Cauley-Stein always ready for the office
SAN FRANCISCO >> As Willie Cauley-Stein stopped for gas at the Flying J in Dodge City, Kansas, this summer, he peered through the window and spotted a briefcase. It reminded him of a certain British secret agent.
“I always thought it was tough as a kid when I watched James Bond or something, and he’s got the brief full of cash. It always seemed like some businesslike
[expletive],” CauleyStein said. “I’m like ‘That thing’s tough. I’m going to get it.’”
So the Kansas native bought the pit-stop accessory that has accompanied him for every game in his first season with the Warriors. After four enigmatic years with the Sacramento Kings, Cauley-Stein is work
ing to redefine his reputation, briefcase in hand.
The briefcase itself started as a social experiment. Cauley-Stein suspected if he were to carry it to every game, people would begin to ask him about it. The cheap plastic carrier, after all, is atypical among the Louis Vuitton and Gucci bags that parade through NBA arena halls.
From teammates and fans, “What’s in the brief?” has become the question Cauley-Stein gets most.
So what, exactly, is in the brief?
“All my essentials.”
In it Cauley-Stein keeps his phone, laptop and iPad, all requisite chargers, a small notebook, deodorant, books, a bible and jewelry. “A lot of jewelry.”
The briefcase is Cauley-Stein’s catch-all. He keeps it by the door of his San Francisco home, locked and loaded with everything he needs. As he walks out the door before every game, the 26-year-old, 7-footer bids goodbye to his girlfriend Kelsey Brooks, picks up his briefcase and heads to the office.
Cauley-Stein relocated to the Warriors’ Chase Center after four years in Sacramento, where he went through three different coaches after being selected sixth overall in the 2015 draft. With new coaches came new philosophies, and Cauley-Stein felt he never got a chance to properly develop.
The Kings went 131-197 during his time in Sacramento, and Cauley-Stein became a scapegoat. This summer, he asked the Kings to make him an unrestricted free agent. “I think I needed that new energy.”
Cauley-Stein turned down a one-year, $6.3 million offer from the Kings and signed a two-year, $4.4 million contract with the Warriors, taking a significant pay cut to latch on to a more supportive organization.
“I think I got a lot of scrutiny on who I am as a professional (in Sacramento),” Cauley-Stein said. “So that played into ‘Well, let me go to the most professional organization and let them tell the story of how professional this kid really is.’
“That’s the reason I really wanted to come here. I wanted to rebrand my tag on myself and, to do that, you got to be surrounded by the most elite. And I feel like this is one of the most elite organizations, top to bottom.”
Cauley-Stein talks to Stephen Curry about keeping up morale during a losing season.
He leans on Draymond Green, asking him for advice over dinners or in his hotel room on the road.
“I learn so much just being around him, just watching him. Just the way he moves and stuff like that,” Cauley-Stein said of Green. “If you want to elevate, you’ve got to be around dudes that are elevated.”
Cauley-Stein doesn’t believe he’s a traditional center who should be relegated to the paint. He wants to dribble, pass and shoot from the perimeter. “I’m a playmaker, man. I feel like good things happen when the ball is in my hands.”
In Golden State, coaches have worked with him on his balance, standardizing his shooting form and finishing at the rim.
His numbers don’t quite reflect the work, but Cauley-Stein is patiently expanding his game.
He is averaging more field goal attempts per game (6.9) and shooting a higher percentage (56.4) in December than he did in November (52% shooting on 6.3 attempts per game).
He’s more willing to launch from mid-range, and wants to become a more effective passer.
“It’s a learning curve, trying to figure out your niche in the league, what’s going to keep you here, what you’re going to work on for the rest of your career,” Cauley-Stein said. “That’s a whole other thing, you know? So I’m still trying to find that.”
• The league removed Golden State’s game Friday against the New Orleans Pelicans from the national TV schedule. The NBA took two Warriors games off of national TV earlier in December.