Stephen A. Smith thinks CHANGE IS COMING for the Warriors 🍿 | First Take

Stephen A do you feel like this is the

end of the Warriors as we know them yes

it has to be um you know major props and

an incredible level of gratitude needs

to be given to them to what for what

they've meant to the game of basketball

Steph Curry is still a superstar make no

mistake about it um relatively

pedestrian performance last night hit

50% of his shots uh from the field went

three to seven from three-point range

only finished with 22 points you were

going to need more than that to beat the

Sacramento Kings last night Klay

Thompson obviously approaching free

agency um I think it was um I I don't

want to call it poetic because uh I

certainly don't want to sit up there and

and TR try to imply anything negative of

this four-time champion and one of the

greatest Shooters we have ever seen But

there is no doubt that he has fallen off

to some degree I still think a boatload

of teams in the NBA could use his

Services um he ain't going anywh he's

not going to retire but is he what he

used to be the answer to that question

question is no um when you look at the

Golden State Warriors we have to think

from an overview perspective Wendy and

doggy this is the third time in five

years they've missed the playoffs the

third time in five years now I know Joe

Lake up and Peter goober a little bit

and I can tell you something about Joe

lob Ain't Gonna Stand still I promise

you that I haven't spoken to him in a

while but I'm telling you I know this

man well enough to tell you he is not

going to stand still um and just let

these Twilight years of Steph Curry's

career Fade Into Oblivion like this this

is the third time in 5 years the Golden

State Warriors have missed the playoffs

I understand they got a championship

recently but it's still three times in

five years you've missed the playoffs

and by the way against the top six teams

this year their record is 4 and 19 if I

remember correctly 4 and 19 that's

unacceptable that's unacceptable and so

sometimes in life listen business will

be the first to tell us you got to see

the forest from the trees you got to you

got to read the tea leaves you got to

see what's coming down the pike well

this has been coming down for quite a

long time you got a guy on Andrew

Wiggins that you know when he's there

and he's and he's vibrant he can do some

big time things far more often than not

he's inconsistent or dare I say an

absolute positive noshow family issues

and things of that nature I get it but

at the end of the day whole bunch of

folks in this country and throughout

this world got issues they still show up

to work sometimes he does sometimes he

doesn't and so we look at it from that

perspective we look at it from Klay

Thompson's perspective we look at the

youth movement that they have and you've

got some talent but clearly when you

look at the rest of the West as Wendy

alluded to yesterday there's a whole

bunch of talent throughout the Western

Conference and people seem to more

competition seems to have elevated to

the point where the Golden State

Warriors are on the verge of being left

behind Joe Lup is not going to stand for

that I can promise you that there's no

way that this is going to stand Pat the

end of The Warriors as we know it this

isn't the end of The Warriors because

they still got Steph Curry but as we

know it as we see them presently

constructed it's a wrap trust me on this

change is coming yeah so it's

interesting you brought up about how

clay has receded there's no doubt about

that he wasn't a $43 million max player

in terms of production this year which

is why he's going to take a pay cut

probably in Golden State but maybe

elsewhere what they had done when they

won their championship two years ago is

they'd gotten this incredible rise from

Andrew Wiggins he's receded himself so

the problem here is is that even though

Steph Curry is still playing at all NBA

level what you need to compete in the

Western Conference this high level of

assistant Talent just isn't there so so

if if it's not going to improve I don't

think with Wiggins and and clay maybe

they can get more back to where they

were but I don't think you can bet on

that so the question really becomes guys

what does the ownership do because one

of the things that is that is an issue

here this is a $400 million team $380

million when you include the taxes what

Joe Lup has said on the record is that

they need to get under the luxury tax

and not just because they tired of

spending money although I wouldn't blame

them if they were if they had a team

that they spent this much money on that

didn't even make the playoffs I would

understand why they wouldn't want to run

that back but doing what they need to do

to get under the tax which is very

doable by the way you have a non-g

guaranteed contract on Chris Paul for 30

1 million you just say thank you and

goodbye you get Klay Thompson to take a

pretty big pay cut I mean in all honesty

he should come down at least 20 million

is you can you can negotiate that right

there that's $50 million right there

that puts you in a whole different

Stratosphere and you open up some other

options but if you're talking about not

standing Pat stepen a the only way to

really bring in major Talent with where

they're at right now is to keep that

Chris Paul contract add the young

players that you've got and a couple of

future draft picks that you've got and

go out into the marketplace star hunting

and I'm just not sure that that's where

this team is going to go I think what

they're more likely to do is to say hey

we finished the season 27- 12 when

Draymond played this year we were 33 and

22 when he didn't play we were under 500

in those 20 games with the suspension

and the return from that if we get

Draymond to not get suspended for 20

games next year and we you know can

improve around the edges we can still be

competitive I think that's more likely

as opposed to them going hunting in the

market but I have to acknowledge that

that is still possible if they're

willing to

spend uh real quick would you

characterize this season as a failure

for the Warriors I wouldn't and I know

that that really fired up Stephen A and

Shannon yesterday here's the thing let

me just ask you this question really

basic was this season or last season

better for the

Warriors I didn't hear your question Jo

uh uh Wendy because the producer was in

my ear could you ask that again please

what what what where the Warriors better

this season or last

season they were better this season

