Getty Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors and Lonnie Walker IV of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Golden State Warriors season ended in the second round of the playoffs with a brutal loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6. They couldn’t get anything rolling, and in turn, Steve Kerr’s undefeated streak in the Western Conference Playoffs ended.
LA had multiple players step up at different points throughout the series, and one of the most important performances came when Lonnie Walker IV scored 15 fourth-quarter points in Game 4. After the series, Stephen Curry gifted Walker a jersey.
“To Lonnie. Keep building! All love!” Curry wrote on the jersey.
In addition, however, Curry also had to poke fun at Walker for playing a major part in ending Golden State’s season with his Game 4 showing.
“Will never forgive you for Game 4…!” Curry wrote.
Golden State fell to the Lakers in six games, and now LA will move on to the Western Conference Finals to face the Denver Nuggets, while the Warriors will head home a regroup for next season.
Walker’s Game 4 performance was a big part of the Lakers’ success, as it helped earn them a 3-1 series lead over the Warriors. While Golden State was able to win Game 5 and keep the series alive at home, they weren’t able to get the job done on the road—a fitting way to end a season-long struggle with away games.
Despite his best efforts, Curry wasn’t able to lead his team to a series victory. He put up some great numbers, averaging 30.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 6.1 assists over the course of the six-game series.
Stephen Curry Comments on Jordan Poole’s Future With Warriors After Loss to Lakers
Meanwhile, after the series, Curry was asked about Jordan Poole’s and the other Warriors’ youngsters’ performances throughout the series, as well as their potential future with the team.
“Everybody’s going to get better. Everybody’s going to take the next step. Everybody’s going to learn the lessons that you learned this year and try to put them into use next year,” said Curry. “I don’t know what the opportunity is going to be. I don’t know what the roster will look like. I don’t know what, sitting here right now, what Opening Night is going to look like in terms of who’s going to be asked to do what, but I have a lot of confidence in everybody being able to take advantage of the summer.”
Warriors Hesitant to Trade Jordan Poole
However, according to Shams Charania and Anthony Slater of The Athletic, the Warriors are hesitant to trade Poole.
“If cost-cutting is required, he profiles as the likeliest candidate,” the pair wrote of Poole. “Poole had a turbulent fourth season, beginning when he took the infamous preseason punch from [Draymond] Green during a training camp practice. Poole kept it professional in the aftermath and tensions cooled enough for the two to work together. But the relationship was never fully repaired and Poole’s struggles didn’t help the mood, culminating in a challenging playoffs that saw his efficiency plummet and minutes get reduced. There’s still hesitancy to move him. Poole averaged 20.4 points this season and has potent offensive capability that is lacking on the roster below Curry and will be needed as the core ages further. Is it wise to move off of that when his value is at its lowest in 12 months? Will the money crunch dictate it?”
