While I mostly agree with the author's diagnosis, the cure proposed is a bit strange. First, it's not WordPress anymore. You could use any other solution then, including popular leaner alternatives. Moreover, the front-end is just a part of the equation. And if you're really focused on creating a realistic proposal, there are many other factors to consider, not just slimming down your blog and making it incompatible with the extensions and themes you're using.
How is “I took a WP theme designed as a minimalist starting point for building your own theme and cut out a lot of stuff I considered to be cruft” not Wordpress? It’s still WP behind the scenes.
(Maybe you think that Underscores is another CMS? It’s not, it’s a WP theme. https://underscores.me)
