Warriors stars Stephen Curry and Draymond Green had been in favor of keeping Avery Bradley on the team’s roster to open the regular season, sources tell Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. As Thompson notes, Bradley didn’t have a great preseason for Golden State, but the team’s veterans liked the fact that he has significant playoff experience.
According to Thompson, there was even a sense from some people within the organization that Bradley could be a good fit in the Warriors’ starting lineup until Klay Thompson returns, since he’d be capable of handling tougher defensive assignments that Jordan Poole may not be ready for. With Poole in the starting lineup, it might fall to Curry to defend an opponent’s top guard.
Rather than hanging onto Bradley, the Warriors appear set to open the regular season with an open 15th roster spot. However, the team could choose to fill that opening at any time.
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- League sources confirm to Marc Stein of Substack (Twitter link) that no rookie scale extension is expected for Kings big man Marvin Bagley III today. That comes as no surprise, given that Bagley has been the subject of trade rumors and has been limited to 56 games over the last two seasons due to foot and hand injuries.
- The Clippers liked what they saw in camp from Harry Giles, whom Tyronn Lue referred to as “definitely an NBA player,” but they believed Isaiah Hartenstein is a better fit for their roster, writes Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. “He did a good job, he played well, kind of came in and fit in right away with his passing and being able to get guys shots and backdoor cuts for layups and things like that,” Lue said of Hartenstein, who beat out Giles for the 15th spot on the opening-night roster.
- It remains a mystery which two players will start for the Lakers alongside LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook on opening night on Tuesday. Head coach Frank Vogel told reporters today that he has made a decision, but doesn’t want to disclose it yet (Twitter link via Jovan Buha of The Athletic).
Keep an eye on Hartenstein. He is a great player with high IQ. The guy could be a starter in this league in 3-5 years honestly.
Good player and fit for what the clippers need
*what they need out of him
He’s got potential, but his shooting still needs a lot of work.
He was really good last year
Ellington and Ariza should have been the other 2 guys for the Lakers…Now maybe Ellington and Reaves, or Ellington and Monk make sense until ariza comes back. Nunn needs the ball in his hands more, and is a better option as a scorer off the bench, and they could get around their defense with Westbrook, Lebron, and Davis around them.
GS should have kept Payton or Bradley, but now there are a few other defensive guards that would also fit, who are still available
The ghost of Wilt Chamberlain and my cousin Vinny could be the other Lakers starters, it doesn’t really matter…the team will live or die by the Big3.
GSW lost Bradley to instate rival Lakers no less, and teams always say they miss him when he’s gone… but it happens a lot, and the teams seem to do okay without him. Have not researched.
Good point about Currey getting tougher assignments… if he gets injured or even overworked, this Bradley waive could be revisited… GSW has other guards… I suspect Kerr is chuckling.
You know you have ZERO depth beyond the Big Three at the Lake Show when you don’t know who else will start.