Pacific Notes: Warriors Injuries, Porzingis, Lopez, Ayton
The injuries keep piling up for the Warriors. Already without Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler, they are dealing with four more injuries, as Anthony Slater of ESPN details.
Draymond Green was scratched 30 minutes before tip-off of Friday’s loss to Minnesota because of lower back soreness. Al Horford departed after five minutes with right calf tightness. Seth Curry limped to the locker room in the second quarter with left adductor soreness and Quinten Post sprained his left ankle.
“We’re going through it,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “We’re about as beaten up as any team I can ever remember.”
Kerr expects Horford to miss several games. “With a calf, we’re not going to rush him back,” Kerr said.
Stephen Curry missed his 16th consecutive game and the Warriors have gone 5-11 in that stretch. Now, they embark on a six-game road trip.
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- There was a bright spot for the Warriors on Friday. Midseason acquisition Kristaps Porzingis scored 20 points and feels like he’s fitting in, according to Michael Wagaman of NBCSportsBayArea.com. “We’re starting to develop a decent feel,” Porziņgis said. “I think guys are getting accustomed to playing with me. It’s progress. We’re getting better for sure. Overall, I think we’re heading in the right direction.”
- Clippers center Brook Lopez is in the midst of his 18th season and he’s aiming for more, he told Marc J. Spears of Andscape. “I always had a number of 20 years. A lot of great players played 20 years [whom] I looked up to,” he said. “Timmy [Duncan], Kobe [Bryant]. I think Ticket [Kevin Garnett] got there. That’s always been a goal of mine, but I feel great. So now that we’re as far along as we are, I don’t really want to put a cap on it. Just see how long we can keep going until we fall.” The Clippers have a decision to make early in the summer regarding Lopez. They hold a $9,187,500 option on his 2026/27 contract. He’s averaging 11.8 points and 5.1 rebounds since the All-Star break.
- Deandre Ayton has developed into the Lakers’ X factor, Khobi Price of the California Post points out. The Lakers are 27-8 when he grabs at least eight rebounds and 24-9 when he takes at least eight shot attempts. Ayton had 23 points and 10 rebounds against Chicago on Thursday. Ayton holds a $8,104,000 option on his contract for next season.
Pistons Notes: Sasser, Winning Streak, Holland, Huerter
Marcus Sasser took advantage of extended playing time for his highest scoring output since New Year’s Day. The Pistons guard scored 16 points in a 126-110 win over Memphis on Friday.
Sasser has been starting with Ausar Thompson sidelined by a right ankle sprain.
“Again, this isn’t new or a surprise. It’s just opportunity,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “I give Sass a ton of credit because he’s always ready when his number is called. He works to be prepared for the moment. He’s an NBA basketball player, that’s clear. It’s just about the opportunities for him, and he’s getting them now, and he takes advantage of them like he always does. But he’s a dogged defender, he’s another ball handler, [a] play maker. Obviously, his ability to shoot the basketball. How he can space the floor for us. Again, he’s a good player whose opportunity numbers have just kind of not bounced his way. But the more exposure he gets the more opportunities he gets, and we’ll continue to give him chances.”
Sasser is signed through next season. The team exercised a $5,198,983 club option on his contract for 2026/27 in October.
Here’s more on the Pistons:
- They’ve won three straight after a season-worst four-game losing streak. They also defeated the Nets and the injury-riddled Sixers this week. “It’s no secret that we went on a little run. We were losing games in the stint, but coach told us to stay together throughout all this,” reserve wing Ron Holland said. “We had a lot of success throughout the season so far. I mean, we weren’t getting big-headed or anything, but every team goes through [losing streaks] in the NBA. So, he was just telling us to stay together, to keep running the course and everything will be fine. We’re back on track now, so hopefully we can stay rolling.”
- Holland continues to struggle from deep — he’s made just 15.8 percent of his 3-point tries this month — but he’s still been an offensive threat during the winning streak. He’s averaging 14.3 over the last three games. “I love watching Ron on and off the court. Just his work ethic,” Bickerstaff said. “There are not many guys that are in the gym working as hard as Ron is working on his game, his want to get better, his commitment to this team, his willingness to sacrifice for this team. But then on court, he’s understanding where his spots come and how he can be even more impactful on both ends of the floor where his strengths lie. And then he understands the moment, too. We’ve seen our team not have the energy, or be on the downswing, and then we put Ron in the game and he comes in with that energy to be instantly impactful. And that means a lot to us.”
