Getty Golden State Warriors guard Ty Jerome takes the ball to the hoop during a bout with the New York Knicks.
For the first time since the insanity that was the team’s December 6 loss to the Utah Jazz, the Golden State Warriors experienced legitimate heartbreak with their loss at the buzzer to the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday. Saddiq Bey’s dagger shot notwithstanding, though, a lot of good things happened during the contest.
On an individual level, Ty Jerome had one of his best games in a Warriors uniform. In 27 minutes of action against Detroit, the 6-foot-5 guard matched a season high with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting (and 3-of-4 from deep) while adding three assists.
As well as Jerome has played in multiple games recently for the Warriors, however, the team may do well to explore its options in the backcourt. Given the baller’s two-way status and the limitations in his game, there’s a cap on how much he can actually bring to the table.
With that in mind, Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley just proposed that tem prez Bob Myers and his brain trust consider making a play for a solid veteran playmaker in Pistons backup Cory Joseph.
B/R Floats Cory Joseph as ‘Ball-Mover’ Dubs Need
Cory Joseph will not be denied at the end of the third!
There maybe other players tag-teaming the roles at the moment but, as Buckley sees it, Joseph could be the offensive instigator and “head of the snake on defense” that the Warriors bench will inevitably need for the playoff push.
He writes:
[Draymond] Green can only do so much for the second-teamers when he’s needed to connect the dots for the starting five. And Jerome’s future is very much up in the air, since players on two-way contracts can only be active for 50 regular-season games and can’t be a part of the playoff roster without their contracts being converted to standard deals.
In other words, the Warriors may very well need a ball-mover.
The Warriors didn’t get to see Joseph up close in their latest contest — the 31-year-old was a healthy scratch from Wednesday’s game. But he has shown throughout the 2022-23 NBA season that he still holds value as a table-setter and defender. Per 36 minutes, Joseph is averaging 10.6 points and 7.1 assists per game.
Meanwhile, Detroit has been a whopping 9.8 points per 100 possessions better with Joseph on the floor. And opposing players’ three-point conversion rates have dropped by an average of 5.6% when he has been the closest defender.
Warriors Owner Joe Lacob Confirms Interest in Buying SoCal MLB Franchise
During the summer when Los Angeles Angel owner Arte Moreno put his team up for sale, Warriors chairmain seemed to give a soft confirmation that he would be interested in purchasing the franchise, telling the LA Times that he would “look at good opportunities.”
Flash forward to now and Lacob went a step further during an appearance on the January 5 episode of The TK Show.
“I’ve always felt that it had great possibilities,” Lacob told The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami. “LA is a huge market, and it’s part of that LA overall market… They’ve drawn over three million fans, I think, 17 out of the last 20 years. We’re going to look at it… It may be doable. So we’ll see.”
Lacob famously sold soda, ice cream sandwiches and peanuts at Angels games during his teenage years. The venture capitalist and Dubs owner is now worht a cool $1.5 billion, according to Forbes.