Anthony Lamb

Pacific Notes: Davis, Vezenkov, Lamb, Bazley

March 19th, 2023 at 6:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Terence Davis, an unrestricted free agent after the season, has seen his playing time plunge this month. He got a chance to play big minutes on Saturday due to injuries and delivered a 21-point, seven-rebound game for the Kings, Chris Biderman of The Sacramento Bee writes. Davis acknowledged that he needed an outing like that.

“I haven’t been playing well,” the Kings guard said. “So that’s just point-blank, period. I haven’t been playing well. I haven’t been locked in, honestly. I’m just trying to get that rhythm back. The opportunity opened back up for me and I was able to take advantage of it.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

Kings GM Monte McNair and VP of player personnel Phil Jabour traveled to Greece to watch draft-and-stash prospect Sasha Vezenkov play, columnist Shot Vetakis tweets. The Olympiacos Piraeus forward is considered the favorite for the EuroLeague MVP award, according to Javier Gancedo of EuroLeagueBasketball.net. Kings players have endorsed bringing in Vezenkov, who is averaging 18.2 points and 7.2 rebounds in 28 EuroLeague contests this season.
Anthony Lamb‘s new contract with the Warriors only covers the rest of the season, Hoops Rumors has confirmed. That will make Lamb a restricted free agent after the season. The swingman was promoted from a two-way deal to a standard contract on Friday.
Forward Darius Bazley said that getting traded from the Thunder to the Suns jolted him, per Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. “It was kind of tough,” Bazley said. “When it first happened, it was one of those moments when you’re like, ‘Dang.’ That’s all I knew. A lot of those guys, I’ve been with them since I first came here. In the NBA, your teammates and staff, you spend more time with them than you do your own families.” A restricted free agent this summer if extended a qualifying offer, Bazley has only made two cameos with the Suns.

Warriors Promote Anthony Lamb, Sign Lester Quinones To Two-Way Deal

March 17th, 2023 at 3:17pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

MARCH 17: The Warriors have officially converted Lamb’s two-way deal to a standard NBA contract, the team announced today in a press release (Twitter link). The club also formally confirmed its two-way contract agreement with Quinones (Twitter link).

MARCH 16: The Warriors are making moves with an eye toward the impending 2023 postseason. First, Golden State is upgrading the contract of current two-way swingman Anthony Lamb, according to Shams Charania and Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Lamb is being added onto the team’s 15-man standard roster, which will make him eligible to partake in playoff (and, if necessary, play-in) contests for the club, Charania and Slater note.

With their newly available two-way roster slot, the Warriors will sign guard Lester Quinones, Charania reports (via Twitter).

Quinones went undrafted out of Memphis in 2022, and joined the Warriors’ Santa Cruz NBAGL affiliate at the start of the 2022/23 season. He signed with Golden State on a 10-day deal earlier this month.

Lamb, a 6’6″ small forward, has been active for 50 games with the Warriors, the maximum permitted for two-way players before their contracts need to be converted. Across 20.1 MPG, he has averaging 7.0 PPG on .475/.379/.773 shooting splits. The University of Vermont product is also chipping in 3.4 RPG and 1.7 APG, having emerged as a key bench piece for Golden State.

Upon Lamb’s promotion, the Warriors will have a full 15-man standard roster, so if they want to make two-way player Ty Jerome playoff-eligible in the coming weeks too, they’d have to waive someone in order to make room for him.

Warriors Notes: Curry, Lamb, Iguodala, Wiggins

March 6th, 2023 at 8:57am CST by Arthur Hill

The Warriors lost to the Lakers Sunday afternoon, but there was optimism in the locker room due to the return of Stephen Curry, writes Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. Playing for the first time since Feb. 4, the two-time MVP had 27 points and six assists in 32 minutes while shooting 5-of-13 from beyond the arc.

Although he was on a minutes restriction, Curry looked fully recovered from the left leg injury that caused him to miss 11 games. He and his teammates are focused on improving their playoff position in the 17 games remaining, hoping to move into the top four in the West and trying to avoid falling into the play-in tournament. Golden State was able to survive for a month without Curry and now has a crucial string of games upcoming against fellow playoff contenders.

