Great questions this week.
If you want to get into next week’s mailbag, shoot me an email (dkurtenbach@bayareanewsgroup.com) or text (510. 479.0932).
Let’s get after it with a question I received from more than a few folks this week:
Is it time to put Klay Thompson back in the starting lineup? – Michael in San Jose
I don’t see it.
This bench role works for the Warriors and for Klay. And the Dubs’ second unit is the one advantage this team currently boasts over its opponents.
Plus, if Thompson is playing well, he can still close games. That’s what really matters.
Yes, the Warriors’ starters need to play better. That didn’t happen on Monday night against the Knicks, who pushed around Brandin Podziemski and knocked both Andrew Wiggins off his game (though that’s not hard to do these days.)
But that performance against New York isn’t enough to throw everything into the shuffle.
What would the swap even be? Thompson for Wiggins? There’s obviously an easy argument for that move — Wiggins has been woeful as of late — but now you’re torpedoing your second unit for the sake of a marginal upgrade (at least one that is inconsistent) in the starting lineup.
Thompson for Podziemski? That’s ignoring why the kid is in the starting lineup.
No, the Warriors starting lineup makes sense with Podz. The rookie covers defensively for Curry and on the glass for Wiggins and Kuminga. His hustle and energy are necessary alongside his four starting teammates.
Thompson deserves plaudits for accepting and thriving in this role. It seems dangerous to mess with that now.
Would the 49ers really trade Brandon Aiyuk? — David in Fremont
They could, but they won’t.
Aiyuk is being cryptic on social media — flirting with other teams and removing the Niners from his Instagram page. That’s par for the course with a contract negotiation like this, particularly with wide receivers who are, on the whole, weird and self-involved.
These folks can’t throw the ball to themselves — they innately know how to draw attention.
Now, the Niners’ modus operandi is to pay top players top dollar. They love “rewarding” their guys.
But they also wait until the summer to do it.
Nick Bosa just missed all of training camp. Deebo Samuel signed a new contract on July 31, 2022. Fred Warner was paid in July, too. George Kittle signed his contract extension in August.
The Niners don’t have much say in contract negotiations like those or Aiyuk’s—it’s easy to figure out how much money and how long a deal for a top-tier player should be. But the Niners can afford to wait longer than any player—Aiyuk still has to play 2024 under his fifth-year option. By waiting, they gain a bit of leverage in negotiations.
So they’ll wait. And Aiyuk will complain. And come the summer, they’ll agree on a new deal.
Aiyuk is Brock Purdy’s favorite receiver, after all.
The Niners have gone all-in on special teams this offseason. Do they know something we don’t? – Brian in San Francsico
They might!
The Niners have brought back George Odum, Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, and added Chase Lucas, Ezekiel Turner, and Isaac Yiadom.
That’s a lot of special teams guys.
But my 49ers Gameday podcast partner Jake Hutchinson thinks the Niners are loading up because the NFL kickoff rules might change for the upcoming season.
I subscribe to the theory. (Just like you should subscribe to the podcast!)
The NFL competition committee has proposed a radical change to kickoffs. The short of it is that it’s the XFL rule: teams would line up away from the kicker, with five yards separating the coverage and return teams. Neither team can move until the returner has the ball. The theory is the lack of run-up should make kick returns safer.
It also increases the need for good open-field tacklers.
The league is also proposing a rule that would effectively eliminate touchbacks on kickoffs. While I think this is a step too far — touchbacks would now come out to the 35-yard line and there would be a “receiving zone” between the goal line and the 20 — it might just get the votes to be implemented this season.
And with all these special teamers they’ve added, the Niners might be ahead of the rest of the league should that happen.
Given that this team appears to have taken a step back on defense, being a top special teams operation could help mitigate that blow.
