Bob Myers: “Klay Thompson’s injury made it hard to see who we were”

GSOM activates the Warriors GM’s anger translator to find out what he’s REALLY saying under that cool calm demeanor.

Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers chatted with the media yesterday ahead of a monumental NBA draft and free agency period that will go a long way towards shaping the future of this ballclub. Myers was his usual affable self, spending time to address the concerns that were brought up to him about the speculation around the potential picks and the urgency of this time period.

One Myers quote stuck out for me in particular: “Klay being injured made it hard to see what we were. And I really hope next year, I think we all do, to see who we are”. When he said that, it dawned on me that perhaps Dub Nation was so pumped to see Curry drag this hobbled team to the promised land that we failed to give proper weight to how integral Klay is to any hopes of winning a title with a roster in salary tax hell.

Let’s go to Bob’s Anger Translator (B.A.T.) to really suss out what the tactfully chill Mr. Myers may be communicating between the lines here. I’ll now burn some sage and drink some Henny (official sponsor of the NBA!) to channel his rage…

B.A.T. activated

Disclaimer: These words in no way reflect or represent Mr. Bob Myers’ actual thoughts and we hope GSW hoops comes back asap to keep Daniel from going crazy in this offseason.

Bob’s Anger Translator on Klay’s importance: Miss me with that “wasting Steph Curry’s prime” BS. The Warriors aren’t our best selves without Klay on the court with Steph.

Let’s just make this clear: the biggest reason we didn’t contend for the title the last two years was because OUR SECOND BEST SCORER AND DEFENDER WAS INJURED. If we’re healthy, we’re a certified problem for the NBA. When we lose an All-Star, our title chances dwindle…just like every other team in the league! Not easy to just replace the man who:

• Set the record for most points in a single quarter.
• Set the record for most three-pointers in a regular season game.
• Broke the record for most three-pointers in a playoff game…in an elimination game!
• Tied the NBA record for most consecutive threes without missing to start a game.
• Scored 60 points on 11 dribbles lmaoooo.

Not to mention his hounding defense that helped keep the likes of James Harden and Chris Paul ringless. This dude is an elite two-way player who sets the standard for what a 3-and-D hooper shooting guard prototype is. And folks are mad at me because I didn’t trade Kelly Oubre Jr. (who was having a ROUGH year, poor guy) for some magical player who would make this team win a title without Klay? Aiite, bet.

You know what’s funny: we spent an entire title run getting disrespected by everybody because some of our opponents were injured. Meanwhile we lost Klay to injury for two years straight, in addition to several other key players, and yet I got fans yelling at me that the front office didn’t do enough to go win a fourth title!

Hey can somebody tell me when the health narrative all of a sudden became unimportant to a team’s title hopes? There is a TON of luck with injury stuff. I totally had some sympathy for San Antonio when Kawhi Leonard collapsed on Zaza Pachulia’s foot (right after stepping on GSW mole David Lee’s foot). Sure Spurs’ coach Gregg Popovich damn near called the police on us but I felt for him.

And I understood when Cleveland tried to retcon our entire 2015 finals run because LeBron didn’t have Kyrie and Kevin Love. I mean we had LeBron saying we were the “the healthiest team in NBA history” and claiming it would be more impressive if we were “doing it without Steph.” Okay, actually I don’t understand WTF that last part means but I definitely get that he was speaking from a place of hurt, what with the beatings we kept dishing out.

But I recall folks were desperately eager to list guys like Jrue Holiday, Mike Conley, Tony Allen, Patrick Beverley, Jusuf Nurkic, George Hill, and Chris Paul as injured foes who could have tipped the balance of power away from us. If those thirsty pundits can believe that rogues gallery of Steph victims past-and-present was gonna derail the Warriors’ dynasty then they should acknowledge how huge a deal losing Klay was for the franchise. Like, basically a season killer. Twice!

Anyone who chooses to be mad we didn’t find a way to get into the Finals despite having the 8th best record in the West and our players getting wiped out left and right, that’s perfectly fine. I get it, we failed to bring home another title. Anytime we don’t win a title it’s a failure regardless of whether or not we made the playoffs. That’s what happens after you create a dynasty. Championships or bust, people! That’s why we need Klay back.

Think about how good Devin Booker and Khris Middleton were in the Finals. Now would I trade either of them straight up for Klay? Absolutely not!! None of them has his pedigree and chemistry with Steph and Dray.

Now I’m not saying Klay merely being on the floor guarantees all of our issues evaporate (duh). But many of them (spacing, shooting, IQ, passing, wing defense) are addressed by a healthy Klay, and we can at least know how much of an issue other things are once we have a healthy roster to observe. Don’t forget this team was the hottest team in the NBA to close out the regular season before running out of gas in the play-in tournament.

If anyone is muttering that we should consider trading Klay because he may not return to his old ways due to injury, I’d love to hear you speak up and share with the room. His huge contract came AFTER he got hurt and is part of the reason we’re in salary cap hell. We are fully invested in him returning much in the same way Kevin Durant did this season in time for the playoffs. We believe in time Klay will be healthy and deliver like he always has.

B.A.T. deactivated

WHOA! That was super intense channeling the Warriors GM’s true annoyed thoughts. I hope it was an educational experience for us all, but let’s not let the Warriors front office off the hook if the team is healthy next year and doesn’t get it done. The championship is what we’re all here for, isn’t it? Their job is to put the team in the best position to get MOAR RINGZZZZ.

I look forward to them continuing that process Thursday during the draft.