“Yeah, especially on the road,” Curry said of the excitement surrounding his comeback. “Brings the best out of you. And like I said, as the game gets deeper into it, you try to meet that intensity and that energy and that level, mentally and physically. It felt great to get thrown back in there right away. … If I get better as the game goes on, it’s always a great sign for me individually. And then our team, even though we lost, there were some bright spots for sure.”

There’s more on the Warriors:

Sunday’s game was the 50th of the season for Anthony Lamb, which marks his limit as a two-way player, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Lamb has been productive all season, but he won’t be able to play any more unless Golden State converts him to a standard contract. The team currently has a full roster, but a 10-day contract for Lester Quinones will expire March 11. “I’d like to have Lamb on the roster,” coach Steve Kerr said after Sunday’s game. “He plays an important role for us because he connects a lot of lineups with his ability to space the floor and shoot the three, and he just plays the way we’ve always played.”
The return of Andre Iguodala could lessen the urgency to work out a new deal with Lamb, Slater adds (Twitter link). The 39-year-old swingman logged 14 minutes Sunday in his first game action since January 13.
The Warriors are being patient with Andrew Wiggins, who is away from the team while attending to a “family matter,” according to Connor Letourneau of The San Francisco Chronicle. Team officials haven’t provided any specifics, but general manager Bob Myers said in a radio interview last week that Wiggins is expected to return before the end of the regular season.

Warriors Sign Lester Quinones To 10-Day Contract

March 2nd, 2023 at 12:50pm CST by Luke Adams

MARCH 2: Quinones’ 10-day deal is now official, the Warriors announced (via Twitter).

MARCH 1: The Warriors intend to promote guard Lester Quinones from their G League affiliate in Santa Cruz to their NBA roster, having agreed to sign him to a 10-day contract, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The move is being made due to a rule buried deep in the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, as Anthony Slater of The Athletic explains. A team that has an open spot on its 15-man roster can only have its two-way players active for a total of 90 combined games, rather than 100 (50 each).

Golden State’s two-way players have hit that 90-game limit — Anthony Lamb has been active for 47 games and Ty Jerome has been active for 43. By filling the 15th spot on their standard roster, the Warriors will ensure that they can continue to activate Lamb and Jerome for at least a few more games.

As Slater observes, a simpler solution may have been for the Warriors to promote one of those two-way players to a standard contract, but the club wants to maintain some roster flexibility before finalizing any decisions on Lamb or Jerome. There’s an expectation that at least one of them will likely be promoted before the end of the season, but it may come down to which player head coach Steve Kerr believes would be more needed in the playoff rotation.

After going undrafted out of Memphis last summer, Quinones signed a two-way contract with Golden State, but he was waived just before the regular season began in October and has instead spent his first professional season as an affiliate player for the Santa Cruz Warriors.

Quinones averaged 17.4 points on .498/.436/.745 shooting in 18 Showcase Cup games (29.6 MPG) and has put up 20.7 PPG, 7.1 RPG, and 4.9 APG with a .448/.361/.808 shooting line in 21 NBAGL regular season appearances (32.5 MPG) for Santa Cruz.

Warriors Notes: D. Green, Poole, Baldwin, Lamb, Jerome

February 28th, 2023 at 1:49pm CST by Luke Adams

Having missed two straight games due to a right knee contusion, Warriors forward/center Draymond Green underwent an MRI to determine whether there was any damage in the knee. Fortunately, that MRI came back clean, head coach Steve Kerr said on Monday (Twitter link via Kendra Andrews of ESPN).

Green practiced on Monday and was initially listed as questionable for Golden State’s contest against Portland on Tuesday, but was later upgraded to probable, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link).

While it sounds like the Warriors should have Green back in action later today, forward Andrew Wiggins remains out for personal reasons — he hasn’t played since February 13.

