Getty Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors.
The Golden State Warriors dynasty has a long and rich history. Over the past decade, the trio of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green has led the Warriors to four championship victories, including three in the span of four years back in the mid-2010s.
During those years, they consistently faced off against the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers, who were able to win one championship over Golden State. Amidst the chaos, Matthew Dellavedova emerged as a grade-A nuisance. During a recent appearance on The Old Man & The Three With JJ Redick and Tommy Alter, JR Smith spoke about Dellavedova’s efforts guarding Curry.
“Delly almost died guarding Steph Curry,” Smith said. “No, he literally almost died. We have footage of this man in the ice tub like literally up to his neck trying to guard this man.”
In the 2014-15 NBA Playoffs, Dellavedova played 24.5 minutes per game, and in the Finals, he logged the fifth-most total minutes on the Cavaliers. Curry still shot well from the field and fairly decent from three (by his standards), but Dellavedova made life as difficult as possible for him.
Smith noted that Dellavedova’s efforts against Curry are what made him one of his favorite people of all time.
“From watching that, Dellevadova is by far one of the greatest people I like of all time,” Smith said. “He literally gave everything he had, and there was no excuse. There wasn’t like, ‘Oh, he just had it going’ or ‘Oh, I’m trying.’ No, no, no, there was none of that. He could barely talk after. That’s how he was trying.”
Jordan Poole Labeled Wizards Trade Target
In other news, according to Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report, the Washington Wizards could potentially look to target Jordan Poole in a trade this offseason.
“Jordan Poole turns the ball over a ton and can’t be relied upon defensively, but he’s a high-wire bucket-getter who could pull significant attention away from Washington’s other options. Whether blowing by his man and getting into the lane, pulling defenders out on the floor to cover his deep three-point tries or causing miscommunications with his Stephen Curry-lite off-ball sprints, Poole could inject a level of offensive dynamism the Wizards have been missing from their point guards. With his four-year, $128 million extension kicking in for 2023-24, Washington would have to send out significant matching salary to get a deal done. And if the Warriors make another deep playoff run in which Poole features prominently, this might never move beyond the hypothetical realm. But Golden State players have been visibly frustrated by (but also outwardly supportive of) Poole’s play this year, and there’s still the whole preseason punch cloud hanging over the organization. If Washington offered up [Deni] Avdija, [Monte] Morris and [Delon] Wright, it might at least catch the attention of a Warriors team that is primed to lose Donte DiVincenzo, JaMychal Green and possibly even Draymond Green in free agency.”
Keegan Murray Gives Klay Thompson High Praise
Meanwhile, ahead of the Warriors first-round series against the Sacramento Kings, rookie Keegan Murray revealed that he studied Thompson a lot during his pre-draft process.
“During pre-draft, just Klay a lot, Murray replied via Kings on NBC Sports. “Just because [we’re] kinda the same size and things like that. The guy that I was working with knew that I could be a really good shooter. So, just being able to figure out ways to get open. I feel like I’ve done better throughout the year in doing that. But, he’s also one of the best guys in creating space. They [Thompson and Curry] both are. So it’s going to be a tall task for us, but I feel like a lot of our guys are ready for it.”