especially on the road that's right they

were a better team this season they won

more games despite the Draymond

situation than they did last season now

now you would say well how could it how

could you possibly say that because

they're home they didn't even make the

playoffs last year they made the second

round and you know went out in that

tough Series against LeBron MH but they

were a better team this year they

actually were their their numbers were

better they had more wins the

circumstances with the suspension and

the strength of the West pulled them

back but that but but the idea that

they're withering I don't they're

withering compared to where they were in

22 when they won they're withering with

where they were in 2018 I'll agree with

you there but this team actually is

growing they had four young guys 22 23

old and younger who play key roles on

this team none of them are going to be

Hall of Famers I don't think none of

them are going Steph none of them are

going to be number two on a champ ship

team those guys should get better like I

know that we're today it's very it's

very comfortable just to say well it's

over but this team still has growth

potential just not to where they were in

18 no no no see see see see that's you

being the astute NBA analyst who by the

way is also an incredibly nice guy

America an incredibly nice guy you say

I'm a little bit more harsh than you

it's about the competition

so I get what you're saying about them

but you can't in the same breath sit on

National Television like you did

yesterday with me and Shannon talking

about the parity that exists within the

Western Conference looking at Phoenix

looking at Dallas looking at the

Clippers looking at Sacramento I'm sorry

yeah Sacramento still the mix looking at

Minnesota and and Oklahoma City along

with Denver and just literally all of a

sudden a day later judge the Golden

State Warriors in the vacuum I know

they've gotten better but in the end who

are you going against and how much

better will they get how much better has

the competition gotten that's where we

are with this and by the way let me be

very clear to the Golden State Warriors

The Season's a failure The Season's a

failure because you didn't make the

postseason I understand you got better I

say you look better than you did last

year 46 and 36 10 games over 500 ain't

nothing to sneeze at you were

considerably better on the road this

year than you were last year I get all

of that you're home when the playoffs

begin this weekend that is the

definition of failure in the National

Basketball Association for a playoff

Contender now if you stink and you're

one of the you're in purgatory and then

you improve that's different but when

the expectation is postseason and you

don't make it you have failed

the Warriors are not that's it it's over

Curry's old Thompson's not as good as he

was Green's old they got no draft

Capital they they're not going to be

able to bring a free agent you can tell

me more about that than I know so as a

result we're and the OKC's good

Minnesota's not going anywhere Houston's

going to get better San Antonio

eventually win some games I mean you

certainly got Denver I mean so there's a

lot of good teams so from that

standpoint it's finished for Golden

State they're now winning another NBA

step Curry unless it gets traded he is

not winning another NBA Championship in

San Francisco and go one step further

he's not playing in a conference final

and he's great we all know it he's it's

it's over he is not ever going to play

again in a Conference Final in the west

I'll make that by the way you brought

you bringing up your scenario for a team

that did not make the playoffs you want

me to tell you who's a success story

thus far this year who's that the

Houston Rockets I agree with that I

agree with that that's a success

you see on the where they were to where

they are successful season I Stephen A

what you're talking about there is

Nuance you can because you can look at

the Rockets with nuance and

understanding and say they did a great

job this year you can look at the

Warriors and say they achieved this year

but it didn't work out because of these

four things it's not you win the title

or you're

awful sometimes you can have a

successful season and things don't go

your way the difference between the

number two team in the west which is

whoever you want under Denver and the

number 10 team is negligible but Wendy

anybody in this Western Conference other

than whoever than than than the Lakers

in Denver anybody wins to me there's no

such thing as an upset other than the

Lakers there's no upset all those teams

are the same and the Warriors this year

10th ever ever ever on air I've never

insulted you in all the years I've known

you because I love you to death I've

never insulted you one time Wendy I'm

going to I'm going to do that right now

you just imitated some damn troll on

Twitter I never said you win a

championship or you're a failure I

didn't say that that's right you see how

you twisted that I didn't say that those

words never came modern NBA fandom

unfortunately operates all the time all

right I'm just saying but Moder day NBA

fandom ain't this they ain't me and you

talking on first tank you understand

what I'm saying this is this is this is

who we are I'm saying to you the Golden

State Warriors the expectation was

playoffs if the expectation is playoffs

and you don't make it you have failed I

didn't say Championship I said if you

missed the playoffs and you're the

Warriors you have failed now the reasons

why could be the reasons why you can

bring up Draymond you can bring up Clay

I can bring up Andrew Wiggins if the man

had done something consistently I think

they would have been there I love kaming

and pinski growth no doubt about it I

like Moody a lot I see the young I see

the Young Dudes I get it but the

expectation with a superstar who's

playing like a superstar is to at least

make the playoffs not the Conference

Finals not the finals not wi the

championship just make the playoffs

especially when you got 10 teams that

got a chance because of the playin and

they didn't do

it period And if Draymond didn't get

suspended they probably do and they're

down one but he always gets suspended

that's you can't say if he does and he

always does because he's also played

great in finals and been a big factor

that's the thing that's age that's why

we go through this whole thing that's

why there's 30 teams not two yep

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