- Trade deadline acquisition Kevin Huerter has averaged 21 minutes over the last six games. He’s posted double digits in his last two outings — 12 points against the Sixers and 11 against the Grizzlies. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent after the season.
Hoops Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript: 7/1/2025
Hoops Rumors’ Arthur Hill held a live chat today exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers. Topics included the Lakers’ remaining options at center, the Celtics’ dwindling roster, Damian Lillard‘s chances of playing in 2025/26, the Nuggets’ flurry of moves and more!
Hoops Rumors’ Arthur Hill held a live chat today exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers. Topics included the Lakers' remaining options at center, the Celtics' dwindling roster, Damian Lillard's chances of playing in 2025/26, the Nuggets' flurry of moves and more!
Click here to access the chat.
Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 9/24/2024
Hoops Rumors hosted a live chat today at 11 a.m. Central time (noon Eastern). Click here to read the transcript.
Latest On Kings, Sacramento, Seattle
Mayor Kevin Johnson conducted his "State of the City" address in Sacramento tonight to discuss the city's goal in preventing the Kings from moving to Seattle. As we relayed earlier, Mitch Richmond is set to join local investors in an attempt to buy the team along with Mark Mastrov, and Ron Burkle was revealed as a prominent figure in helping fund a new arena in Downtown Plaza. There were a plenty of updates during the speech, and you can find the more noteworthy links below:
- Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski says that Mastrov's bid is "slightly lower" than the offer from the Chris Hansen-led Seattle group, which has agreed to pay $341MM for 65% ownership of the Kings. One source told Wojnarowski that while Sacramento's efforts are a long shot, the bid is close enough to cause debate. Mayor Johnson, along with the investors he has put together, will still have to make a case to the NBA Board of Governors in April and convince NBA owners to vote against the ratification of the agreement between the Maloofs and Seattle.
- While Burkle is leading the charge for a new arena, he would also receive a stake in the team if the city's bid is successful, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. He also writes that Johnson appeared confident about making his case to the NBA: "As a city we have done everything that the NBA has ever asked of us. Everything. Each time the NBA put a challenge in front of us, we not only stepped up, but we over-delivered. There is literally nothing more that we could have done, and I am convinced that in return for our efforts, the NBA is going to make the right decision. … A small market that is [as] committed to this league as we are will be rewarded by keeping its team."
- Near the beginning of his address, Mayor Johnson adamantly stated: "I do hope (Seattle gets) a team one day…it is not going to be this team, not our team. No way." (Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today).
- It was confirmed that there are 20 local community investors who have committed $1MM each toward buying the team (Twitter link via Ken Berger).
- Berger also relayed that the proposed new ownership group plans to bring back the city's WNBA franchise – the Sacramento Monarchs – to share the downtown arena with the Kings.
- NBA.com's Scott Howard-Cooper says that Mastrov is expected to submit a bid to the league office tomorrow. According to Mayor Johnson, tweets Berger, the bid will be "strong and competitive" and David Stern has made assurances that it will receive "full consideration."
Odds & Ends: Stoudemire, World Peace, Lillard
Saturday afternoon linkage from around the Association..
- Concern about the health of Amare Stoudemire, who's set to return to the Knicks soon, led Team USA officials to pass him over for a spot on this year's Olympic team, even though the squad was short on big men, as Marc Berman of the New York Post reveals.
- Lakers forward Metta World Peace has been relegated to the bench, but he won't be asking for a trade over it, writes Janis Carr of the Orange County Register. In fact, the veteran seems to be taking it all in stride. “I just want to win, that’s our focus,” World Peace said. “I can’t speak for other players, but its all about us wining. That’s our whole purpose.”
- The Blazers' Damian Lillard remembers being considered the No. 2 point guard in the draft at one point behind the Suns Kendall Marshall, but refuses to knock the North Carolina product, writes Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.
- Brian Geltzeiler of Sheridan Hoops issued a letter of apology to Magic General Manager Rob Hennigan for his criticism of the Dwight Howard trade. At the time, it appeared that Orlando allowed themselves to be pillaged by three NBA teams, but they ultimately made the best move for the club in the long-term.
