News » Kerr said he and Spurs staffer

After finishing his first draft as general manager of the New York Giants Jake Ryan Jersey , Dave Gettleman got a laugh when asked his thoughts on his six picks.

With his heavy Boston accent, Gettleman said no GM is going to walk into a press room and tell the media he drafted garbage.

Garbage wasn't the word he used, but the meaning was clear. He could have stretched the truth if he wanted, but it wasn't necessary.

"I'm thrilled. We got big butts. We got power. We got speed," said Gettleman who momentarily stopped to apologize for his choice of words. "And we got a quarterback we really like. I am not angry."

Coming off a 3-13 season that cost coach Ben McAdoo and general manager Jerry Reese their jobs, the Giants seemingly found value and filled need with every pick in the NFL draft that ended Saturday.

They feel they got the best player in the draft in Penn State running back Saquon Barkley with the second pick overall. They had a first-round grade on guard Will Hernandez of UTEP when they took him in the second round.

Edge rusher Lorenzo Carter of Georgia and defensive tackle B.J. Hill of North Carolina State had second-round grades when taken in the third round.

Quarterback Kyle Lauletta of Richmond and defensive tackle R.J. McIntosh of Miami were right where the Giants felt they would be in the fourth and fifth rounds, respectively.

The picks will create competition on a team that needs to be pushed by new coach Pat Shurmur.

Gettleman also knows the job of building a roster is far from over.

"It takes time," he said. "Folks, you have to understand that Rome was not built in a day. This is a brick-by-brick deal and at the end of the day we are going to keep making moves and shake up the back end of the roster until we get it right."

ELI STILL THE ONE: The decision to grab Barkley and ignore the quartet of quarterbacks taken in the first 10 picks overall clearly shows the Giants think 37-year-old Eli Manning has good years left. Taking Lauletta in the fourth round also shows the team wants backup Davis Webb, the third-round pick last year, to have competition in training camp.

THE BARKLEY FACTOR: Barkley should give the Giants their first legitimate home run threat out of the backfield in more than a decade. What makes him unique is he is a three-down player who runs with speed and power, and can catch passes. And in the NFL, opposing defenses can't focus on him like in college. There's Odell Beckham Jr. http://www.greenbaypackersteamonline.com/montravius-adams-jersey , Sterling Shepard and tight end Evan Engram to worry about.

"I think that's why I was brought here, to bring an impact to the running game, to have that same domination that I had in college where a team wants to just shut me down, and then it just opens up everyone else," said Barkley, who had 53 total touchdowns in three years with the Nittany Lions.

THE O-LINE: The offensive line will be dramatically different than the banged-up, inefficient unit that played last year. Hernandez should be able to start at one of the guard positions along with free agent signee Patrick Omameh. Fellow free agent Nate Solder is set at left tackle and Brett Jones returns at center. The only question mark is right tackle. Ereck Flowers has been asked to move from the left side to the right, but his status is uncertain; he has refused to take part in the voluntary offseason activities and minicamp.

NEVER ENOUGH: Gettleman is a believer in never having enough good players. The additions of Carter, Hill and McIntosh gives the Giants a dozen pass rushers when veterans Kareem Martin, Olivier Vernon, Damon Harrison, Dalvin Tomlinson, John Mauro Daryl Johnston Jersey , Romeo Okwara, Kerry Wynn, Robert Thomas and Avery Moss are added in. Should be an interesting camp.

STILL NEED: A big receiver is needed. Veteran Brandon Marshall was let go after failing his physical last week. New York has other guys who played last season, but no one combines height and speed that can stretch the field. The Giants could use one more inside linebacker for depth in the new 3-4 alignment. With Eli Apple coming off a bad season and Janoris Jenkins returning from ankle surgery, a cornerback would help.

Kevin Durant is confident Golden State’s struggles down the stretch might be just what makes the defending champions dominant on the postseason stage again.

