5:33pm: Looney will be sidelined for the next two weeks before being reassessed, per a tweet from the club’s PR department.
8:08am: The Warriors lost another center during Tuesday’s loss to Boston, as Kevon Looney exited after spraining his left ankle during the first half. As Nick Friedell of ESPN writes, Looney underwent an MRI after the game that confirmed the sprain, and head coach Steve Kerr said he expects the starting center to miss multiple games.
“I don’t expect him to play the next couple of games,” Kerr said. “It was a significant enough sprain where it looks like he’ll be out for a little bit.”
Typically, having to get by without Looney for a few games wouldn’t be a major problem for the Warriors, but the injury comes at a time when the team is already significantly shorthanded at the five. Marquese Chriss will miss most or all of the season with a broken leg, Alen Smailagic is recovering from knee surgery, and rookie James Wiseman is expected to be sidelined for at least a week due to a sprained wrist.
According to Friedell, Kerr said after the game that Eric Paschall and Juan Toscano-Anderson will take on bigger roles up front, with Draymond Green spending more time at center as well. That will be a small frontcourt — Golden State has no healthy players taller than 6’7″, so rebounding could be an issue in the short term, as it was on Tuesday when the Celtics out-rebounded the Warriors 51-36.
Signing a free agent to help plug the hole at center is one option the Warriors may consider, but as Anthony Slater of The Athletic notes, any new addition would have to return negative coronavirus tests for six consecutive days before being cleared. By that time, Looney and/or Wiseman could be getting close to a return.
Golden State also doesn’t currently have an open roster spot, so signing someone new would require waiving someone — possibly Mychal Mulder, who has a non-guaranteed contract.
Little Dunker crystal ball says Warriors will still be playing come the finals.
Still playing golf, from when they got eliminated a few months prior.
Only Utah and the Nets will be playing.
The Nets better start playing defense if they plan on being something more than exciting to watch
Imagine two players being hurt for a week making you think the season is toast? Life as a hater is ROUGH yo! Hahaha
GSW beat the Lakers and Clippers this year, do not forget it, they are right in the mix and always will be as long as Steph and Dray and NOT Oubre are on the floor!
What do you expect from a Laker fan. If AD went down they probably drop to a .500 team.
Facts. If that happened, Lebron would be right back to Cavs era where GSW beat him up as he wilted in the Finals 3 times.
Allen Smailagic ??
He’s not healthy either, which I should’ve mentioned in the post. It’s been updated.
Oh I didn’t know that. And I think I’m such a huge Warrior fan LOL. You didn’t miss much by not including that info in the article, he’s a long way from contributing even if he is healthy.
That’s Looney talk
Going to be pilling up the loses because what team can’t beat a basketball team with the tallest player only 6′ 7″. Dallas is celebrating the upcoming 2 games easy wins for them.
Well Hou went 44-28 last year and got 4th place in the west with nobody over 6’7 but I think your just setting a nice landing for your fall here arent you little guy !
If Thompson was healthy, then that would be a realistic analogy.
Although Houston did have Capela for more than half of last season.
I never heard Rockets fans complaining about future loses before they happened last year bc of height
This is just laying a grass bed to fall on
Difference is they did it by design not because of injuries. Tyson Chandler was 7 feet on the team last year. they also had another C issac Hartenson on the team. I suggest you look up stats before pretending Houston had no tall players last season. They had many players over 6’7″ that played on the team last year. Google search is easy to do.
Ok played mins on the floor……better??
Rockets played with nobody over 6’7 the entire 2nd half and all the 12 playoffs games on the floor
Tyson Chandler and Issac Hartenson , thanks for that man, laughing’s important in life and you just gave me a good one !!!! :)
Never understand people like you that want to start arguments with strangers and need to lie about things. Nothing i said put down your team just making a point how hard it is to win without a center. instead you lied trying to make yourself feel superior. That is just real sad.
well ur correct cuz the rockets had chandler and haranstein who were both 7 foot and also a substitute in mbah a moute and jeff green who were both 6’8
Having 2 lottery picks in deep 2021 draft is not a bad consolation prize if Warriors struggle this season. Team needs cheap, high quality upside guys from next draft to bolster roster depth and overall talent level. Youth and athleticism will help keep this core competitive for years to come.