Here’s more on the Warriors:

With Stephen Curry on the shelf, Jordan Poole has relied more heavily on isolations and is performing below his usual standards as of late, writes Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. Kerr, who was seen at Monday’s practice having a one-on-one sitdown with the fourth-year guard, told reporters that he wants Poole to focus on “trying a little less hard to make the great play.” The 23-year-old is shooting just 28.3% from the floor (21.7% on threes) since the All-Star break. “He wants so badly to help that he’s trying too hard and taking some shots that are a little difficult,” Kerr said.
Warriors rookie Patrick Baldwin only appeared in 16 NBA games prior to the All-Star Game, but has played at least 10 minutes in the team’s three games since the break, scoring 25 points in 39 minutes and making 7-of-13 threes during that stretch. While Baldwin’s recent success bodes well for his long-term outlook, it may also pay dividends for this season’s version of the Warriors, according to Tim Kawakami of The Athletic, who notes that the team is always on the lookout for frontcourt players who can spread the floor while playing alongside Green or Kevon Looney.
Anthony Lamb and Ty Jerome are both nearing the 50-game limit for players on two-way contracts, notes Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. Lamb can be active for up to four more games, while Jerome has eight active games remaining. The Warriors could circumvent those restrictions and make both players postseason-eligible by promoting them to the 15-man roster, but the club currently only has one opening available on its 15-man squad and may soon have to make some difficult decisions.

Warriors’ Myers On Payton, Wiseman, Trade, Buyout Market

February 13th, 2023 at 2:03pm CST by Rory Maher

Warriors president of basketball operations Bob Myers held a press conference on Monday following the four-team trade that saw Gary Payton II sent back to Golden State from Portland. The deal was held up for a few days as the Warriors considered their options, but it ultimately went through even though they failed Payton’s physical due to a core muscle injury.

The veteran guard will be reevaluated in one month and the team hopes he’ll be back before a potential playoff push, Myers told reporters, including Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link). Regarding Payton’s injury, Myers added that “there are things I can’t say for legal reasons and HIPAA reasons,” tweets Mark Medina of NBA.com.

A formal league inquiry into the Trail Blazers‘ alleged failure to provide sufficient medical information is expected to be opened. Myers didn’t want to comment on the potential investigation.

“Good question, but I don’t want to answer that. I can’t go down that road of accusations,” Myers said (Twitter link via Medina).

As far as why the process took a few days, Myers said the team was evaluating its options and wanted clarity on whether the trade could potentially be amended, which wasn’t possible after the deadline passed. He hopes to get a “fair” result from the investigation.

“What do I want? Whatever the NBA says is fair,” Myers said, per Slater (Twitter video link).

Here’s more from Myers’ press conference:

Slater pointed out to Myers that Payton missed the first 35 games of the season after a long recovery following surgery, and when he returned he wasn’t always playing every day. Was that a red flag? “We looked at the fact that he started the night before against our team…I didn’t factor in the thought that he’d be out as long as he will be,” Myers replied (Twitter video link).
Myers said it was a difficult decision to deal way former No. 2 overall pick James Wiseman, who was sent to Detroit as part of the trade. He said it was a “tough, tough move to make,” adding that “he’s a great kid and did everything we asked him to do” (Twitter link via Medina).
The Warriors were still high on Wiseman’s long-term potential, but Myers believes he needs playing time to develop his skills, and that wasn’t happening on Golden State. He said the trade was “not an indictment of James” and “it’s a hard rotation to crack,” tweets Medina. Part of the reason the Warriors decided to go through with the trade was because they “didn’t see a path” for Wiseman to be successful if they rescinded the trade and brought him back, per ESPN’s Kendra Andrews (Twitter link).
Myers was asked if the Warriors would look to the buyout market to address frontcourt depth. “It doesn’t matter if he’s seven feet tall or eight feet tall. Any buyout conversation has to be done in collaboration with the coaching staff. Because why bring a player in if they’re not going to use him? But if there’s a player that the coaching staff and front office thinks can be helpful, then absolutely we’ll go target that guy,” Myers replied (Twitter video link courtesy of Slater).
When Slater asked Myers about the possibility of converting Anthony Lamb or Ty Jerome, both of whom are on two-way contracts, to a standard deal, Myers said a decision hasn’t been made yet. “I think we’ve gotta look and see whether it’s that or another player or whatever it might be and compare them. And say to Steve, ‘Hey, these are your options. Which player do you think helps us the most?’ And make that determination,” Myers said, adding that system fit would factor in as well.

