Steph Curry and the Warriors aren’t worried about what might have been

WITH A LITTLE ABOVE With seven minutes left against the Utah Jazz on Friday, Kyle Anderson lined up a wide-open 3-pointer from the top of the key. As Anderson lifted his shot, Draymond Green jumped from his seat on the bench and began jumping in anticipation.

Green, Stephen Curry and the Warriors’ bench erupted in celebration as Anderson’s shot went in.

On the other side of the floor, Lauri Markkanen fired a wide-open 3 from the wing seconds later, only to see it bounce off the rim during a dreadful 4-for-17 shooting night.

Had Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. had his way in trade talks with Utah, Markkanen might have celebrated with the Warriors, who were en route to a 41-point victory on the road at the Delta Center. Instead, Markkanen, hands on hips and lips pursed, could only watch in frustration.

Dunleavy tried to find Curry and Green some championship reinforcements in the offseason by talking to the Jazz about Markkanen and to the LA Clippers about Paul George. The Warriors would ideally have loved to have both, but that would have been a long shot at best as both the Clippers and Jazz would have their share of assets back.

Dunleavy wasn’t willing to give up Golden State’s young prospects and one star pick unless it was a deal for a superstar talent that would immediately push the Warriors to the brink of a fifth title in 11 seasons.

George ended up opting out of his contract and signed a four-year, $212 million max deal with the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency. And Markkanen, for his part, signed a five-year, renegotiated $238 million extension with the Jazz while waiting to sign it on the day that made him untradeable this season.

“It could have been trash, by the way,” Green told ESPN earlier this month. “The Markkanen is coming here, we don’t know. We’ve never seen it. So there was no thought of what could have been, because we don’t know what it looks like.”

Green praises Dunleavy for being patient and not surrendering the farm to either George or Markkanen. He and Curry have said they are excited to see what they can do with this new cast that currently sits at 2-1 with a deep 12-man rotation.

That depth will be tested Tuesday when the Warriors take on the New Orleans Pelicans (10 p.m. ET, TNT) without Curry (left ankle peroneal strain) and De’Anthony Melton (back), both of whom are out at least the next two games .

“We’ve added really good players,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr told ESPN earlier this month. “We didn’t go all-in and give away our future at a time when it doesn’t really make sense to do it. It makes sense to do it when you have a chance to go after a player who changes franchises. when you’re on the cusp of a championship.”

Through three games, Buddy Hield has looked like someone who can help fill the perimeter void left by Klay Thompson. The Warriors like Melton’s two-way skills and Anderson’s smarts. And they believe those vets can go along with young players like Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski and Moses Moody and complement Curry, Green and Andrew Wiggins.

“As long as we’re on the floor, we have a chance,” Green said of him and Curry. “When you get to the playoffs, you see (opposing) guys fold every day and forget to play basketball. You see that a lot.

“All we need is a chance.”

LATE IN IT first quarter of the Warriors’ preseason opener against the Clippers in Hawai’i, Podziemski suddenly found the ball out of a turnover and a fast-break opportunity.

The Warriors sophomore guard was still steps away from the giant “H” logo at midcourt at the University of Hawaii’s Stan Sheriff Center when he brought the ball back with two hands above and behind his head before unleashing a vicious pass between . two Clippers defenders to streak Gary Payton II for a quick dunk.

It might just be a highlight beforehand. But the play is a glimpse of why the Warriors aren’t the only team high on the 6-foot-4 versatile guard, who was drafted with the 19th pick out of Santa Clara last year.

The Jazz and Warriors had several discussions about Markkanen, but Golden State’s offer did not include Podziemski and was light on draft capital, both deal breakers for the Jazz, sources told ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.

Sliding the 7-foot Markkanen, who averaged 23.2 points and 8.2 rebounds while shooting 39.9% from 3 last season and also scored 35 points in the Jazz’s season opener, into Kerr’s offense seemed like a good fit in theory. But the reality was that the cost was too prohibitive for Golden State.

“Most people who negotiate with Danny Ainge lose,” Green told ESPN of the Jazz CEO. “So at what price?”

The Warriors, like the Clippers and other big-spending luxury-tax paying teams, also had to prepare for the more punitive CBA rules and operate accordingly. At worst, the second berth would potentially cost teams access to the taxpayers’ $5 million mid-level exception, the ability to bundle salaries in trades and even freeze first-round picks seven years out and move a first-round pick to the end of the ​first round.

“The most challenging part is we have a great owner and there’s always a willingness to spend,” Dunleavy told ESPN earlier this month. “So we’ll figure out the CBA stuff. But it’s really just the timeline. You can’t go back years. You can’t make guys younger. And then to balance that and take steps to enable us to really be good and getting over the top now is what is challenging.”

