unlikely the Warriors will keep putting up with this.  Primarily for financial reasons because with the latest extensions handed to Poole and, more recently, Andrew Wiggins, the club is priced out.  With two years left on his deal (the second is a player option), Green will presumably opt in for the last year, owing to the fact that he wouldn’t get such a lucrative salary elsewhere.  If he does commit to staying for 2023/2024, Golden State’s annual bill jumps to $530 million, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

Judging by team governor Joe Lacob’s comments, writing a check that hefty isn’t happening.  Nobody should be stunned if the Warriors decide to put Green on the trade block this season.

The team showed its priorities picking the two younger players to extend.  From the outside, it sure does look like the Warriors are preparing for life without #23.  Aside from a resurgence on offense while keeping the same RPMs defensively, the only other factor that could make Golden State reconsider its eventual long-term plans is if there is a lapse in the development of Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, and James Wiseman.   

Green has said a lot before and after his hiatus.  He can be very convincing too.

“Quite frankly, I like to keep my emotions in…You internalize them. I know I do.  In saying that, it’s not something I want to change because I like to keep my emotions to myself, but what I do want to change, and what I do need to work on is how they end up coming out.”

 That sounds like a judicious approach. The point Green also made about “actions showing your apologies” was accurate.  He has the opportunity to prove his regrets are sincere.  He could start by never disrespecting a teammate again.   

Much is expected from lottery picks, especially those who lock up $120 million in guaranteed money before incentives on their rookie extension. The deal is a win for both sides. Tyler Herro gets the long-term security of generational affluence, and the Miami Heat have a blue-chip asset on the books for five years.

Herro has a strong character and work ethic. But he’s also human. At training camp, he said he hears and reads everything that’s said about him; the good, the bad, and the ugly. And like many commoners, his motivation is fueled by detractors.

Herro has upgraded on both sides of the ball every year he has been a pro. He was one of the NBA’s 40 players last season to average at least 20 points per game(20.7), with 30% of his minutes coming in the fourth quarter.

Sometimes the best five players don’t always start, but they sure do finish. Last season, Herro was first in fourth quarter minutes averaged (9.8) and sixth in total time (639.6 min), per NBA Stats. His presence in crunch time before the Playoffs signified that he was as dependable as it gets in the league.

In the Postseason, #14 was unrecognizable from the version of himself that won the league’s reserve crown. Some, but not all, of it is due to playing through nicks and bruises. In the East Finals, Herro missed Games 4-6, nursing a groin injury that limited him to fewer than seven minutes in the Heat’s loss at home in Game 7.

At Media Day, Herro said he spent the offseason working on his body and adding moves to his arsenal. There, he reiterated his wish to start but that he’s also comfortable in whatever role.

“I’m a team player. Whatever Spo and the organization want me to do, I’ll do,” Herro said.

This was his approach last season before he got his money. A year later, with the safety net of guaranteed dollars, his attitude is the same; committed and determined.

Offense

Barring any unforeseen concoctions by coach Spo in the rotation, Herro’s tenure as a sixth man is over. He’ll now have more time with three players capable of putting the ball on the floor (Lowry, Butler, Adebayo). While Herro shares the court with them, he’ll be relied on more to stretch the defense as a catch-and-shoot operator coming off screens and pindowns.

In 2021/2022, the 22-year-old made 42.2% of his catch-and-shoot triples, which were slightly less than a 1/5 of his field goal attempts. The Heat will need him to hover around the same efficiency on a higher volume, so Lowry, Butler, Adebayo, and presumably Caleb Martin have room to drive to the cup.

What makes Herro so intriguing as a starter is that he isn’t going to catch the rival team’s defensive schemes before Butler, and Adebayo if he keeps his sights set on the rim. Tyler will now shoot an abundance of open looks that Duncan Robinson took last season. A solid amount of those catch-and-shoot opportunities were uncontested due to swinging the ball and dribble penetration.

Lowry and Butler will probably come out first from the starters group because of age. As soon as this happens, Herro will have more freedom to assert himself as a three-level scorer as he shifts into one of the playmakers on the floor.

Pick and roll with Herro and Adebayo might turn into one of the Heat’s go-to moves regardless of the coverage. If the opponent foolishly drops, Herro will pull up after turning the corner of the screen from deep or mid-range for a jumper. If Herro is iced, he’s big enough at 6’5 to not get overwhelmed by multiple defenders on the run before feeding it to Adebayo, the roll man.

The next developmental steps for Miami’s off-guard as a scorer is getting to the line around seven or eight times a game and learning to post up smaller players. He only attempts 3.3 charity shots a night– Herro would need to start attempting more than 1/3 of his shots from within 10 feet of the cylinder to start getting more calls from the refs.

