Tag: Golden State Warriros

NBA Draft: Villanova’s Saddiq Bey is a name to watch for the Warriors

If the Golden State Warriors decided to go outside of the box with their top-five pick in the NBA Draft, Villanova’s Saddiq Bey is a name to watch.

As 22 teams in the NBA prepare for a trip to Orlando to finish out the year, the Golden State Warriors are staying in the Bay Area. With a 15-50 record, the Warriors are one of eight teams to have their seasons officially come to a close early.

With a jumpstart on the offseason, the Warriors can turn their attention to the NBA Draft. For the first time in years, Bob Myers and Steve Kerr are slated to be on the clock somewhere in the top-five picks in October’s newly rescheduled 2020 draft.

As draft season heats up, top prospects like Anthony Edwards, James Wiseman and Obi Toppin have been continually mocked to the Golden State Warriors. However, Golden State could opt for a surprise at the top of the draft. If the Warriors are eyeing a player outside of the consensus, Villanova’s Saddiq Bey is a name to keep an eye on.

According to Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle, some of the Warriors decision-makers think highly of the First Team All-Big East wing.

Via The San Francisco Chronicle:

But according to league sources, some Warriors decision-makers believe that Bey is an NBA-ready wing with a chance to become a franchise building block. Whether that would be enough for Golden State to use a top-five pick on him remains unclear.

In his sophomore season in Jay Wright’s program, Bey earned an honorable mention nod for the 2020 All-American team with 16.1 points on 47.7% shooting, 4.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. Against Georgetown. Bey ripped off a career-high 22 points with eight 3-pointers on 10-of-15 from the field.

Bey is especially dangerous from deep, shooting 45.1% from beyond the arc on 5.6 attempts per contest. The Villanova product could immediately provide a viable catch and shoot option off the bench in Golden State next to Eric Paschall. When defenses started jumping at Bey on the perimeter, the 21-year-old used his vision to find teammates either cutting to the basket or spotting up for the open look.

At 6-foot-8, Bey’s shown the ability to guard a bevy of positions on the defensive end of the floor. He won’t overwhelm you with his athletic ability, yet his underrated quickness and length help him stick with guards and forwards. Bey would give Kerr a versatile chess piece on defense behind Andrew Wiggins and Draymond Green.

While he may not lead many mock drafts, the Warriors could add another Villanova product like Bey in the draft after having success with Paschall in 2019.

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Steve Kerr uses story about surfing to compare Steph Curry and Steve Nash

Steve Kerr told a surfing story about Steve Nash that reminded him of Stephen Curry.

Before he roamed the sidelines of Chase Center with Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors, Steve Kerr got to witness another MVP point guard work. For three seasons, Kerr was the general manager of the Phoenix Suns during the Steve Nash era.

On the “Runnin’ Plays” podcast with Kerith Burke and Logan Murdock of NBC Sports Bay Area, Golden State’s head coach brought up Nash when talking about Curry.

Kerr spoke about Curry’s hunger for wanting to win everything from a practice shooting competition to bowling and ping pong tournaments. The six-time All-Star’s knack for excelling at anything he puts his mind to reminded Kerr of Phoenix’s Hall of Fame point guard.

Kerr told a story about surfing with Nash to compare the pair of dynamic shooters.

Via NBC Sports Bay Area:

He’s like Steve Nash in that regard. Steve Nash came out to visit me in San Diego, probably seven or eight years ago, and I used to surf at that time, and he had never surfed before. So he, he decided to paddle out, he said ‘well what do I do?’ and I’m not a very good surfer, but I tried to give him my advice. We paddle out there, and I said, ‘hey, just you know, paddle into this, you want to do is you turn the board and you paddle. And then you kind of stand, you know, you try to stand up, you pop up real quick and now it’s probably going to take a few times,’ and he’s like, ‘okay.’ The first wave comes he paddles twice he pops up he’s surfing. He surfs the thing all the way into the shore I’m like, ‘it took me like three weeks to do that.’

Nash and Steph [Curry] are exactly the same way you just put a ball or a stick in their hand, whatever, whatever needs to be done, they’re going to figure out a way to do it. And Klay [Thompson] is like that too. Just unbelievable hand-eye coordination, and no matter what the sport is, they just know how to do it.

After spending 17 seasons in the NBA, Nash joined the Warriors staff as a player development consultant. Before the NBA season was put on hold, the eight-time All-Star was spotted working with Curry during his hand injury rehab.

While in quarantine, Curry’s taken up a bevy of different tasks. The Golden State Warriors point guard has been busy with vlogging, homeschooling his daughter and dancing. It’s an easy bet Curry is probably above average at all of them.

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Steve Kerr jokingly tells the story of when Klay Thompson asked for his autograph as a kid

Steve Kerr had the chance to tell his side of the story when he met a young Klay Thompson.

With the debut of “The Last Dance” documentary series, players and coaches around the league are chiming in with their memories and stories about the Michael Jordan era Chicago Bulls.

Klay Thompson’s shared his first memory as a child of meeting Jordan. After a Bulls game, Thompson’s father, Mychal, introduced Jordan and Scottie Pippin to his sons. Thompson said he’ll “forever cherish” his memory of meeting Jordan.

However, when he shared his Jordan story in a post on Instagram, Thompson jokingly took a shot at Steve Kerr. Thompson said the former Chicago Bulls guard “big timed” him in the locker room when he asked for an autograph.

Despite Thompson editing out his joke about asking Kerr for an autograph, the Golden State Warriors coach still had a chance to tell his side of the story.

On the “Runnin’ Plays” podcast with Kerith Burke and Logan Murdock of NBC Sports Bay Area, Kerr laughingly doubled-down on his story of meeting Thompson as a child.

Via NBC Sports Bay Area:

I looked at him — I remember the moment really well. He walked up. He said, ‘hey Mr. Kerr, can I have your autograph?’ I said, ‘scram kid, I got more important places to be.’

‘I can’t be bothered with stuff like this son — you go talk to those guys over there.’

With no Warriors games or practices on the schedule, Kerr and Thompson will have to settle their stories virtually.

Chapters five and six of “The Last Dance” documentary series are slated to air on Sunday on ESPN.

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