Dub Hub: Warriors owner Joe Lacob refutes the idea of a two-timelines plan

Rounding up all the Warriors and NBA related news for Tuesday, July 18.

Warriors News:

Lacob clarifies ‘no such thing’ as Warriors’ two-timeline plan | NBC Sports Bay Area

Warriors owner Joe Lacob set the record straight one more time for those wondering about Golden State’s supposed “two-timeline” plan.

“There’s no such thing as the two timelines,” Lacob told the Bay Area News Group (h/t The Mercury News’ Madeline Kenney). “There never was and still isn’t and never will be. There’s only one timeline, and the timeline is every year to put the best product on the floor, to have the best team, to compete the best you can to win a championship.”

Warriors sign Jerome Robinson to training camp deal:

How Steph is taking golf to spaces Tiger Woods did not | NBC Sports Bay Area

Curry’s performance on Sunday, coming after a hole-in-one on Saturday, was in its own way as magnetic as some of Tiger’s work on the final day. Overcoming a series of putts that teased a succession of holes, Steph came back to eagle the 18th, earn the roar of the crowd, hug and kiss members of his family, take home another trophy and send everyone home with a smile and a memory.

“It’s a tremendous honor, accomplishment,” Curry told reporters in Tahoe. “[It’s] a mission I’ve been on, creating access, equity and opportunity in the game, with all the other things that I’ve been trying to do to help the next generation.”

“This is a small kind of reminder, validation, getting clubs in the hands of Black and Brown kids earlier, to get them access to the game. There’s talent there. I feel blessed my dad played in the league, we had the resources, access to the places.”

1 New Trade Idea for Every NBA Team | Bleacher Report

The Trade:* Golden State Warriors acquire Paul George from the L.A. Clippers for Chris Paul, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody and top-10 protected first-round picks in 2026 and 2028.

If the Warriors can’t get back-channel assurances that George will re-sign with them in the summer of 2024 when he likely opts out of his deal, this offer needs to be trimmed back substantially. But assuming George would be more than a rental, the Dubs can easily justify giving up two of their only remaining young pieces and picks along with Paul.

Though CP3 should curb the turnover issues that have plagued Golden State, it’s up for debate whether he makes sense in the closing lineup. No such uncertainty would exist with George, who’d slot in next to Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins and Draymond Green in what would easily be the league’s most dangerous five-man unit.

Golden State Warriors Player Profile: Trayce Jackson-Davis

Steph Curry wants to settle the three-point contest debate

NBA News:

Amick: Why Joel Embiid’s viral comments matter far less than Daryl Morey and James Harden’s next move | The Athletic

If you strip down the actual message, there’s really not much to dissect here. Embiid, like so many athletes who have come before, expressed an interest in being a champion and indicated that it was a bigger priority than playing for the same NBA team for the entirety of his career. That’s hardly revelatory, especially in today’s Ringz culture era. And let’s not forget, to cite another similar example, that it was during these same dog days of summer a year ago when Giannis Antetokounmpo’s comments about possibly playing in Chicago were making the rounds.

As for the question of whether Embiid might be trying to leave Philly anytime soon, a high-ranking Sixers source told The Athletic that Embiid or his representatives have not shared any such message with the team. In fact, the organization’s belief remains that Embiid would love to go the way of Dirk Nowitzki or Kobe Bryant and stay with one team for his entire career. The source was granted anonymity because these sorts of matters aren’t typically discussed publicly.

LeBron James to change jersey number back to 23 in honor of Bill Russell | ESPN

The timing of the league’s announcement made it a logistical impossibility to stock enough replica James jerseys to meet fan demand before the 2022-23 season started. James’ No. 6 Lakers uniform led all player jersey sales on NBAStore.com for the second half of 2022-23, according to a league announcement.

“For us to lose such an icon, it was heartbreaking for all of us,” James told ESPN at the start of training camp in September. “I mean, no matter if you play the game, watch the game or a part of the game. We all know what Bill Russell meant to the NBA, obviously to the Celtics off the floor as well, as far as his heroism ... and what he meant to Black people, being able to speak about issues that are not comfortable.

“For me to be able to wear No. 6 this season — I’m not sure if I’ll continue to do it, but right now I’m going to wear it in honor of him. It means a lot to me.”

Cam Whitmore named 2023 Summer League MVP

In case you missed it from Golden State of Mind:

What position do the Warriors need to add?

Center

Why it should be a priority: No team in NBA history has ever said “oh no, we have too many tall players.” You can copy and paste my comment about Dunleavy’s quote in here.

Why it shouldn’t be a priority: When and where do they play? Sure, Looney probably won’t play all 82 games for the third consecutive season, and that opens up a few games and minutes. But Looney only averaged 23.9 minutes per game last year ... not even half the game. If the Warriors wanted to play with a traditional center more, they weren’t limited by a lack of options ... they could have just played Looney more minutes. With Looney as good and durable as he is, and Green and Šarić both playing small-ball five so well, it’s hard to find minutes for another center. Or at least, for one that would be available to the Warriors.

Steph Curry wins another championship - in golf

It’s too bad that golfers and a former tennis player like Fish demand absolute silence in order to perform, but that’s what separates a player like Curry, who has heard things one hundred times more despicable than that on any given possession playing the Celtics in Boston Garden. What’s next? Are the haters going to complain that Curry only won the championship, and not American Century Championship Final Round MVP?

Why is Curry so comfortable on a golf course? It’s probably because he hears the same thing when a golfer hits an errant shot as he does when Klay Thompson tells Devin Booker how many rings he has: “Fore!”