Five Candidates For Promotions From Two-Way Contracts

January 21st, 2023 at 3:04pm CST by Luke Adams

Players who signed two-way contracts before the NBA’s regular season got underway are eligible to be active for up to 50 of their teams’ 82 games, while players who filled two-way slots after the season began are eligible for even fewer games — the two-way games limit is prorated, so a player who signed halfway through the regular season could be active for up to 25 contests.

On top of that, players on two-way contracts aren’t eligible to play in the postseason, so once they reach their 50-game regular season limit, their seasons are essentially over at the NBA level.

However, there’s a way to get around those restrictions. If a two-way player has outperformed his contract and his team doesn’t want to lose his services once he’s active for his 50th game, that team can simply promote him to its standard 15-man roster.

Teams have the ability to unilaterally convert a two-way contract into a standard, rest-of-season deal worth the players’ minimum salary. If the player is open to it, he can also negotiate a multiyear contract with his team as part of his promotion to the 15-man roster.

Last season, 20 players were converted from two-way deals to standard contracts after the NBA regular season began. It hasn’t happened at all since opening night this season, but it’s just a matter of time until that changes.

Here are five prime candidates to receive promotions sooner or later:

Jordan Goodwin, G (Wizards)

Multiple reporters, including Josh Robbins of The Athletic, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, and Ava Wallace of The Washington Post, have indicated that the Wizards would like to promote Goodwin. The second-year guard has been a solid rotation piece in D.C., averaging 6.7 PPG, 3.5 RPG, and 2.7 APG with a .397 3PT%, but he’s rapidly approaching his 50-game limit.

According to Robbins (Twitter link), since he has already been active for 44 games, Goodwin is actually being assigned to the G League’s Capital City Go-Go on Saturday as the Wizards try to preserve his availability.

The Wizards don’t currently have an available 15-man roster spot, but it sounds like opening one up will be a priority at the trade deadline. Unfortunately for Goodwin, Washington has 10 games between now and February 9, so he may have to be inactive for some of them as the team attempts to make room for him.

Anthony Lamb, F (Warriors)

Unlike the Wizards, the Warriors do have a spot available on their 15-man roster for Lamb, but there’s no rush to promote him until he has exhausted his two-way games limit. Golden State may also want to keep that roster spot open through the trade deadline to maximize the team’s flexibility in trade talks and on the buyout market.

It should be just a matter of time until Lamb gets bumped to the main roster though. In 38 games for the defending champions, he has averaged 7.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 20.1 minutes per night, emerging as a trusted rotation player for head coach Steve Kerr, who has used Lamb more than a few reserves expected to have bigger roles.

Golden State’s other two-way player, Ty Jerome, is putting up a sparkling .503/.407/.963 shooting line this season through 28 appearances and is making his own case for a promotion.

Orlando Robinson, C (Heat)

Robinson, a rookie big man out of Fresno State, has surpassed Dewayne Dedmon in the Heat’s rotation in recent weeks as Bam Adebayo‘s primary backup at center. In his modest role, he has averaged 4.8 PPG and 4.4 RPG in 15.1 MPG.

Because he signed his two-way deal with Miami in December, Robinson is limited to 35 active games, rather than 50, so his limit is fast approaching. But the Heat are right up against the luxury tax and won’t be able to sign a 15th man while staying below the tax line until March unless they shed a little salary in a trade deadline deal.

At this point, Robinson seems like the favorite to fill that 15th roster spot, but if the Heat’s cap situation remains unchanged, he’ll probably have to wait until later in the season.

Moses Brown, C (Clippers)

Given the Clippers’ lack of depth at center, Brown has often served as the de facto backup behind starter Ivica Zubac, appearing in 33 games so far.