Aside from the breather the trip to the free throw line gives everyone on the court, the offensive team is at an advantage defensively if the last attempt is made. As the ball is being checked, one side has retreated, established position, and is less likely to get surprised by a fastbreak.

Back-to-the-basket maneuvers are another effective way of creating fouls. If this comes at all in Herro’s development, it will probably emerge last. However, it is one of the most underutilized skills in today’s NBA and can be used as a last resort option if an opposing defense has mucked up a group’s attacking sets.

Defense

As a starter, Herro will guard more than 11 shots a game. In part because of a few extra minutes on the floor, but there is also a misleading reputation that he is a complete liability on defense. That’s not true.

Even heralded disruptors get torched in the NBA because the rules favor the other side. While defending guards in 2021/2022, Herro showed the ability to stay in front and contest. He held them to 40.8% of their attempts made, while being matched up on them for almost 2/3s of his time guarding. The problem for Herro defensively is when he’s switched onto bigger players.

This past season, when Herro was matched up with forwards, they attempted 4.2 shots per game against him, making 51.6% of field goals taken.

Bigger players may attempt to hunt him down, but as a starter, he will be surrounded by the Heat’s top protectors. Miami is counting on speed this year. They still have the tools to be one of the top help-defensive teams in the league by quickly sending an extra man if Herro is compromised to force the opponent to play from the perimeter.

During the offseason, Herro made getting in the weight room a priority to get stronger, and at this moment, he has the lowest body fat percentage on the team (4.5) and weighs 198 pounds. Based on the eye test, his arms, from his shoulders down to his elbows, look broader and more defined.

Earning the standing of a good defender involves constant effort and a high IQ. Herro doesn’t give up on possessions; he gets beat straight up. But he has the tools to be a better-than-average defender.

Individual Season Goal

The best ability is availability. Herro missed 16 regular season games and three in the Playoffs in 2021/2022. In his first two years in the league, he was absent on 36 nights of action. His top goal should be to suit up for every game in 2022/2023.

It’s not common for players to participate in every match anymore, but last season, only five ballers did so: Deni Avdija, Dwight Powell, Kevon Looney, Mikal Bridges, and Saddiq Bey. If Herro can emulate the attendance of these iron men, he’ll have a stronger case to make the All-Star team or earn All-NBA honors.

The House Committee on Oversight and Reform sat confused. Not even an hour into the June 22 deposition that lauded Roger Goodell, the questions of morality took shape. Goodell sat firm as NFL commissioner, defending his judgment and sentencing of Dan Snyder, an NFL owner, arguing the actions were unacceptable and that the league would “not permit” any further violations of its policies.

When pressed on if he would remove Mr. Synder from his position, Mr. Goodell’s response was, “I don’t have the authority to remove him”. 

Authority. 

Authority is what Daniel Snyder was excessing when he suggested he would fire any player that fraternized with a cheerleader. Authority was telling a supervisor to make sure to keep all his cheerleaders “skinny with big tits.” On the threat of death. Authority again leveraged against a female employee whom he touched insistently and attempted to push into a limo after a team dinner.

Authority is exactly the tool that Snyder weaponized to create victims over decades. He held it with an iron fist, and grew ever more confident with time, and why shouldn’t he? It kept him safe in 2009 when the Washington Post ousted him for settling with an employee. $1.6M, the going sum for the acquisition of sexual assault. It protected him for a month while the Commanders were allowed to dictate the investigation into their own owner, instigated by findings in the Wilkinson Report, and it was protecting him now. 

The rules of the land dictate that 24 of 32 team owners would have to publicly confirm to remove an owner to expunge them from their position. The vote is purposely created as a super majority ruling to ensure no owner would unnecessarily be removed from property that they by law, purchased and secured – a system intentionally designed to dissuade the action itself. An owner voting to demote one of their own might force questions, questions based on the nature of precedent, questions based on the nature of business. Removing an owner is a momentous task and undertaking not just for the league but the team, all the employees, and families fed from the machine.

Unfortunately that’s just the kind of thoughts that empower men like Snyder. This kind of undertaking is the context that enables the horrendous actions of a man who knows he’s more protected by a system than dissuaded. This kind of context justifies the authority he presumes to wield, when he engages women in advances, and misleads league officials about monetary reporting. 

Adam Silver stood in front of a room on NBA Media to dissect the same kind of justification Goodell used only a few months prior, but is now relevant in the discussion of Robert Sarver. “There are particular rights here to someone who owns an NBA team as opposed to someone who is an employee,” Silver stated in a response to a question about the type of actions Robert reportedly engaged in with employees and if he held any other job, would he be let go of.

Certain rights once again are the “context” we use to apply authority over others. In Sarver’s case, he expressed his authority by using the N-Word on multiple occasions, selective mistreatment of pregnant employees, and inappropriate contact or sexually-related comments directed at and with employees.

