Suns All-Star point guard Chris Paul appears to be well positioned for his next NBA step, writes Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic. The 36-year-old six-footer has missed just two regular season games during a season in which he appears destined to make an All-NBA team, setting him up for an eventful offseason.
Paul faces a decision on a $44.2MM player option for 2021/22. Much like Gordon Hayward did a year ago, CP3 could opt out in search of a longer-term deal, likely with the Suns, at a slightly lower annual rate. Alternately, he could pick up his option for 2021/22 and reassess the open market ahead of his age-37 season in 2022.
There’s more out of the Pacific Division:
- After enjoying a breakout season in 2020/21, Kings center Richaun Holmes is looking for a significant pay raise this summer, writes James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area. Holmes is hoping to net an offer in the range of four years and $80MM. “We love Richaun,” team president Monte McNair said this week. “He had a career year. He’s an integral part of the team.” The club does have Early Bird rights for Holmes, meaning Sacramento can extend Holmes to the projected $11MM league average, with 8% increases each season. Holmes has probably outplayed that amount, though Ham is skeptical that he will command a $20MM annual salary on the open market.
- The Warriors appear well-primed for the coming seasons, writes Ethan Strauss of The Athletic. The team showed significant defensive promise despite a loss to the Lakers in its first play-in contest. The Warriors will fight to qualify for the No. 8 seed in the West tomorrow against the Grizzlies. Strauss wonders if, with the anticipated return of a healthy Klay Thompson and further growth from Jordan Poole, Golden State may prefer prioritizing role-playing offensive additions this summer as the team looks ahead to the 2021/22 season.
- The Lakers‘ play-in victory over the Warriors has revealed the defensive-oriented lineups that head coach Frank Vogel seems to trust heading into the playoffs, per Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register. Point guard Alex Caruso, wing Wesley Matthews and forward Kyle Kuzma all received significant prioritization from Vogel off the bench in the game’s second half, ahead of point guard Dennis Schröder (12 minutes), guard Talen Horton-Tucker, and forward Montrezl Harrell. Schröder, Caruso, Horton-Tucker and Harrell could all be free agents this summer. Goon notes that L.A.’s successful closing lineup that frustrated the Warriors comprised All-Star forwards LeBron James and Anthony Davis, plus Matthews, Caruso and 3-and-D wing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
GSW appear well-primed for the coming seasons? Appearances can be deceptive.
And what is wrong with their roster? You, like Marty, keep making these comments. I don’t know what you base your opinion on?
He is a Rockets fan and notorious Laker/Warrior hater who had to change his username after they traded both their MVPs.
Is this that harden-Westbrook mvp guy’s new username?? Lol I knew he had to change it after harden quit on the rockets
Holmes will be gone, because they won’t want to Pay him that much. Now trade Hield for someone who makes less than $24m and ship Bagley off to another team for someone who makes less than his $9m this year, then Maybe we can fit him in under the Salary Cap. But I don’t see that happening in Sacto, so next yr we will be looking for some cheap Center that isn’t near as good as Holme was !!
They need to move Barnes.
Hell, No !! He’s the third best player on the team, plus, he has a declining contract. This yr, he was paid $22m, next yr $20m, then his final yr $18m. Get rid of Hield and Bagley and you will be way better off.
You should keep :
============
PG 6-3 Fox
SG / PG 6-6 Haliburton
SF 6-8 Barnes
C 6-10 Holmes
PG 6-5 Wright
SG 6-5 Davis
Everyone else can go !! This BS about the Salary Cap, is just that BS. If Both LAs, GS, Boston, Phili can be allowed to spend $135m per year and the league doesn’t say squat, then they should just do away with it. All those teams are paying an Avg of $130m+ a season !!
Yes the salary cap is a joke. Just like the release of high cost players and minimum contracts given by playoff teams.
IDK if they’ll have to pay him 4/80 unless he gets a competing offer. I could see him landing in the 15-17 range which is probably a good value for both.
Warriors will be a playoff team but that roster is no where near a title contender with Giannis officially not coming. Klay after missing 2 years is not going to be anywhere near the same player.
Huh? When did anybody think Giannis was coming to Golden State? Anybody that thought he was coming to the Warriors needs to lay off the drugs and enter rehab. That was as plausible as Trump saying Mexico would pay for his border wall.
We don’t know yet for sure how good Poole will be, but I see a guy who can score 20-25 points a game next year if he’s the first 2/3 off the bench and gets close to 30 minutes a game. I think Wiseman could become a great player, certainly continuing to improve next year . JTA is Draymond Jr. with a better shot. Wiggins is a good 3. BUT … the W’s need more size/rebounding. Hope they can draft/FA at the 4. No doubt they will sign a veteran big man.
kezar, looking at potential available draft picks from some site that ranked prospects, there are a couple studs that could be available. One I saw that is a top level defender and shooter all in one and another that is compared to Green. I’ll look for the story and get better specifics. Maybe you can Google it in the meantime
davion mitchell, 6-2, Baylor guard. Scottie Barnes, 6-9, power forward, fla st
Barnes, who draws comps to Draymond, is expected to go where the Warriors might have there 1st pick. Davion is expected go at #10. The Warriors have the 16th pick. Springer/Giddey/Butler are expected to be available. I like Springer. But, Giddey has the intrigue of playing in Australia. I think the Warriors may have scouted him. They sent their development coach to check up on Jessup.
The ranking I saw had Mitchell 7 and Barnes 8. They could very possibly get the twolves pick at 6-8. I kinda like Mitchell cuz Poole is soso on D. Who would you take with a 6, 7, or 8 pick Vince?
I kinda like Barnes because he draws comps to Draymond. But, it sounds like Mitchell is just as acceptable.