The 23-year-old is only logging 7.9 minutes per night, but he’s making the most of his limited action, averaging 4.3 PPG and 3.7 RPG. L.A. has a +5.1 net rating when he’s on the court, the second-best mark on the team behind Kawhi Leonard.

Brown isn’t likely to be part of the Clippers’ playoff rotation, and may not see many minutes down the stretch at all if the club adds a veteran big man via trade or the buyout market. Still, there’s an open spot on the 15-man roster — if that spot remains open and Brown continues to play the role he has so far this season, he’s the logical candidate to fill it.

Duane Washington, G (Suns)

Washington didn’t see much action in Phoenix during the first month of the season, but with injuries taking a toll on the Suns’ roster, he has gotten the chance to play regular minutes in recent weeks.

While Washington’s performance has been up and down, the highs have been impressive. In three separate games within the last month, he has made at least five 3-pointers and scored at least 21 points. Since December 20, he’s knocking down 38.1% of his attempts from beyond the arc.

When the Suns are at full strength, it’s difficult to imagine Washington being part of the regular rotation, but the team only has 14 players on full-season contracts, so the door is open for him to claim the 15th spot. It may come down to what Phoenix does at the trade deadline and whether the team envisions a relationship with Saben Lee beyond his two 10-day contracts.

Warriors Rumors: Wiseman, Moody, Kuminga, J. Green, Lamb, More

January 19th, 2023 at 8:18am CST by Luke Adams

The Warriors‘ approach to this season’s trade deadline might resemble the path they took two years ago, writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Back in 2021, Kelly Oubre was considered a potential trade chip as Golden State hovered around .500, but the team hung onto Oubre and only made two small salary-dump deals involving Marquese Chriss and Brad Wanamaker.

According to Slater, this season’s Warriors are a better bet to make moves on the fringe like those ones than to do anything drastic. That’s why former lottery picks James Wiseman, Moses Moody, and Jonathan Kuminga are likely to remain in Golden State through the deadline instead of being moved, Slater adds. Those youngsters could be traded in the right deal, but the Warriors won’t want to sell low on Wiseman and Moody, and they view Kuminga as a legitimate playoff rotation piece.

If the Warriors make a small move to dump a contract and open up another roster spot, JaMychal Green would be the most obvious trade candidate, Slater observes.

The team already has one spot open on its 15-man roster, but the expectation is that two-way player Anthony Lamb will eventually be promoted to fill that spot. Opening up a second roster slot would position the Warriors to be players on the buyout market. Unlike last year, they could have both a roster and rotation spot to offer veteran free agents this time around, Slater writes.

Here’s more on the Warriors:

Theoretically, big men like Jakob Poeltl or Kelly Olynyk would appeal to the Warriors, but the price will likely be too high for a Golden State team that already has Draymond Green and Kevon Looney in its frontcourt and only really needs an insurance policy, Slater writes. Sources tell The Athletic that the Dubs would be more interested in a “versatile multi-positional wing” to play a role similar to the one Otto Porter Jr. did last season.
Slater names Jalen McDaniels, Darius Bazley, Rui Hachimura, and Obi Toppin as some possible targets the Warriors could kick the tires on, but acknowledges that rival suitors would probably be in position to outbid Golden State on those sorts of players.
While Stephen Curry has been cleared to play in both parts of back-to-back sets going forward, Klay Thompson is still awaiting that same clearance, says Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area. Thompson sat out on Monday after scoring a team-high 26 points on Sunday, but the expectation is that he’ll be able to play in back-to-backs at some point this season. Assuming he misses either Friday’s game after playing tonight, Thompson’s next opportunity to play in both ends of a back-to-back would be on February 1 and 2.
In a conversation with David Aldridge of The Athletic, Draymond Green says he believes he’ll eventually make the Basketball Hall of Fame. “You won’t go and look at my stats and say, ‘This guy’s a surefire Hall of Famer,'” Green said. “But if you know the game of basketball, and you look at the game of basketball, then I think I have a case.”