If Sarver held any other job in America, with these types of substantiated claims, there is little doubt he would be fired. “It’s different than holding a job.” Adam Silver stated, and he was right. This is a playground for the rich and powerful, and it’s protected by rules, rules that need to be broken so publicly and so harshly that a supermajority of like-minded individuals would be willing to say, “I no longer want you to be at the table.”

A supermajority of millionaires and social elites living a life disconnected from our own, a life disconnected from consideration and level playing grounds. A life where authority is welded and justifications are shaped in the name of limiting Public Relations hits and maintaining the status quo. 

Goodell and Silver will be judged by the Court of Public Opinion, as they should be in the face of standing adjacent to men who flaunt power in such disgusting ways, but they stand as walls, layers between. Just as supermajority votes add layers between owners and removal, Silver and Goodell stand as layers between owners and accountability. Opinions will be foisted onto Silver as he answers questions, when the ones with the power to create change, stand away from the lights and behind the curtains. The ones who continue to stand and work with men who create trauma, and victims. The ones who would only vote to remove an owner, if their own jobs would be affected.

The nuance of the situation is crafted as noise to stifle the only real question that matters. That’s a question Sarver didn’t concern himself with when telling a pregnant employee she no longer would be coordinating an event because she needed to “breastfeed”, but it was for the woman who broke down publicly and wept in front of him and possibly still is, when her mind floats back to that moment. The questions for morality, and for NBA owners the buck should stop there. 

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Donovan Mitchell is a lucky man.  He now lives in the same city as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Oh, and he’ll also be playing with a better-equipped squad to hide his deficiencies guarding opponents.

It might take the first couple of months of the year for coach JB Bickerstaff to calibrate the ball handling duties, late-game pecking order, and defensive principles now that his group added an All-Star.  Training camp and the preseason might highlight some favorable combinations, but the real test will come when the games matter.  But this experiment should work, at least before the Playoffs.  

Garland spent 95% of his minutes at point guard this season, but in 2020 as a rookie, he spent 3/4s of his time at shooting guard while Colin Sexton locked down the QB spot.  Playing off-ball is a skill Garland has demonstrated but with Mitchell integrated into the lineup, he should see more opportunities than he did in 2022.  It would allow him to work as a sniper that repositions after a screen or helps as a decoy.  Garland didn’t have many chances to show off this feature of his game after Sexton missed all but 11 games and Ricky Rubio was absent for 48.

The newest Cavalier, Spida, was third in usage among guards who qualified for league leaders in 2022.  Moments off-ball will come for Garland, but it’s essential that Mitchell sacrifices touches and his body for his backcourt mate and others too.  Screening is a fine technique that gets the initiator open as it does the player who received the help.  Using Mitchell as a pick-and-pop and screen-and-roll weapon would be tough to guard.  He has enough accuracy on his jumper to fire away outside the lane, or he could exhibit his speed on a cut to the rim after the catch.

Mitchell and Garland are elusive enough to burn a defender off the dribble to cause a breakdown.  They are also dynamic attacking through pick and roll.  If the defense is deploying drop coverage, Cleveland’s guards can force separation and pull up from the elbow while one defender is behind the hip of the ball handler and the other by the rim.

 Both are three-level scorers that bend defenses even when the ball is out of their hands.  Opponents will make difficult decisions when both are on the floor, and one catches fire.  If a trap or double is sent towards Mitchell or Garland, damage could be inflicted if the ball handler passes out on time to the nearest teammate, and then the rock is dished to a wide-open man.

But how much better are the Cavs?

Cleveland should enter the postseason without competing in the Play-In Tournament.  Defensively, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley provide backline protection when the Cavs’ guards get beat checking the perimeter.  Yet, always having to help because a teammate can’t stay in front of their matchup will unnecessarily tax Cleveland’s frontcourt by covering too much ground.

The defense’s ceiling-setting flaw is that the backcourt likely won’t guard up effectively when switched onto opponents of a different position.  If one of them is stuck in a mismatch near the paint, help will be sent, but at the risk of exposing space.

Garland and Mitchell are one-way players and small at 6’1. Spida’s long arms are a tool that could help him improve guarding his yard under the right defensive philosophy, but success on that end is about high ball IQ and effort.  Cleveland’s backcourt cannot afford to be overly reliant on its rim protection because the Cavs will want its twin towers as close to the paint to influence rivals into attacking exclusively from the perimeter.

Cleveland will be one of the most exciting teams to watch this upcoming season, but this trade doesn’t make them contenders.  Their backcourt could get hunted down if the opponent chooses to strike this weakness.  It’s an arduous challenge reaching the conference finals when a starting unit has just one player who is a liability guarding.  Cleveland has two.

For now, the Cavs are a second-round crasher.

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