That second apron is one of several reasons trade talks for George never really materialized, league sources told ESPN.

Green said on his “Draymond Green Show” podcast earlier this summer that George wanted to join the Warriors, something that would have required the All-Star guard to sit out the final year of his deal worth $48.7 million and then traded in a trade. . But Green said the Clippers weren’t willing to play ball with the Warriors.

“You go into free agency, (George) decided whether he wanted to sign up or not,” Curry told reporters before camp started. “OK, we should definitely have that meeting and I was part of that process.”

To Green’s surprise, because of the second apron, the Clippers weren’t interested in taking anything back just to avoid losing George for nothing. Sending George to the Warriors to get players like Moody, expiring contracts and some draft capital would also have meant taking on a solid contract like Wiggins, who has three years and $85 million remaining on a four-year, $109 million deal. That would have prevented the Clippers from going after another young star in the future, according to team sources.

League sources also told ESPN that Kuminga’s name never really came up in any meaningful conversations between the Clippers and Warriors.

Should a star trade present itself before the deadline, the Warriors are expected to be in the mix. They have future first-round picks and swaps to deal with, with only 2030 top-20 protected first-round picks owed to Washington from the Jordan Poole deal. And they have Kuminga, Podziemski and Moody, along with the expiring contracts of Melton, Payton and Kevon Looney, among others.

“There’s a time to do it,” Kerr told ESPN. “We see teams around the league do that. But for us right now, unless it’s one of those franchise-changing superstar players, imagine how ruthless that could be. And Mike understands that and he’s handled it perfectly .”

Meanwhile, the Warriors still have Curry, who signed a one-year, $62.6 million extension with the Warriors in late August and later reiterated his desire to remain a Warrior for life. While Curry has dealt with left ankle injuries before, he told Kerr Sunday night that this latest one is “mild or moderate.” He will be re-evaluated on Friday.

And they have Green, who at 34 is still a maestro with his passing and defense.

“Can’t panic,” Green told ESPN. “Panic in this league and you win 25 games for five years in a row.”

THE IDEA OF George in a Warriors uniform is so off-putting to Ty Lue that the Clippers coach interrupts a question about it by blurting out, “Uh, uh.”

“I wouldn’t face it, no,” Lue said Sunday.

“You pair him (defensively) with Kuminga and Draymond, I wouldn’t want to see that. I’m glad it didn’t happen.”

Lue’s fears never materialized. Instead of finding one more star, the Warriors added several players that make this the deepest roster of the Kerr era, as well as well-regarded assistant coaches Terry Stotts and Jerry Stackhouse.

Kerr has started Curry, Wiggins, Kuminga, Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis in the first three games. Hield, Podziemski, Melton, Looney, Moody, Payton and Anderson come off the bench. No player averages more than 26.3 minutes per game. night, and all 12 rotation players are averaging at least 12 minutes — though those numbers are skewed by a couple of blowouts to open the season.

Facing his first competitive game of the season against the defensive-minded Clippers, Kerr played just four minutes against Anderson and Green sat the final eight minutes as Looney helped lead a comeback that saw the Warriors cut a 13-point lead to one .

Kerr will have to replace Curry’s 18.3 points, 40.7% 3-point shooting, 6.7 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game by committee as his ankle heals.

Wiggins, listed as questionable for Tuesday’s game with a lower back strain, leads the team in scoring with 19.7 points per game. game, while he’s also active on the glass with 6.7 rebounds per game. match. Hield struggled for the first time as a Warrior against the Clippers, shooting 3-for-14, but is averaging 19 points per game. battle so far. Podziemski is looking at an increase in minutes in the next few games.

“Someone texted me like, ‘Hey, 12 guys. It’s a real democracy,'” Kerr said after the loss to the Clippers. “I said as soon as we lose it becomes communism. So that’s the truth. The results dictate the verdict and that’s the business we’re in. So I’ve got to do what I think is best for our team and in general, it changes during the year, we have to be ready to adapt.

Dunleavy will also be ready to adjust. He has been in constant contact with Curry and Green and says they are on the same page about wanting to fight, but also remaining patient and striking in the trade market when the time and price is right.

“The simple thing is we’re knocking on a lot of houses to try to buy them,” Dunleavy said. “And if there are some sellers, if there aren’t any sellers, then we’ll keep at it. We’ll find something right.”

So far, Green and Curry like the moves Dunleavy has made — and the ones he hasn’t.

“By 2022, everyone was thinking the same thing,” Green said. “Nobody had us as a championship contender that year. We didn’t make any moves at the deadline and we won it.”