Warriors Notes: Two-Way Players, Curry, Wiggins, Iguodala

January 7th, 2023 at 7:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Warriors have been forced to rely more than they expected on two-way players Anthony Lamb and Ty Jerome, and both are starting to get close to their game limits for the season, writes Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area.

NBA rules state that two-way players can’t be on the active roster for more than 50 games and they’re not eligible for the playoffs. With the season not quite at the halfway point, Lamb has already appeared in 31 games, while Jerome has played 25 and had two more in which he was active but didn’t get on the court.

“We have to navigate that,” coach Steve Kerr admitted. “There will be some games where those guys will not suit up.”

Lamb, who is on his third team in three years, signed with the Warriors in October shortly before the start of the regular season. He has earned a consistent role off the bench, averaging 6.6 PPG in 19.3 minutes per game. Jerome also came to Golden State in October, after being traded and waived during the offseason, and is putting up 7.5 PPG in 18 minutes per night.

“It says a lot about the culture,” Andre Iguodala said, “just with them looking for guys like that who will make the most of their time here and even extend their time because of their work ethics.”

There’s more on the Warriors:

Stephen Curry felt good after taking part in Friday’s practice, tweets Kendra Andrews of ESPN. He was able to play 5-on-5 with contact and said his conditioning is fine after missing nearly four weeks with a left shoulder subluxation. President of basketball operations Bob Myers indicated this week that Curry might be able to return January 13, but the former MVP wouldn’t commit to that, saying he plans “to be ready when I’m ready.” (Twitter link)
The Warriors confirmed that Andrew Wiggins will be in the starting lineup for tonight’s game against the Magic, ending a 15-game absence due to an adductor strain and an illness, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Donte DiVincenzo will return to his role off the bench. Wiggins will be on a minutes restriction, although Kerr wasn’t specific about how long he will play, according to Andrews (Twitter link).
Iguodala, who will make his season debut tonight, will also play restricted minutes, Andrews tweets. Kerr didn’t reveal how long that will be, saying the team is working out a long-term plan for Iguodala, including whether he will be available for back-to-back games.

Warriors Notes: Lamb, Wiseman, Curry, Poole

December 9th, 2022 at 4:09pm CST by Luke Adams

Warriors two-way wing Anthony Lamb was named in a civil lawsuit filed this week against the University of Vermont, according to reports from The Athletic and ESPN’s Kendra Andrews.

Lamb isn’t named as a defendant in the lawsuit, which accuses the school of mishandling reports of sexual harassment and violence on campus. However, the suit does revisit a sexual assault allegation against Lamb related to a 2019 incident. The Warriors addressed that allegation when they signed Lamb in the fall and did so again on Thursday.

“Anthony is not a defendant in this recent lawsuit and, to our knowledge, he has never been charged with any wrongdoing in any legal case,” the team said in a statement. “Prior to signing Anthony in September, we did our due diligence with the NBA and his prior teams, as we do with all players. If any new information comes to light, we will certainly evaluate it and act accordingly.”

Lamb, who never faced any criminal charges as a result of the accusation, referred to the allegations as “patently false” and said he would welcome any investigation into the matter. His accuser stated in the lawsuit that she was dissuaded from seeking a formal investigation by Vermont’s athletic department.

Here’s more on the Warriors:

Third-year center James Wiseman was reassigned to the Santa Cruz Warriors following a brief return to the NBA, tweets Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. Poole adds in a follow-up tweet that Wiseman figures to continue spending time in the G League until there’s a “broad belief” he’s ready to contribute at the NBA level.
Asked at the Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year awards how much longer he expects to play in the NBA, Stephen Curry suggested that retirement isn’t something he’s thinking about yet. “I don’t see myself slowing down anytime soon,” he said (Twitter video link via Charlie Walter of KPIX 5).
In an in-depth feature, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports looks at how Jordan Poole, who signed a four-year extension in October, is preparing to help bridge the Warriors’ present to their future as the team’s stars exit their primes. “Steph’s doing a really good job of mentoring him,” Kerr said. “… There’s a lot of growth ahead for Jordan, which is exciting because he’s already very good.”

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