Maybe not quite 16-1 this time around, sure, yet plenty capable of another remarkable run.

”I always knew everybody on our team had a good spirit, a good energy for the game,” said Durant, the reigning NBA Finals MVP. ”We might have lost some games and had some tough stretches but that doesn’t define everybody here as an individual player. I’m kind of positive on, optimistic on each of these guys and how we approach the game no matter what the score of some of those games. I’m glad we can kind of learn from those tough times and continue to move forward.”

The Warriors have been hurt and humbled. Beaten handily and beat up hard. Two-time MVP Stephen Curry is expected to be sidelined the entire first round with a knee injury. Four All-Stars – Curry, Durant, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson – were out together at times Rigoberto Sanchez Jersey , too.

On Saturday afternoon, Golden State begins its championship quest with Game 1 of the best-of-seven first round against the San Antonio Spurs at Oracle Arena.

”We learned a lot,” coach Steve Kerr said. ”Every experience that you gain you can learn from. This has been such a chaotic month with all the injuries and the meaningless games. We’ve been frustrated. We haven’t performed very well. The good news is we have performed well for four years, so we know who we are. We know what we’re about. We know this team well, we know the Spurs well, so we know what we have to do. We’ve got to go do it. The last month is meaningless now. Everything starts over.”

Some of that is what Kerr gained from Spurs coach Gregg Popovich: ”You take whatever is in front of you and you embrace it.”

Here are some key story lines for the Spurs-Warriors series, a rematch of last season’s Western Conference Finals swept by Golden State:

A SPECIAL FRIENDSHIP

Kerr hardly played during four seasons with San Antonio late in his career.

Still, Popovich is one of his favorite people – even if he wants nothing more than to eliminate his dear friend.

”Pop doesn’t like to see me lose. I like to see him lose. He’s had way too much success already,” Kerr cracked. ”I think sometimes Pop needs to be humbled a little bit. So I’m looking to really rub it in and enjoy if we’re able to beat them.”

Kerr added: ”I want Pop to win against anybody else. We’re that close. He’s my mentor and he’s somebody I feel incredibly strongly about in terms of who he is and what he did for me in my life, and what he’s doing for my son right now.”

NO CURRY OR KAWHI

Golden State has gone without Curry for 16 of the last 17 games as he worked back from another injury to his troublesome right ankle only to sprain the medial collateral ligament in his left knee in his return March 23.

Curry is scheduled to be re-evaluated Saturday yet Kerr noted that ”he’s not close to playing.”

The Warriors also aren’t expecting to see Spurs star Kawhi Leonard. He played in only nine regular-season games because of a lingering right quadriceps injury.

DEFENSIVE SWAGGER

Durant and Green insist it’s time to start taking defense more seriously.

”Now we can focus in on what we always do good here, it’s flying around on defense, moving the basketball,” Durant said.

The Spurs realize the challenges.

”They are smart Chase Roullier Jersey , they are long,” Manu Ginobili said. ”They are very quick to switch back to the matchups they want. They’ve got a lot of long wings that recover very quick. … There’s a reason why they’ve been winning so many games.”

SPURS STRUGGLES

While the Warriors endured a stretch of seven losses in 10 games, the Spurs dealt with their own eight-game skid down the stretch.

And San Antonio went just 14-27 on the road.

Even if the Spurs’ 2017 series with the Warriors was swift, this is a fresh chance.

”It’s a new year,” LaMarcus Aldridge said. ”This team has fought and put ourselves in a position to be here. Last year is last year.”

CENTER BY COMMITTEE

It might be Zaza Pachulia. Maybe JaVale McGee. Or Kevon Looney. David West will get his minutes, too.

Each offers something uniquely different as the Warriors go with a center-by-committee approach.

Kerr isn’t saying which big man he will start – he’s not giving Popovich any early clues. And Kerr said he and Spurs staffer and son, Nick, are cutting off communication for a couple of weeks.

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