Chris Paul, Draymond Green Told Warriors GM That GS Will Win NBA In-Season Tournament
The upcoming NBA campaign will feature the Association's first-ever In-Season Tournament, and Chris Paul and Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors are determined to win it.
Warriors president Brandon Schneider relayed a story during Wednesday's NBC Sports Bay Area broadcast of the Dubs' preseason game against the Sacramento Kings highlighting that fact:
"It's just going to add that much more where you're going to see the guys playing another notch harder trying to win that cup," Schneider told play-by-play commentator Bob Fitzgerald and analyst Kelenna Azubuike (h/t NBC Sports Bay Area).
"Here's all I need to know about the cup and hopefully fans agree. I said to [Warriors general manager] Mike Dunleavy about a month ago, I said, 'Hey Mike, what do you think about this in-season tournament?' He said, 'Well, Draymond Green and Chris Paul told me we're going to win it.' I said, 'OK, that's all I needed to know.'"
The Warriors begin the in-season tournament on Nov. 3 against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Each player on the winning team will take home $500,000. Players on the losing championship team will still get $200,000, while those on both losing semifinal teams will earn $100,000. Quarterfinal-losing players get $50,000 apiece.
There's obviously a financial incentive for players to win, and being part of the first team to ever take down the in-season tournament may have its merits as well.
Ultimately, these games still mean something in the standings. The Warriors are in the "West C" group with the Thunder, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs and Minnesota Timberwolves. They'll play two games apiece against those squads in November and December, and all of them will count.
If the Warriors win the group (or finish high enough as a second-place team), they'll head to the eight-team quarterfinals. That round (plus the semifinals) will count as regular-season games as well. The only in-season tournament game that does not is the championship affair.
In sum, there's still plenty of reason for these games to matter. Green and Paul, though, clearly want the Warriors to hold the first championship trophy.
For now, the Dubs are looking toward the regular season, which begins Oct. 24 versus the Phoenix Suns.