That Twolves pick is very iffy. And they might lose the other pick if they finish top 10. So I’d prefer they stay out of top 10 and better yet avoid playoffs (that would get a lottery pick).
Its possible they have ZERO lottery picks. But, like you said trigato, 2 would trememdous.
* be tremendous
“You wanna know how I knew? It was the kids, They used to call me Mr. Glass”
Oubre and Smailagic for Ball and Hernangomez
Wiggins plus the Wolves pick for a star player who fits the team better (Beal?)
JaVale McGee for a second rounder
= chip
*=Chip shot, onto the green
FTFY
No, no, no…Why get older and mortgage the future for an unrealistic shot?
@Howie415 Oubre is gone after this season anyway Smailagic is terrible and should not have been kept on the team, period. Waste of a spot. Wiggins is good, but Beal fits the team better right now.
Beal, Ball, Hernangomez and McGee make this team ridiculously good.
Its funny how everyone thinks GSW is over EVERY time they lose a couple in a row. So nearsighted! We have Curry, man!
Hell no on Ball! Why does everyone have a boner for him joining the Warriors? He’s not the best fit plus we don’t need his kook of a dad’s antics on the sidelines!
Ball > Oubre, thats it. Nothing else behind it. I dont think he’s great, but Oubre is costing the team with his bonehead plays.
Definitely agree on Oubre, he seems like he’s just only athletic..
Imagine thinking you could get Beal with Andrew Wiggins !
Even including the MIN first with Wiggins… Marty keeps talking about getting more IQ but Beal will cost more if he ever goes. Not a reasonable trade idea.
Of course having to root for Oubre would drive a person crazy. Oubre was better off as a young potential guy showing energy… never should be a starter.
Some people get fooled by a show of energy… probably the same people who brag about not relying on stats.
Oubre has definitely driven me crazy, you are correct. Last nights game was the final straw, GSW had that in the bag until Oubrick hit the court in the 4th. I think Kerr left him out there to die just to show the front office he needs to go. He literally made 5 bonehead plays in a row that cost them the game.
How does a player play the most minutes on the team with Curry but literally never passes to him? Steph is the best shooter all time and he’s thrown his arms in the air so many times after Oubrick throws a clunker up there, ignoring an open Curry. Ball would be a treat after the Oubre experience. He really should be hanging out with Zoolanders crew getting orange mocha frappacinos and doing blue steel faces and poses.
Ha blue steel pose. Yes, I hate to say, it’s the opposite of using statistics, maybe I’ve seen too many movies, but for me, he’s too good-looking (pretty?) to trust!— At least, in a team sport.
I just posted about ugly Olynyk of Miami having a similar problem— being a solo-minded player rather than being group-aware like Meyers Leonard.
I think it’s about the small things, like setting a spontaneous pick for a driving teammate or bumping a moving opponent off-course to mess up a play he’s trying to set up (and so using the 24second timer as a sixth man).
That’s why I like the on/off stat, at least for starters who can be assumed to get his stats versus other starters and not in garbage time. It’s the best thing for including pick-setting, sacrifices, and being able to get teammates going as well as oneself— and supressing the opposition. The usual standard for teamwork, assists, can be manipulated, relies on usage rate, and favors PG work.
Oubre is minus16 this year and has never been plus.
Wiseman would have to be included at a minimum
Why would you want to trade Wiseman?
Agreed. Wiseman is the Warriors future
I was replying to a comment about Wiggins for Beal. That wouldn’t be enough. I don’t want to trade Wiseman.
I don’t want Ball, I don’t want to get rid of Wiggins, and I would rather keep the draft pick, but at the same time I like JaVale McGee, so I agree with what the Warriors choose.
I want to get rid of Oubre and don’t care if Ball is the return. Ball fits better on this team than Oubre. Oubre lost the game last night for them singlehandedly. His basketball IQ is the lowest in the league.
If you can find a better return for Oubre than Ball, let me know! That’s why we are talking, right? Dont understand the “no” but then you put no preferred plan up against it?
Better return than Ball? I don’t even see you getting Ball for Oubre
Is it possible Oubre … isn’t that good? 5 years in he’s a career 32% 3P shooter and an above avg defender
So he’s 3/4ths of a 3+D guy
You’re prob gonna need to do Wiseman + the Minny pick if you want Beal
But again if Draymond keeps playing this poorly you may see them blow it up rather than go all in
If Green is 2/4/6 guy now and Klay is a question mark coming off 2 year out even if u got Beal, would he stay?
