Mike Dunleavy, Jr — unveil your grease board, good sir.
Ever since the fateful night of April 16, 2024, the very eve that the Sacramento Kings trucked the overmatched Golden State Warriors, 118-94, we’ve all wondered where the Dubs go from here.
(Side note: Klay Thompson went 0-for-10 from the field that night, in case you haven’t been checking your social media comments.)
It’s been two-and-a-half long months of watching and waiting and seeing Klay Thompson scrub Instagram to get to this weekend.
Now what?
I’ve long speculated on the air that the multitude of options facing Dunleavy and his demanding boss, Joe (Keep Your Phone On, I May Ping You at 3:10 AM) Lacob must result in the most interesting office grease board of possibilities in the NBA.
In that erasable pen, here is what he might have written:
— KLAY?
Should he stay, or should he go? Should Rocco be fed and groomed, or fitted for a new crate? Should the Nordic Knife be decommissioned and put in mothballs, or should we break a new bottle of champagne on the bow for a celebratory cruise on the Bay?
I understand the powerful lure of No. 11 on our collective sports psyche. Klay Thompson is Tim Lincecum of the Warriors, with one more ring even. And don’t forget, the last time you saw Timmy, he was wearing the uniform of the Texas Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate Round Rock Express, designated for assignment in 2018. Shout out the Freak’s two wins as a Los Angeles Angel of Anaheim in 2016.
In other words, if Klay does sign elsewhere, it won’t be the first time we deal with this emotion, as I was just saying to my poster of Ronnie Lott as a New York Jet.
On that grease board should be the simple question: Can the Warriors win a championship with significant resources devoted to an aging Klay Thompson, whose defense is not that of a young man? Or, if they do sign Klay, does it mean they can or cannot pull off . . .
— A BIG MOVE?
On that grease board, is there room for a big move? Is there room for Paul George and a max contract? Is there room for Paul George and a max contract now that the Warriors have been — wait for it — hard-capped at the second apron? And if you make that big move, does that mean you have to part with ways with . . .
— KUMINGA?
Jonathan Kuminga is 21 years old — which means he calls Giants rookie pitcher Hayden Birdsong an “old head” when they hang out at Momo’s. The potential for Kuminga to become an All-NBA player is there, and the potential for Kuminga to team with Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis to form the post-Steph nucleus of a contender is there. At the same time, there are those who wonder if Kuminga can truly become that player, and if you could trade him for a chance at a Paul George-Steph pairing, you do it. Of course, that means you’d have to convince the Clippers to take …
—CHRIS PAUL?
At the time of this scribbling, the Warriors reportedly have punted the deadline on Chris Paul’s $30 million contract to Sunday, the better to find time to find a taker for the contract. Shedding Paul’s huge deal would bring gigantic relief to the Warriors’ worrisome budget, or enable them to land that “Big Move” as listed above. Who will take CP3 and the money? And if someone does, how does that affect . . .
— KEVON LOONEY?
See, the Jock Blog is running out of time and we still haven’t gotten to the part of the grease board that addresses …
— JUMPIN’ JOE LACOB’S DESIRE TO WIN A TITLE?
Is that realistic when you have Bob Myers out here saying Steph and Paul George “isn’t enough” to win the West?
By now, Dunleavy’s grease board is looking like the Zach Galifianakis meme of symbols and numbers crossing his brain in “The Hangover” — which is what Dunleavy might have after reading this Jock Blog and pondering the road ahead.