With Curry on the team you’re not going to draft a 6-2 guy with a top-10 pick. A top-10 pick should project as a starter immediately and you can’t play Curry and Davion Mitchell to start the game in the backcourt. Mitchell is pretty darn good and plays bigger than his 6-2 but it won’t be for the Warriors. You can write that in stone.
With Poole backing up Curry they do not need another PG to sit on the bench. Their need in the draft is a power forward that can rebound. they will draft somebody to replace Oubre length to get rebounds. They will pick defense over offense.
Mitchell & Barnes are fine picks. There’s a number of guys like Barnes who is hard to predict because it depends on how his height/athleticism combo translates. Barnes is said to have PG ability.
Mitchell beat Suggs in the title game and will do it more. He is a guy who will find a way to beat a higher-rated player, and bring the team along. He could hardly have done more. He keeps rising.
However Cunningham and Mobley are tops.
A lot of people did. He was supposedly going to come to GS and make them a superteam again.
Who are these lot of people? There was never any serious talk of Giannis coming to Golden State. The Bucks and the Warriors never made any moves to facilitate a trade. I don’t get where you got this idea that the Warriors were going to acquire Giannis.
Right. Giannis has been saying for two or three years that he likes and wants to stay in Milwaukee. And then they were able to offer him more money than any other team, and since he wanted to stay anyway …
If you don’t think the Warriors had their sights on Giannis antetokounmpo then you weren’t paying attention. No one knew what he was going to do, not even he himself LOL. It’s great he took the max deal from the Bucks and so now he’s off the board. The crappy thing is a lot of those guys are off the board.
It’s going to be pretty tough to get a star to come to San Francisco but believe me the Warriors are trying to get one. That’s one hundred percent correct. You think the Warriors are trying to get a nice bench to lead them to the promised land? Wrong. They have the resources to get a number one or a number two guy and that’s exactly the way they approach it.
Guzzling that haterade much? Do you really think GSW needs 5 elite players to win or something when everyone else has 2? Weird.
But how can you watch what just happened and not think a “returning from injury” Klay won’t beat that same Lakers team, who has a great defense and two elite superstars? They only lost by 3! GSW’s future is LOADED, not to mention getting 2 picks from the top 15 of this loaded draft where the 15th guy in this years draft might have gone #1 in last years – THATS the level of talent infusion the NBA is about to get, and GSW is about to get 2 major rotation pieces for nothing.
BTW KD had this same injury and he appeared fine almost off the jump. I expect Klay to be rough out of the gate but give him 2 months and he should be back to game 6 Klay – especially by next years playoffs. Remember, it’s not like he needs to dribble the ball. It’s Klay, he’s a legendary shooter but in a different way to Steph. He only actually needs to get back to normal Klay by next May, which he easily should.
Let’s be honest, the W’s didn’t almost win that game. The Lakers almost lost it with a horrendous first half.
Klay is a question mark until he comes back and proves it one way or the other.
Wiseman + the Minn pick is a substantial offer assuming some star gets grumpy this offseason – which is probable.
Team could easily be a contender next year. Or we could be talking more What If’s if Klay is a shell of himself.
For them to be a title contender they will need Wiseman to step up. Also get more taller players to rebound on the bench. the west has some of the best rebounder in the NBA and small ball will not get you past those teams.
My opinion is that wisemann is trade bait. They can’t wait for him to develop. They picked the most valuable asset in the last draft and will deal him for the right stud.
I think you’re right the Warriors do need some decent big men Off the Bench. But they need one more stud. Giannis, Jimmy Butler, Bradley Beal, a guy like that. Those three are not available but there has to be somebody out there.
You could be right about trading Wiseman. They may trade him for a experience big man and use the draft pick for another center to develop in a few years. Wiseman will be good but he is another year on learning the system and the warriors might not be patient enough to wait.
lmao lakers act like they played defense on the 96’ bulls. they had to play hard defense on curry and a bunch of d leaguers
It’s not even the Lakers really, its LEBRON running all these cornball narratives.
I’m still furious he lay on the ground in the 4th quarter trying to quickly think up a way he can have some phony “flu game” like MJ. No, Green did not even touch his face. Lebron is a fraud and he proved it that game. Steph was the only player actually entertaining us in that whole game, even when giving Bron the craziest shot, Bron still made it boring because he only thinks in narratives and making them up about his fake “eye injury” was clearly all he cared about that game.
Give the Lakers credit they did a adjustment in playing small ball. Drummond makes them worst not better. Vogel saw that the warriors were to quick for them so he adjusted and brought smaller players off the bench. LeBron had to adjust too and went to being a passer trying to be a Green type player. Not sure why people say their defense is not good they have great defensive players.
OK Boomer
Warriors are PRIMED to dominate the league for another 5 years. I somewhat disagree with the “looking for role players” in that yes, they will be looking for non-Bazemore high IQ type players, but Lacob can’t help but big game hunt. He has been in on every major superstar, but as KD said on his podcast, players don’t want to play for Kerr if he refuses to run PNR’s. Luckily this season he only just started using PNR’s, and look at the results. Hopefully this will attract players who are scared Kerr is going to use his patented “all lives matter offense” where 2-4 low IQ players pass the ball around for 10-20 seconds, passing up wide open shots until they turn it over.
An Oubre-Kawhi sign and trade is actually feasible. It’s probably not going to happen, but we said the same thing about KD, it’s not a 0% chance, so…
Nobody will dominate the league. Warriors are better without Oubre and no way the Clippers would do a trade and sign with the warriors. Clippers management hates the warriors and will not make them better. KD left because he didn’t like how GSW were Curry’s team. He was tired of hearing he joined to ring chase.
Marty is wildly inconsistent with his comments. His spin on the Warriors makes you want to vomit. He never knows what he is talking about.