They just sent three people down to the G league did that not open roster spots? Did the roster size shrink recently at a certain date?
The players sent to the G League are still considered to be part of the 17-man NBA roster unless they’re waived.
6’9” 222 LBs That’s what he’s listed as. And that’s in sneakers probably. That’s not a Center to me. He might play C . Even in college UCLA he was listed as Forward. That’s one of problems with Warriors. You can play small ball if you have right personnel. But you have to have Real centers to play D. So to say he is your starting center. Pretty much explains their problems. Too bad Chriss got hurt. He was looking pretty good. Don’t get why they refuse to sing a rim protector
I don’t get it either..the article mentioned about Wise and Loon possibly healthy by the time (if) they sign a FA big but the Dubs still need legit C if they wanna go deep or even make the playoffs..
Looney was their primary center during the last championship. McGee started, Looney always finished
Just waive Mychel Mulder and Sign a Free Agent veteran big man, like Tyler Zeller, Thon Maker, Dewayne Dedmon, John Henson or Ian Mahinmi. Or take a flyer on a GLeague Center like Justin Patton, Brandon McCoy or Amida Brimah.
Flat out – Warriors do not need all 3 of Damian Lee, Jordan Poole, and Mulder. Poole and Mulder are duplicates. Pick one and either Waive or Trade the other to create an open Roster spot.
So you gotta wonder why are they waiting. Even just a vet behind Wiseman is a good reason. Are they waiting for TD. Or a player get bought out. Or maybe a bigger deal in works. But like dubtastic says. If they are serious about playoffs or this yr. I mean there are players out there. You wonder what they are thinking
Several teams could draw from that list, but they don’t.
Gd pt about the duplicates. Maybe Myers needs more time to decide. (!?) Not a fan of Myers.
Maybe those Centers aren’t as good as everybody thinks. The Warriors traded away Dedmon; why would they want him back?
how bout ekpe udoh whos practically nerlens noelbut with limited mobility. tbh hes only known for defense and cleaning the glass
Situation’s changed, Jules…take my buffalo gun and hand me my mime rifle.
Which is why Oubre and Poole for Ball and Hernangomez makes so much sense.
Their tallest healthy players are now Wiggins and Oubre, both of whom are 6′ 7″.
This happens when a team is in a rebuild.
Wrong, it’s what happens when The Logo leaves the front office and is replaced by nepotism hires. You can’t be in a rebuild with 4 guys making $25+M. That’s not what this is.
Smailagic is objectively bad and shouldn’t have been drafted, or at minimum traded immediately once it was apparent he was at least 5 years from being anything, if he gets there. GSW decided to waste prime years of Curry for no reason other than the front office staff are entirely clueless.
They won three titles in his prime years lol
To be critical – the current Center situation should have never reached this point. The time to add a Big Man was after Chriss’ and Smailagic’s surgeries. That way, they would be up to speed by now. In the very least, they should have added a player after Wiseman hurt his wrist, as that player would have Cleared the required 6-Day Covid protocol by now, and been ready to play on this Texas road trip.
There seems to be a stubbornness about holding onto all 3 of Lee, Poole and Mulder.
Just eliminate one either via trade or Waivers.
Can Jordan Poole and JTA be Traded for Javale McGee? Do their Salaries line up?
Or, they Warriors should just Sign Free Agent Center Tyler Zeller. He’s available and the best rebounder left on the market. He had a big game against us last year in Memphis. Dominated the paint against us.
They don’t even need to get rid of a player. Since Chriss is out they can let him go. With looney out 2 weeks but probably more like 4 weeks they better get a big man to replace him.
What’s a JTA? There is no way Poole gets you McGee. There is a reason Zellers is a Free Agent.
JTA is a two way player thats not worth it plus he had his best shooting night against the celtics.
bruh best rebounder? lmao he averages 4 rpg
Warriors aren’t a dumb organization. There’s something to them not signing a big. Either a bigger trade is brewing. Or they think they can wait it out till TD. When players start to get bought out. Problem with that is they could fall too much. And Obrue is not making himself appealing to other teams. Still say Gordon for Obrue can get worked out. Rockets were trying to dump that salary since last yr.