A few days ago, I put out a call for a mailbag. And I got some very good questions about the Golden State Warriors! So let’s jump into them.

Certainly a coach deserves a large amount of blame for the shortcomings of both a roster design, and the performance on the court, and Steve Kerr is no exception. But, as is usually the case, I think the criticisms of Kerr are outpacing reality here.

I think it’s incontrovertible that Kerr played a role in Jordan Poole and Klay Thompson both becoming unhappy. I’m also not sure it was possible to avoid Poole’s unhappiness without making Draymond Green — a better and more important player — unhappy, and I’m not sure it was possible to avoid Thompson’s unhappiness without giving him even more leash and more playing time, which would have hurt the team (it’s also a case of hindsight analysis: if you recall at the time, the vast majority of Warriors fans were angry at Kerr for not benching Klay sooner).

The other reality is that you basically will never find an contending team where both the veterans and young players feel heard, respected, and played enough. Kerr has been the leader behind something truly unprecedented in the modern NBA: a 10-year stretch where three Hall of Fame-bound talents were all happy and comfortable. Is it a knock on Kerr that Jonathan Kuminga is unhappy and doesn’t have a role? Yes. But is it in large part because of Kerr that Jimmy Butler III, seen as a problematic locker room personality who would clash with Green and Steph Curry, has fit in seamlessly? Yes, and the latter is more important than the former.

So yeah, Kerr deserves some blame for Poole and Thompson (and eventually Kuminga) unhappily leaving town (though those don’t look like big losses at the moment). But he’s entering Year 12 with a top-10 all-time player who has publicly said he has no intention of ever playing for another coach, and Year 12 with one of the most emotionally turbulent players in NBA history who sings Kerr’s praises at every turn and still wants to be with the organization. Those are a million times more important than hurting Thompson’s feelings by benching him towards the end of his career when he was playing horribly.

Ultimately, those critiques against Kerr are fair, but they’re kind of like critiquing Curry’s missed free throws.

It’s primarily because Kuminga would like to play for someone other than the team that has his rights, which isn’t the case for Josh Giddey, Cam Thomas, or Quentin Grimes. Those three are trying to find the right amount of money, while Kuminga is trying to find the right situation and role, and is open to leaving money on the table if it helps him find it.

Well, I don’t think that’s a particularly accurate representation of events. They gave that championship team another year together and it was clear things needed to change. They didn’t break up the Splash Brothers — they tried to re-sign Klay Thompson, who decided he wanted to play elsewhere. They gave up Andrew Wiggins because it allowed them to get a significantly better player, and they gave up Kevon Looney because they had a bitter fit lined up to sign. Steph Curry has emphatically not been run into the ground … he’s still healthy (he’s played 144 games the last two regular seasons!), and last year was the second-spryest 37-year old in NBA history (nor is Curry’s playing time determined by the GM).

Jerry West was one of the most cutthroat executives in NBA history, cut from the Bill Walsh mold. If there was someone who loved severing sentimental ties to improve the quality of a roster, it was West. He would have been chomping at the bit to move on from Thompson and would have done summersaults at swapping Wiggins for Jimmy Butler III.

Anyway, in “Logo Heaven” I presume all ills have been forgiven, and West is back to rooting for his beloved Lakers.

I think Occam’s Razor is telling me that the answer to this question is “none.” We’re more than six weeks into free agency and there hasn’t even been a hint of a rumor of an intriguing player being available for Kuminga, while the team appears to have fully moved on from the idea of it happening.

So I would say that every player that fits into the “willing to trade JK for” bucket is also occupying a spot in the “not obtainable” bucket.

At the risk of sounding like a politician, I don’t think either side has much leverage here. The Dubs have leverage in the sense that they have the right of refusal, and thus control Kuminga’s future to a certain extent — there is no method for JK to spend the upcoming season on another team unless the Warriors decide it’s in their best interest. But Kuminga has leverage in that he seems willing to leave money on the table to ultimately get what he wants, even if it doesn’t come right away.

Ultimately I lean towards the Warriors having a touch more leverage, just because it’s pretty clear that Kuminga doesn’t have the market he expected he’d have … and not only is that impacting his current offseason, but it plays a role in determining his next one, too, as well as his midseason trade value.

I’m sure the Warriors have a ton of interest in Cam Thomas in a vacuum. In reality, there’s no way they can actually get him on their team. He’s going to get a massive contract, and the Dubs have no feasible way of fitting that onto their roster, or giving Brooklyn anything making it worth their while to do a trade.

As for Al Horford and De’Anthony Melton, the reason there’s an assumption that both are locks for the roster is because it’s been reported by virtually everyone that both players are planning on signing with the Warriors as soon as the Jonathan Kuminga situation is resolved. The fact that they haven’t signed elsewhere, or even been seriously linked elsewhere, certainly supports that.

Certainly there will be injury concerns, though the Dubs have the depth to help with that (and it’s worth noting that Horford has played at least 60 games in 10 of the last 11 seasons). But ultimately, the current CBA is set to make it virtually impossible for quality teams to add proven young talent. The Warriors have two options for filling out their roster: talented players with health concerns, and healthy players with talent concerns. The former is, understandably, preferable.

At that point, the Warriors will be limited to minimum contracts, so don’t expect any big names. I don’t believe they’ve finalized the contracts with their dio of 2025 draftees — Alex Toohey and Will Richard — so one or two of them could end up on actual contracts rather than two-way deals. Given that there’s been no rumors or reports involving him, I’d imagine Gary Payton II is also waiting to see how things finalize and could potentially return to the Dubs.

Ben Simmons would definitely be an interesting fit in Steve Kerr’s system, and I believe there have been reports about the team’s interest. I doubt they go after him unless Al Horford opts for retirement over a season in San Francisco. Without Horford, there’s more space for Simmons, and I imagine the team isn’t incredibly stoked on putting his enigmatic personality on a roster that already has Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler III.

Technically it wouldn’t be releasing him, as he’s not under contract. But yes, they could technically remove the qualifying offer and let him enter unrestricted free agency. But why in the world would they do that? They’ve offered him a two-year, $45 million contract … if he wants to counter with a one-year, $7.9 million deal, I’m guessing they’d be pretty damn happy!

There’s not really anything the Warriors can be doing to resolve the Jonathan Kuminga issue. They’ve made their best offer. All they can do is wait for him to make a decision. What could they do? Their only method for expediting matters is to cave and offer a contract they don’t think he deserves, and that’s hardly resolving the issue in a productive manner.

As for Al Horford and De’Anthony Melton … they’ve already waited six weeks, what’s six weeks more? It’s not like those two are waiting to see if the Warriors are interested. Presumably they have handshake deals and just need the Kuminga situation to be resolved before the Ts can be crossed on the contract. I can’t imagine Horford and Melton are in any hurry … the checks don’t cash until the season, anyway.

Thanks for the questions, everyone!