Andre Iguodala couldn’t help but heap praise onto the Suns organization for how they’ve constructed their roster with a healthy mix of quality veterans and hungry youngsters.
SAN FRANCISCO -- There have been countless comparisons to past Warriors teams.
They of course were compared to the Michael Jordan-led Bulls when Golden State set the new regular-season wins record, and that continued with Kevin Durant's three years in the Bay Area. Throw in the Shaq-Kobe Los Angeles Lakers, the Super Team Miami Heat and others as well. The Warriors were the Team Ahead of Schedule when Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson won their first title in the 2014-15 season.
What about this season's squad? Has there ever been a team of veteran stars and future Hall of Famers like Curry, Green, Thompson and Andre Iguodala competing for a championship while also developing young lottery picks like James Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody?
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Iguodala might have the perfect comparison.
"The Boston Celtics used to do it, seemed like year in and year out," Iguodala said. "I don't know how Red Auerbach was getting -- maybe the CBA allowed him to circumvent some of the rules. They kept having lottery picks, it was kind of crazy.
"I think it's a unique position to be in, it's pretty tough to do."
This is true for Auerbach's time when he was the Celtics' head coach and also later when he was their general manager.
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Auerbach badly wanted Bill Russell out of the University of San Francisco when he was set to be the top pick in the 1956 NBA Draft. The problem was, the Celtics didn't own a first-round pick. They had already used their "territorial" pick on Tom Heinsohn. According to Marcus Thompson in his book "Dynasties," Walter A. Brown, the original owner of the Celtics, had a stake in the Ice Capades, a traveling show of figure skaters. The Rochester Royals owned the No. 1 pick and were in financial trouble. So much so that the Celtics promised to bring the Ice Capades for some shows in Rochester if the Royals promised to not take Russell. Done deal.
The Celtics then traded their starting center Ed Macauley and Cliff Hagan to the St. Louis Hawks, owners of the No. 2 pick. The Hawks made Russell the second pick and sent him off to Boston. The Celtics had their centerpiece. In the second round, they then added Russell's college teammate K.C. Jones out of USF. That's three future Hall of Famers in Russell, Heinsohn and Jones.
At the time, the Celtics already had Bob Cousy and Bill Sharman and were coming off six straight trips to the playoffs. Boston's 1962-63 team had a record nine Hall of Famers. Aside from Clyde Lovelette, they all were drafted by the Celtics.
Auerbach was back at it again when he made Larry Bird a Celtic. Following Boston's championship in 1976, they won just 44 games the next season and 32 the year after that, failing to make the playoffs in both seasons. Months before the 1978 draft, Auerbach the GM sent Charlie Scott to the Los Angeles Lakers -- of all teams -- for a first-round pick. Bird was eligible for the draft because his draft class had graduated, but also had another year of college eligibility. He wound up putting his name in the draft and returning to Indiana State for one more year. If he didn't like the team that drafted him, he could always re-enter the next year.
That scared teams off and that made him still available with the No. 6 pick.
Auerbach later traded the No. 1 pick and the No. 13 pick to the Warriors before the 1980 draft for Robert Parish and the No. 3 pick. He then took Kevin McHale with the No. 3 pick, quickly forming a Bird-McHale-Parish trio. Trades for players like Dennis Johnson and Bill Walton didn't hurt either.
As Iguodala noted, the Warriors, after drafting Curry (No. 7 overall in 2009), Thompson (No. 11 overall in 2011) and Green (No. 35 overall in 2012), have followed that by making moves for players like himself and Shaun Livingston and signing a superstar in Durant. After KD left, they have since traded for Andrew Wiggins, drafted Jordan Poole late in the first round and then took Wiseman, Kuminga and Moody in the lottery.
Bob Myers, Joe Lacob, Steve Kerr and Co. might as well light up a cigar in honor of Auerbach.
"We've seen how to strike lightning a few times here with Steph's injuries and a lower salary, being able to bring me in, being able to go get KD, the timing of everything and then you have a few more injuries and for two years you can call it a break," Iguodala said. "You take some Ls but you're able to get some solid draft picks, get a good young core for the future and it kind of got hit by some luck."
Following five straight trips to the Finals and winning three championships, the Warriors were the worst team in the league upon losing Durant to free agency, Thompson to injury and then Curry to injury just four games into the season. But instead of losing Durant for nothing, they added an All-Star in D'Angelo Russell and were able to flip him to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Wiggins, plus a draft pick that turned into Kuminga.
Golden State added Wiseman with the No. 2 overall pick in 2020 after winning only 15 games. After taking Kuminga with the No. 7 pick last year, they also took Moody with their own pick at No. 14. While they're still waiting for an injured Wiseman to return to the court after an injury-shortened rookie year, Kuminga is showing superstar potential on a nightly basis and Moody recently scored 20 points in just his third career start.
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The Warriors are back to being championship contenders, all while trying to develop future stars. It's a masterclass at Auerbach University. This season's roster also is a flashback to another beloved Warriors team that Iguodala helped lead.
"The core four guys (Curry, Thompson, Wiggins and Green), you got myself, or you got Otto [Porter Jr.] or you got Wise, just so many guys to fill that fifth man you could throw out there. It's kind of like we're tailored for any kind of matchup, whether teams want to go big or go small, we're suited for it. Even Kuminga.
"Just so many different lineups we can throw out there and just a matter of us buying into kind of the strength in numbers we had the first go around -- 2014-15. I tell the guys all the time -- myself, Shaun Livingston, [Leandro] Barbosa, Brandon Rush gave us some great minutes, Justin Holiday gave us some great minutes, Festus Ezeli, Marreese Speights.
"It was seven guys off the bench and each one had big nights throughout the year. We kind of have that same setup."
To Iguodala, the proof is in the pudding. If the young guys and role players want to win a ring, just look up at Chase Center. The banners are there. Sacrifices were made and championships were won.
"Just understanding the long haul and winning is more valuable than individual performances, especially coming off the bench with a team like this," Iguodala said. "Winning will extend your career. So just buying into the team concept."
That concept worked for two different Celtics dynasties, it worked for the Warriors' dynasty and it will be one of the biggest keys to starting a new one.