Odds & Ends: Olympics, Blazers, Jason Terry
With the Olympics in the books and the start of the 2012-13 nearly three months away, we've hit a lull in the year where basketball of any sort still remains weeks, not days, away. Make sure you take a moment to catch up on our features and other original content to help you get your NBA fix. With Friday nearly in the books, here's the latest news and headlines from around the league…
- Much speculation has been made about a possible age limit for the 2016 Olympics in Rio where only players 23 and under would be eligible to play for their country. Patrick Baumann, the head of FIBA, conducted an in-house interview on Friday and announced that FIBA has no plans to implement an age restriction for 2016.
- Beyond adding three assistant coaches to the mix on Friday, the Trail Blazers will retain former NBA guard Hersey Hawkins as the player development director, tweets Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. Dan Dickau's future as an assistant to Hawkins remains unclear as he is a part-time employee (via Twitter).
- Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld says Jason Terry will be key to the Celtics' title hopes given his experience with the Mavericks. Even though the Heat will remain the favorite entering the season, Ingram believes the Celtics will be contenders as the 2012-13 season approaches.
- Celtics assistant general manager Mike Zarren has emerged as a contender for the Sixers' general manager position, reports SI.com's Sam Amick. The position has become more desirable as a result of the team acquiring All-Star center Andrew Bynum via trade earlier this month.
Poll: Who Should Be Team USA’s New Coach?
Mike Krzewzyski is set to step down as head coach of USA Basketball. He will finish with an all-time record of 62-1. Following the USA's victory over Spain to capture the gold medal in the 2012 London Olympics, people including LeBron James and Doc Rivers weighed in on who should be his successor.
James and Rivers both endorse San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich to succeed Krzewzyski, although Rivers adds that Philadelphia 76ers coach Doug Collins would also be a strong candidate, and that Rivers himself would accept the position if offered to him.
Who do you think should coach Team USA going forward? Should it be Rivers, Popovich, Collins, or someone else? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Who Should Coach Team USA?
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Gregg Popovich 34% (624)
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Doc Rivers 34% (618)
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Doug Collins 19% (351)
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Someone Else 12% (222)
Total votes: 1,815
Olympics Notes: Bryant, James, Popovich
Kevin Durant's strong performance throughout the Olympics served as a major reason why Team USA's leaving London with gold. The three-time reigning NBA scoring champion averaged 19.5 PPG, 5.8 RPG and 2.6 APG over the course of the Olympics. Let's catch up on the latest news and headlines from London…
- Doc Rivers endorses Doug Collins to succeed Mike Krzyzewski as head coach of Team USA.
- One of the many secrets to Kobe Bryant's success has been Dr. Judy Seto, the Lakers' physical therapist, writes Mike Trudell of NBA.com. Dr. Seto's so important to Bryant that she's accompanied Bryant to the last two Olympics to ensure his health while playing abroad. Bryant wanted to have Dr. Seto's services entirely to himself during the 2008 Olympics so he didn't tell Lakers teammate Pau Gasol that she was in Beijing.
- LeBron James joined Michael Jordan as the only players to win NBA title, Olympic gold, NBA regular-season MVP and NBA Finals MVP in the same year, tweets Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Durant stands as the most likely player to join this elite club in 2016 when the Olympics head to Rio.
- With Krzyzewski set to call it an Olympic career, much conversation has come up regarding his replacement. Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports says both Rivers and James believe Gregg Popovich should be the next USA Basketball head coach (via Twitter).
Team USA Knocks Off Spain To Win Gold
Team USA secured its second straight gold medal after defeating Spain 107-100 on Sunday in London. Strong play from LeBron James and Kevin Durant, who led all scorers with 30 points, allowed Team USA to match Spain for three quarters and pull away in the fourth. Kevin Love continued with his dominant post play as he grabbed nine rebounds to go with nine points.
The victory gave head coach Mike Krzyzewski his 62nd and final win with Team USA as he is set to step down from the position. Kobe Bryant, in his final Olympic appearance, scored 17 points, but deferred to James as the reigning MVP took over in the fourth quarter with his all-around outstanding play. Coach K expressed sheer jubilation by jumping up and down on the sidelines once the outcome was no longer in question.
Durant leaves London as the most prolific scorer in Team USA history over the course of one Olympics. The Oklahoma City star scored 156 points over the course of the tournament to add to the growing scoring accolades he's earned over the course of his young career.
For Spain, Pau Gasol's standout performance wasn't nearly enough as the team was plagued by Marc Gasol's early foul trouble. Former Grizzlies guard Juan Carlos Navarro seemingly scored at will early in the game, but disappeared later in the contest. While Spain came up short, they gave the United States all they could and nearly came away with the upset.