One last step for athlete money deals
GM Myers said he likes the way shooting guard has progressed from 2019 injury
Warriors general manager Bob Myers liked the way Klay Thompson moved at the team’s minicamp last week but said the true test for the five-time NBA All-Star will come once he’s able to play in actual games.
“The final piece to his puzzle is live NBA action, where ( you have) that kind of speed, and you can’t replicate that speed even in camp. You need to experience that,” Myers told 95.7 The Game on Wednesday morning.
“That’s nothing against him or us, you just can’t do that right now. You’re going to need to do that in training camp and the preseason if there is one, or right into the season.”
T he War r iors’ minicamp marked the first time Thompson, 30, had practiced with the team since he tore his left ACL in Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals.
Thompson participated in controlled portions of practices each day — including drills and one 5- on- 5 scrimmage. He did not participate in last week’s more game-like 5-on-5 scrimmage that served as the unofficial conclusion of minicamp.
“That’s the part that he just needs to get over, but he will, and we’re confident that he can,” Myers said of Thompson. “It’s just we haven’t been able to provide that. That’s not available anywhere — NBA-type speed, NBA
type quickness, NBA defensive schemes and all those things that he hasn’t seen in over a year, are the final missing piece. But he’ll get there.”
The NBA still has not set a target date for when it could begin the 2020-2021 regular season. Teams can begin to conduct in-person interviews with draft prospects on Oct. 16, with the NBA Draft on Nov. 18. But there are no set dates yet for the start of free agency, or when training camp might begin.
There’s “unbelievable depth to the Western Conference, so it’s going to be a challenge, and that’s why we’re looking forward to whenever camp starts, to get back at it,” Myers said. “We haven’t played as a group in a year, longer
than a year with Klay and Steph (Curry) and Draymond (Green), (Andrew) Wiggins and whoever we draft. We’re gonna need that training camp.”
T hompson has four years left on the five-year, $190 million max contract he signed with the Warriors last year.
“He’s a warrior in the true sense of the word, and I’m looking forward to watching him again, too,” Myers said. “For our fans, or any fans of basketball, he’s one of the best players, obviously one of the best shooters ever. But the way he defends too and we’re lucky to have him, and excited to watch him when he gets back.”
DRAFT TALK >> Myers said Wednesday he still doesn’t have a clear idea how he’ll use the second overall pick in the NBA Draft next month.
“We haven’t had a chance to see these guys,” Myers
said of the potential draft picks. “Information matters when you’re making these decisions and we’re committing 30 or 40 million dollars to this player that we draft of guaranteed money, so it’s not like you can cut him when you sign them for the most part.
“We don’t even know for a lot of these guys how tall they are, we don’t know their wingspan, we don’t know their standing reach. And even medical information. I think we’re going to get that, but until you really have that information, it’s too early to even say.”
S ome mo c k d r a f t s have the Warriors selecting 7-foot-1 center James Wiseman, who averaged 19.7 points and 10.7 rebounds in three games at the start of the 2019-20 season before Memphis declared he was ineligible. Wiseman was later suspended by the NCA A for 12 games. In Decem
ber, he said he was leaving Memphis and entering the NBA Draft.
Wiseman’s physical talents are immense, with a 7-foot- 6 wingspan, an ability to run the floor and guard the rim. He would seem to be a fit for the Warriors, who have 6-10 Alen Smailagic, and 6- 9 Marquese Chriss and Kevon Looney as their tallest players .
Myers said big men in today’s NBA need to be able to do more than just set up shop in the low post.
“Nobody’s just throwing it into the block and saying, ‘give us two points,’” Myers said. “When we evaluate draft picks, if a guy says he can score on the block, that used to be a big marker as far as, ‘ Well, if he could score on the block, he’s a great player.’ But that notion is almost obsolete. If you can do it, great. But you’ve got to be able to do a lot of other things.”